3 ms·
> Today, DRM is used to force people with artificial pancreases to buy proprietary insulin Wow, that seems especially evil.
by jstanley 8y ago
> Today, DRM is used to force people with artificial pancreases to buy proprietary insulin
Wow, that seems especially evil.
- dTal 8y agoIt's worth exploring exactly what's meant by "proprietary insulin". Insulin can't be proprietary - it's a natural, widely available molecule of publicly known composition. What's actually proprietary in scenarios like these is some encryption key that will persuade the device to work - the fact that the key is embedded in a memory chip glued to the container is a red herring. In the case of a life-essential substance that is consumed at a predictable rate, there is no logical distinction between this and a Mafia protection racket - pay them periodically forever, or die. It shouldn't be surprising that companies will do this if they can. There was an episode of Doctor Who not too long ago where employees on a space station had to buy oxygen from the company store.
- favorited 8y agoI remember someone making a claim about insulin, but it wasn't the insulin itself – it was proprietary consumables for insulin pumps.