The Convenient Consent of Freedom

Opening Salvo

I am a strong supporter of the consumer’s right to choose. Consumers should be able to choose what technologies they want to use and the decision as to what is placed on those devices must also be the consumer’s choice (not the manufacturer’s).

A Bit of Historical Context

In my July 2021 blog: The State of Personal Computing (Forty Years Later), I wrote that up until the later half of the 1970s, electronic computers were the carefully-guarded monopoly of large corporations and governments. We (the common folk) did not have access to such advanced technology. Computers to so many were considered science fiction. By the early to mid 1980s, we were awash in microcomputer technologies. The common folk’s ability to gain access to these devices was becoming increasingly commonplace.

I am so happy to have been both a witness and a participant to these events of the later half of the 20th century. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the proliferation of technology was becoming increasingly accessible to the common man all over the world. We witnessed the growth of a whole new generation of people who saw technology as an enabler. A new way to express oneself digitally and with the creation of electronic mail and the world wide web, people were able to share their ideas with others halfway around the world in an instant.

The later half of the 20th century also brought us a period of positive technological and social change in so many ways. In my honest opinion, one of the greatest single events of that decade witnessed the fall of Soviet Union and the rise of freedom in various places around the globe.

Freedom and Ownership are as akin to one another as Beans and Rice

Here in the United States, we have historically been an ownership-based society. It is normal for us to resist authoritative dictates. We by and large have historically aligned ourselves with those liberties afforded to us by our Constitution and any attempt to subvert them is met with vigorous resistance. There have been a few notable moments in my life when something I either read about or watched on television inspired me to take a positive step forward.

Here are those few notable moments (in no particular order):
  --The 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall
  --The 1984 Apple Macintosh Commercial
  --The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
  --Apple’s 1990 Industrial Revelation Commercial
  --The TV Saga: ROOTS
  --The First launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia
  --Star Trek: TNG (The Drumhead episode)

Time to Bring it Home

All of these moments in time have helped to shape my viewpoint on the importance for us all to defend our liberty and hold it dear to our hearts. We must never consent to allowing anyone or anything to encroach on those liberties for the sake of convenience or for any other reason without giving them explicit permission to do so.

On my website (4TheTekOfIt.net), I wrote a line in the footer that reads: Technology should be an enabler rather than an impediment. When we implicitly permit the technology companies to tell us that we own our devices, yet they continue to hold the only keys to those devices, then we have essentially given away our fundamental freedom of ownership and as such our technology begins to impede us.

Think about it this way. Let’s say you want to purchase a vehicle, however the manufacturer of that vehicle has placed wheel locks on all of the wheels and will not give you the key to remove them. The manufacturer tells you that the only way you can replace the tires or repair the breaks is by going to one of their authorized repair centers because nobody else is qualified to install new tires or new brakes on YOUR vehicle. Furthermore, the manufacturer tells you that if you attempt to remove the wheel locks by other means, then your vehicle will no longer start. Still think it’s YOUR vehicle?

Companies have learned quite well how to put a positive spin on things that they want to do with OUR devices, however I’ve learned over the decades that it’s not about what they say, rather it’s about what they avoid saying. They can sidestep valid questions about as good as any career politician.

Don’t Believe me? Here’s a great example:

In an August 2021 Wall Street Journal (WSJ) interview with Apple’s Senior VP of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, WSJ’s Joanna Stern asks one of those valid questions: Who owns this phone? Not surprisingly, Federighi puts on better act than the late great Cab Calloway and the fabulous Nicholas Brothers did in Stormy Weather. Okay, perhaps not THAT GOOD because those performances in Stormy Weather were simply incredible and very talented!

Oh and in case you’re wondering: I own two iPhones and a Mac Mini

Please watch Joanna’s interview with Apple because the future of the ownership of our computing devices are at stake.

Make no mistake! If this foolishness is allowed to fly then expect other technology companies to follow suit. Let’s not permit the convenient consent of freedom to take away that which was obtained by so many who fought and/or gave their lives for.

The good news is that there has been so much public backlash against this move on Apple’s part that the company has decided to delay plans to roll out CSAM detection on their devices. Don’t, however assume that this is the last you’ll hear about this.

We must remain vigilant. Vigilance is the price we must constantly pay to ensure our liberties remain in tact.

Never Forget!

Anytime someone sells you something that’s locked down and they don’t give you the key to unlock it, then it’s pretty safe to assume that they aren’t doing it for your benefit.

The power of our wallets is the one thing that companies respect. You should wield it like a light saber.