6 ms·

the irony is that if these are not already FDA-approved devices, then selling them (and even giving them, I think) to consumers will be illegal. it seems clear

the irony is that if these are not already FDA-approved devices, then selling them (and even giving them, I think) to consumers will be illegal. it seems clear that the regulations would be harming the public interest and should not be enforced, but you could imagine a scenario where there was a politician with a political grudge against a liberal city like Seattle.

tomcam 7y ago
Not anymore. That restriction has been removed [PDF link]: https://www.fda.gov/media/135659/download https://www.fda.gov/media/135659/download
- spectramax 7y ago
  This is great news. We can learn from this pandemic that during Public Emergencies, humanity needs to come together and defeat our threat - democracies are thought of as a "giant ship" that's impossible to move during emergencies and cannot compete with authoritarian regimes such as China where a drone escorts you back to your own house; this kind of exclusionary and temporary exceptions backed by scientific consensus and truth (which is often clouded by the fog of authoritarian stronghold on censorship), we can be as nimble and come out more educated than ever. Emergency powers in the western democracies (North America and Europe) are an important aspect of governance and should be routined examined for effectiveness (mock exercises and simulations), efficiency and combating the threat during the most dire times. Coronavirus is not an existential threat but as a thought exercise we can imagine one that has a serious chance of killing 50% of the earth population. Or some serious evil on planet is threatening human existence on earth - incoming asteriod or terrorist organization with AI capabilities. I sound like an alarmist, I know, but the point of this thought exercise is not to induce panic but build a better governance system that can protect the public without giving up civil liberties.
bawolff 7y ago
Not really that clear. Im sure the gates foundation is pretty legit, but if scammers started selling home testing kits that didn't work that could definitely be a threat to the public interest.

tomcam 7y ago

Not anymore. That restriction has been removed [PDF link]: https://www.fda.gov/media/135659/download https://www.fda.gov/media/135659/download

spectramax 7y ago
This is great news. We can learn from this pandemic that during Public Emergencies, humanity needs to come together and defeat our threat - democracies are thought of as a "giant ship" that's impossible to move during emergencies and cannot compete with authoritarian regimes such as China where a drone escorts you back to your own house; this kind of exclusionary and temporary exceptions backed by scientific consensus and truth (which is often clouded by the fog of authoritarian stronghold on censorship), we can be as nimble and come out more educated than ever. Emergency powers in the western democracies (North America and Europe) are an important aspect of governance and should be routined examined for effectiveness (mock exercises and simulations), efficiency and combating the threat during the most dire times. Coronavirus is not an existential threat but as a thought exercise we can imagine one that has a serious chance of killing 50% of the earth population. Or some serious evil on planet is threatening human existence on earth - incoming asteriod or terrorist organization with AI capabilities. I sound like an alarmist, I know, but the point of this thought exercise is not to induce panic but build a better governance system that can protect the public without giving up civil liberties.

bawolff 7y ago

Not really that clear. Im sure the gates foundation is pretty legit, but if scammers started selling home testing kits that didn't work that could definitely be a threat to the public interest.