[chrisfinazzo]

Companies can write nigh-any clause into their EULA or T&C and people generally have little recourse. There still seems to be enough wiggle room legally because they control the platform. Some places (think EU) fight this, but I don't think it's in any way settled at this point.

They've done this in the past in subtle ways - cautioning developers about using private API, which they reserve the right to change at any time, thus breaking applications. For a practical example, Google "Apple kext signing certificate". It's not simply a matter of paying $99 and off you go, the barrier to entry is higher.

There have also been no-so-subtle warnings - see Charlie Miller's blacklisting - that even a proof of concept for a bug is not allowed because it could get out in the open and cause widespread damage.

> We got that with the DMCA and DRM modules, phone unlocking, and console rooting.

Record labels had little choice and needed to ditch these restrictions in order to have a viable business. TV studios, cellular providers, and console makers fight to this day to preserve these limits as a means of competitive differentiation.

I'm not saying I agree with it, but that is still largely the reality we have to deal with.