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.
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.