iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Replies

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 26/08/2026

In 1998, Bill Clinton signed America's landmark anticircumvention law, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, section 1201 of which establishes a five-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine for "bypassing an access control": pluralistic.net/2026/01/14/s... 57/

pluralistic.net

Pluralistic: It’s not normal (14 Jan 2026) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

115011

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 26/08/2026

After DMCA 1201, all a manufacturer had to do was add an "access control" (like a password or an encryption key) to their device, and modifying that device in *any way* could land you in prison. 58/

11377

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 26/08/2026

As microchips plummeted in price, all kinds of devices and services acquired these "access controls," so that it became *a crime* to refill an ink cartridge, fix a tractor, or connect your insulin pump to your glucose monitor. 59/

123541