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I do smile a bit when I see solutions yo problems described as "there shoild be a law". Firstly, the obvious, laws are local not global. Your proposed law woul

I do smile a bit when I see solutions yo problems described as "there shoild be a law". Firstly, the obvious, laws are local not global. Your proposed law would need to be ratified by 200 odd governments. This seems unlikely (Not least in the US which perfers not to ratify international laws). Given that China is least likely to care, and given that most really cheap phones originate there, I'm not sure your proposed law will work there. So, to summarise, suggesting global laws, while not necessarily wrong, is as fruitless as suggesting that we use magic pixie dust to solve the problem. Both have exactly the same liklihood of being adopted.

josephcsible 3y ago
It's totally possible for a US law to say something to the effect of "all goods manufactured in or imported into the US must...".
- bruce511 3y ago
  The 5% of problem Android devices on the Internet are not manfactured or imported in the US. So the US law sounds great, but isn't solving a problem. Plus, given that the proposed law dictates -future- behaviour I'm not sure who, how or where an affected person (one who only has money for an ultra cheap phone they haven't updated in 7 years) would get relief from.
  - josephcsible 3y ago
    To fix the "future behavior" problem, maybe the law could work like this: make selling a device at all require escrowing the full source code, and if the manufacturer stops releasing security updates, the government releases the source code.
- iraqmtpizza 3y ago
  only if it's interstate commerce
  - jowea 3y ago
    I don't think it is possible to build a phone without involving interstate commerce. And wouldn't it be international commerce anyway?
- psnehanshu 3y ago
  Yes, because US is the world. Other countries are alien civilizations.
  - hfkwer 3y ago
    No, but US laws can only mandate something for goods that enter or are manufactured in the US. Other countries can pass their own laws.
jowea 3y ago
I'm not so sure. If either the EU or the USA pass such a law it would change the situation a lot on the entire world for the same reason car regulation and school textbooks follow the tune of the largest jurisdictions. If you have to expend the money to comply with the law in one country you might as well sell the same phone in other countries.

josephcsible 3y ago

It's totally possible for a US law to say something to the effect of "all goods manufactured in or imported into the US must...".

bruce511 3y ago
The 5% of problem Android devices on the Internet are not manfactured or imported in the US. So the US law sounds great, but isn't solving a problem. Plus, given that the proposed law dictates -future- behaviour I'm not sure who, how or where an affected person (one who only has money for an ultra cheap phone they haven't updated in 7 years) would get relief from.
- josephcsible 3y ago
  To fix the "future behavior" problem, maybe the law could work like this: make selling a device at all require escrowing the full source code, and if the manufacturer stops releasing security updates, the government releases the source code.
iraqmtpizza 3y ago
only if it's interstate commerce
- jowea 3y ago
  I don't think it is possible to build a phone without involving interstate commerce. And wouldn't it be international commerce anyway?
psnehanshu 3y ago
Yes, because US is the world. Other countries are alien civilizations.
- hfkwer 3y ago
  No, but US laws can only mandate something for goods that enter or are manufactured in the US. Other countries can pass their own laws.

jowea 3y ago

I'm not so sure. If either the EU or the USA pass such a law it would change the situation a lot on the entire world for the same reason car regulation and school textbooks follow the tune of the largest jurisdictions. If you have to expend the money to comply with the law in one country you might as well sell the same phone in other countries.