To fix this, the Federal government (most likely the FCC) needs to publish rules and regulations regarding the "telemetry" that software and hardware is allowed

To fix this, the Federal government (most likely the FCC) needs to publish rules and regulations regarding the "telemetry" that software and hardware is allowed to collect and to issue recommendations / requirements that the consumer have full control and be able to disable all features of that "telemetry" and that the consumer's right to do so cannot be waived or abridged via a terms of service agreement or some other such (ie, the behavior cannot be automatically enabled after a systems update, nor can additional or new "telemetry" that didn't exist in the original product be added via a systems update and be enabled by default). Additionally, it should be a requirement that all hardware / software vendors be required to disclose all host(s) and points of origin that telemetry is collected and these hosts should be registered with the FCC. The points of location where that data is collected needs to be regulated under similar security information rules/laws that surround HIPAA. Any device/software not complying should not be allowed for sale within US borders. Additionally, any vendor who accidentally breaks that (ie, Microsoft "accidentally" pushing auto-updates that automatically reenable "telemetry") need to be punished with large and punitive fines (ie, $1,000 per violation/instance). Additionally, it should be mandated that any "telemetry" system cannot impair, disable, or otherwise render the device inoperable should the telemetry 1) be shut down, 2) fail. There should also be punitive fines for this. Barring this, this is only going to get worse and worse as time goes on. A bigger concern for me, is that since all this software / hardware is being built in the purview of repressive regimes (the US government not withstanding), that government actors will employ or dictate methods by which they can tap that "telemetry" without a court order. It is important that the US pass these laws, as the majority of software that goes into these devices is built in the US (and, also, since the US is still the single largest market for them). If laws are passed in other countries, because of the cowboy mentality in the US (see: Uber, Facebook, Google, Microsoft in Europe, et al), I highly doubt there is any hope for self-regulation within the software industry itself, and that government intervention is necessary in this case.