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Re:Right to Root Access by do_not_redeem on Sunday January 12, 2025 @09:41PM (#42679502)
The average customer wants a car that doesn't explode because you installed a sketchy spark plug. Does that mean the manufacturers should install locks on the hood of every new car, with the threat of jail time if you pick the lock and look underneath?
Re:Right to Root Access by gjsman-1000 on Sunday January 12, 2025 @09:43PM (#42679508)
A sketchy spark plug does not have the ability to make a car explode, so the analogy is pointless.

On that note, even if someone stole your car, at least your car does not have access to your bank account, your passwords, your messages, and even your sexual history. The personal and reputational cost of losing a car is not comparable.

Many people would actually probably prefer their car to be stolen than the contents of their phone be public.

I think a more accurate comparison would be to an electrician. In Australia, doing your own electrical work is a crime even for the homeowner, because it can cause physical death, and is too likely to be done wrong. Yes, you will possibly go to jail for replacing $2 light switches. I assure you that most people’s phones have things they would prefer physical death over being publicly distributed.

Re:Right to Root Access by lapcat on Sunday January 12, 2025 @09:47PM (#42679535)
> On that note, even if someone stole your car, at least your car does not have access to your bank account, your passwords, your messages, and even your sexual history. The personal and reputational cost of losing a car is not comparable.

You're conflating vendor lockdown with device encryption. The latter does not require the former.

Re:Right to Root Access by eesmith on Monday January 13, 2025 @04:46AM (#42681738)
While cars don't have access to your complete sexual history, note that https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/privacy-nightmare-on-... points out:

"The very worst offender is Nissan. The Japanese car manufacturer admits in their privacy policy to collecting a wide range of information, including sexual activity, health diagnosis data, and genetic data — but doesn’t specify how. They say they can share and sell consumers’ “preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes” to data brokers, law enforcement, and other third parties."

Re:Right to Root Access by seszett on Monday January 13, 2025 @12:54AM (#42680482)
> In Australia, doing your own electrical work is a crime even for the homeowner, because it can cause physical death, and is too likely to be done wrong. Yes, you will possibly go to jail for replacing $2 light switches

And do you find this reasonable, and a good thing to expand to smartphone use?

Re:Right to Root Access by mattclarkdotnet on Monday January 13, 2025 @03:12AM (#42681216)
It’s bullshit, there are no laws banning you from replacing a light switch in Australia. At worst you might invalidate your home insurance.
Re:Right to Root Access by jwmcq on Monday January 13, 2025 @05:56PM (#42690675)
There's a lot of it about, mate. The other day I had an American tell me with a straight face that we can get jail time for flying a Union Flag here in Blighty - I guess there's a big industry for convincing people that everywhere else is a hellhole over there.
Re:Right to Root Access by realusername on Monday January 13, 2025 @02:28AM (#42680972)
> I think a more accurate comparison would be to an electrician. In Australia, doing your own electrical work is a crime even for the homeowner

In this comparison Google and Apple have the role of the government, if you believe that argument, that also implies that you believe they should be broken apart for antitrust

Re:Right to Root Access by mattclarkdotnet on Monday January 13, 2025 @03:10AM (#42681207)
It’s not a crime to do your own electrical work in Australia, it just invalidates your insurance unless you get the work signed off. The websites saying it “could be illegal” strangely never reference the actual law you’d breach.