alt Hacker Newsnobody is worried about about the arbitrarian aspects?
What if you are interested in developing your own OS (a task that would have been monumental but may become trivial with LLMs in the future)?
Why is the proper level the OS? Why not the browser or the hypervisor?
Or perhaps manufacturer should remember your age? What if hardware is resold? We would need a hardware cadastre! A global hardware cadastre would unite all jurisdictions in a power bloc eventually. It starts with daily computer/laptop, then domotics, then digital door locks, and before you know it the bloc-global hardware cadastre becomes authoritative, and the reference for property ownership.
Is there even a proper level?
Replies
The bill doesn't exempt Linux-based systems by name, if that's what you're thinking. It exempts any operating system that allows users to "copy, redistribute, and modify the software". It's a bit arbitrary in the sense that Microsoft and Apple could dodge the requirement by simply becoming open source, but that's not going to happen so it's not really a problem.
Yeah, they're just digging a hole of bad laws.
The proper level is actually the device. The government doesn't care about how you arbitrarily divide the device software into components - only how they are non-arbitrarily provided by different people.