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Re:Phone is about to stop being yours by 59percentmore on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @12:25PM (#47936647)
From the state's perspective, probably along the same lines as why long guns are allowed with permit in many countries where handguns are banned.
Re:Phone is about to stop being yours by fainpul on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @01:20PM (#47937504)
Because you can conceiled carry a smartphone? Please explain.
Re:Phone is about to stop being yours by 59percentmore on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @07:00PM (#47942012)
Yes? Modern portable computing enables counter-surveillance of police, better communication and knowledge access for dissidents, and interface with institutional computer systems for any number of ends. The George Floyd protests don't happen if the bystanders didn't have smartphones, or if protestors had to carry around an Alienware tower; the Snowden leaks don't happen at the magnitude they did without memory miniaturization. There are international examples, too, and commensurate crackdowns on computing freedom (particularly in Hong Kong).

You've got a supercomputer and a library and a set of video production equipment in your pocket, among other things. The capabilities of such a device are fundamentally different from something that's tethered to a desk or that's conspicuous when out-and-about. The idea of it being open and untrackable is exciting for some and terrifying for others.