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There's also the problem that electronic devices last a long time -- often much longer than any manufacturer wants to admit. Vehicles, PCs, printers, and route
by kijin 3y ago
There's also the problem that electronic devices last a long time -- often much longer than any manufacturer wants to admit.
Vehicles, PCs, printers, and routers can easily last 10 years. Refrigerators and HVAC units can last 20 years or more. And now we're putting "smart" stuff into electric circuits that should last the lifetime of the house. The manufacturer will probably go out of business long before those devices go out of service, and there's no guarantee that there will be anyone to push one final firmware update or release the source code in the hectic last few days of an imploding business.
- motohagiography 3y agoSeconding this thread. There is no reason why a device shouldn't be servicable in 30 years regardless of whether the vendor is still in business. There might be a way to integrate these IoT regulations with e-waste regulations, where the liability for disposal, recycling, and cleanup is related to servicability.
- creole_wither 3y agoSome sort of escrow with a dead man switch could solve this. They can reset the switch by releasing an update or affirming that they are still providing service. If no communication is received after a certain period of time, then it gets released publicly.