Why We Must Fight for the Right to Repair Our Electronics
What about the right to use our electronics? Google has been silently pushing their "SafetyNet" APIs into Android, including an "attestation" API[1] that dynamically fetches and runs an opaque binary program[2] served and signed by Google that collects whatever data they deem necessary to verify the "integrity" of a device.Devices that are rooted will not fail to attest via the API. Devices where the user has chosen to install a custom ROM will fail to attest (even with a locked bootloader and no root). Apps from Google Play can use these APIs to decide whether to work on a user's device.This is macOS SIP taken to a different level. You can't watch Netflix and whatever other app decides to use these APIs unless Google has complete control over your device, including the ability to remotely collect and transmit opaque and arbitrary data at any time. This is a dishonest attempt to disguise a draconian DRM scheme as pro-user, pro-safety, anti-virus/rootkit. We're at the point where you don't even own your own filesystem anymore on a Linux device. I think this is a step beyond traditional DRM, including traditional hardware content protection.[1] https://developer.android.com/training/safetynet/attestation...
[2] https://koz.io/inside-safetynet/