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UK to Criminalize Possession of “sophisticated encrypted communication devices”
(assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2023
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Privacy
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I think they'd love to outlaw general purpose computing. We can already see a preview of what that looks like with how mobile devices work. You don't have root privileges on the device, and it's explicitly locked from you. You are only allowed to install software from the official sources, and this software can be wiped remotely from your device if its deemed inappropriate. This is the future of computing that's being envisioned. The computer just becomes another appliance as opposed to a general purpose computing machine that you yourself can program.
@yogthos @ThreeHopsAhead as long as you stick to windows or linux on your computer and degoogled android on your phone that won't be possible.
Microsoft is going the way of "controlled computing" by requiring things like TPM and Secure Boot. Once the hardware and OS (Win 11) are used by enough people they can start blocking access to certain features and even online content for any device which doesn't have Microsoft approved hardware and OS. They tried this way back twenty years ago and the community pushed back enough that they dropped the idea, but now it's back and stronger than ever.
The part I'm worried about is how long it's going to be possible to buy hardware that's not locked down. It's almost impossible to buy a phone that doesn't need to be hacked to get root nowadays.
@yogthos I think we will always have that option. Probably you will only not be able to go for the high end devices while seeking full access to your own device, your own property.
PS: No wonder why Linux phones are getting a lot of momentum lately.
I certainly hope so.