News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Montana Becomes First State to Enshrine 'Right to Compute' into Law. Parent comment

Re:Montana Becomes First State to Enshrine 'Right to Compute... by xorcist on Sunday November 09, 2025 @01:43PM (#45867957)
That's .. unexpectedly broad? A strict interpretation of that would mean no gaming consoles and certainly no iPhones.

Their fundamental promise is a gatekeeper that restricts a lot of things that are not only legal but many customers want to do, including trivial things like writing their own software.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Montana Becomes First State to Enshrine 'Right to Compute... by qnleigh on Sunday November 09, 2025 @01:49PM (#45868021)
> Government actions that restrict the ability to privately own or make use of computational resources

If the government tried to block you from installing certain apps on your phone, that would fall under this law. Apple as a private company can still block whatever they want.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Montana Becomes First State to Enshrine 'Right to Compute... by XorNot on Sunday November 09, 2025 @04:10PM (#45869202)
It does get a little interesting to imagine the interface here though: if I circumvent those restrictions, a strict reading would be that I'm allowed to because the mechanism by which Apple would stop me would be through the State.

Which in turn would put it in conflict with the DMCA.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Montana Becomes First State to Enshrine 'Right to Compute... by anikom15 on Monday November 10, 2025 @10:11AM (#45876711)
There’s no conflict. DMCA trumps state law.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Montana Becomes First State to Enshrine 'Right to Compute... by benatkin on Sunday November 09, 2025 @05:10PM (#45869697)
That seems like a correct interpretation and I don't like seeing it spelled out like this in a law. It seems more like a CAN-SPAM act than a step in the right direction.
[ Parent | on HN ]