cross-posted from: https://libretechni.ca/post/1263630
New York’s state budget could pass within days. Buried deep in the text is a provision that has nothing to do with balancing the books. Part C of the budget bill would require every 3D printer sold in New York to run surveillance software that scans every design file you create, and blocks anything an algorithm flags as a potential firearm component . A separate provision would expose researchers, journalists, and educators to felony charges simply for possessing or sharing certain design files.
Not to mention that someone’s going to come out with a jailbreak option for every 3D printer within a couple of weeks of this being implemented at a manufacturing scale.
I mean, at the end of the day, we’re talking stepper motors, switches, a resistive heater, (EDIT: or two. Forgot about the heated bed) a thermistor (or two, heated bed again), a few fans. maybe a solenoid. What you’re usually buying with a 3d printer is the hardware and the mechanical engineering that went into it, The on board software is… sufficient, but there’s a reason things like Octoprint and Klipper are so popular.
Someone outside the USA who is annoyed at stupid US policies fucking over the rest of the world yet again.