While I would also want everything free or open source, firmware is not necessarily like other free or open source projects that can just assume that they are r

While I would also want everything free or open source, firmware is not necessarily like other free or open source projects that can just assume that they are running within a standard environment. It has a tendency to be much more specific to the hardware, so unless that hardware conforms to some standard to reduce the need to have to have many different firmware projects, there may not be the resources available to maintain all of those projects. rms is not wrong, imo, but it would take much more effort than just putting the source out on the net somewhere. Since you have to get that source reviewed, compiled, and somehow put into the fridge or dishwasher now you need the fridge or dishwasher listening for firmware updates from the manufacturer and user and that has additional cost, probably beyond what would be needed for a repairman to update it, since it would have to be more straightforward to do for a regular user, or automatic. And some users may not want automatic updates, so you'd have to make that optional somehow. All of that adds to cost, so companies have little incentive to do all of this when weighing against the risk of the appliance's firmware getting misused and the cost of that.