It's true that it's very common and there is often nothing untoward about it. The issue that I think is most relevant is that there has been virtually no trans

It's true that it's very common and there is often nothing untoward about it. The issue that I think is most relevant is that there has been virtually no transparency about the machines, the health and privacy risks they pose, etc. It's as if these contractors with high level government connections made a big sale to the US Government and the public had no choice about whether to pay for it or whether to consent to the risks. Learning that one of the main beneficiaries of this big sale was the very recent head of the government office that purchased the machines suggests that perhaps there was worry that transparency might have jeopardized that commission.