It’s a federal felony now to alter the programming on an electronic you bought as well.
I can’t find any evidence for this; it would also be a nearly unenforceable law if it was actually a thing. What’s going to happen, the device calls home and says help help I’ve been reprogrammed!
Now altering the programming only for re-saling might have some legal issues.
Idk if there are newer laws, I think there is, but a 1998 law makes it illegal to break a digital lock, very broadly defined, to protect cd’s but applied to all electronics.
But the law was mentioned by an author interviewed on democracy now this fall.
Idk if there are newer laws, I think there is, but a 1998 law makes it illegal to break a digital lock, very broadly defined, to protect cd’s but applied to all electronics.
Sounds like one of those laws that’s never applied by itself, but instead is always sprinkled in on top of another more well defined and detectable crime. In the case or CDs it would have been against piracy groups who not only cracked CDs, but also distributed.
Without the distribution, that law would have never seen enforcement.
We could also argue that cracking software protections isn’t reprogramming, it’s a precursor to do so and isnt always necessary to reprogram a device. Someone could absolutely pop the computer out of a Samsung smart refrigerator and replace it with a Arduino and reprogram the device, which for personal use is legally bulletproof.
Every farmer in the U.S. has the right to repair and reprogram their vehicles. They do not however have the right to force John Deer to provide access to their proprietary software.
Not being able to reprogram something, and it being a literal crime, are absolutely different things.
I can’t find any evidence for this; it would also be a nearly unenforceable law if it was actually a thing. What’s going to happen, the device calls home and says help help I’ve been reprogrammed!
Now altering the programming only for re-saling might have some legal issues.
Idk if there are newer laws, I think there is, but a 1998 law makes it illegal to break a digital lock, very broadly defined, to protect cd’s but applied to all electronics.
But the law was mentioned by an author interviewed on democracy now this fall.
Sounds like one of those laws that’s never applied by itself, but instead is always sprinkled in on top of another more well defined and detectable crime. In the case or CDs it would have been against piracy groups who not only cracked CDs, but also distributed.
Without the distribution, that law would have never seen enforcement.
We could also argue that cracking software protections isn’t reprogramming, it’s a precursor to do so and isnt always necessary to reprogram a device. Someone could absolutely pop the computer out of a Samsung smart refrigerator and replace it with a Arduino and reprogram the device, which for personal use is legally bulletproof.
Idk some states carved out exceptions to it with right to repair laws.
Read some Cory Doctorow.
Read some Right to Repair U.S. law. There’s absolutely nothing illegal about reprogramming any device for personal use.
Tell that to every farmer in the US. Do you seriously not know about the DMCA?
Every farmer in the U.S. has the right to repair and reprogram their vehicles. They do not however have the right to force John Deer to provide access to their proprietary software.
Not being able to reprogram something, and it being a literal crime, are absolutely different things.