Another instance of addressing a longstanding issue, but in a way that merely sidesteps the fundamental problem and opts for ham-fisted destruction instead. Of course this is not terribly surprising from a regime whose primary aim seems to be parting out the United States for scrap value.

The answer here has always been regulation to unbundle hardware, software, and services. Fundamentally this is an antitrust issue - a manufacturer of hardware should not be able to force purchasers to run particular software on it (whether overtly through technical restrictions or merely tacitly through lack of documentation). And a developer of embedded software should not be able to force users to interact with a particular network-provided service to use the software.

But of course actually enacting such constructive reforms would run afoul of the domestic surveillance industry, which enjoys employing such anti-competitive tactics to bolster their own positions. And so we get fake reforms aimed at further restricting competition.

@eth0up autocratic authoritarians [0] don't like basic truths stated plainly. The flood the zone / move fast and break institutions technique doesn't work as well when people summarize, generalize, and quickly write them off, rather than wasting effort discussing every single development from a place of utter naivety as if this one might contain some merit (see: 4d chess).

I suppose on this topic, we're just supposed to believe this is a broad brush to triage the problem, with actual targeted sensible reforms to come later at some time when they figure it out. Except we're going on two years now, and it's clear that this is not the overall pattern at all. Rather the pattern is to find some issue that resonates with the public, carry out some performative vice-signalling stunts that make it look like the issue is being addressed, quietly back down (whether because the original diktat went against the hard reality, or simply for a bribe), and then move on to something else.

I'd say this pattern even applies to the core issues that the regime hangs much of its support on, for example illegal immigration. They really only know how to break institutions, make a lot of noise, hurt people, and steal. None of these things will actually leave our country better off, nor will they even achieve the results their supporters want. Progressives' iatrogenesis was bad, but this is 100x worse.

[0] look at me not saying the F-word.

(P.S. your comment is [dead])

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