Quality of life critical software should be ensured by FDA certification. Homebrew modifications of that software, even in the name of “freedom”, risks the patient’s life and health and should be illegal if uncertified.
In EU (and probably elsewhere), there are strict rules for the stability of power wheelchair. One such rule is "On a incline of x% (x chosen by the manufacturer), pushing for max speed from stop should not lift the front wheels"
To achieve that, the max acceleration must be quite low (software controlled), and the whole experience is sluggish, like trying to steer a car by pulling on rubber bands attached to the wheel.
From the moment I found a way to overcome this, I never went back. I know that I can hurt myself if I do something stupid, but I prefer this hypothetical risk instead of cursing 100 times a day because I cannot move how I want. It has been 10 years and I never got hurt.
I understand that such "high" risk device cannot be sold, but forbidding someone to change this is like inflicting a second handicap on him.
I suppose we all have, or should have, the right to try stupid things. Sometimes experience and competence are more important than 100% safety. Your comment made me realize how limiting it would be to be physically incapable of taking even the smallest risk.
That is a very poor regulation. Why enforce wheel lift? What matters is that the chair doesn't tip over - that the center of gravity remains in the center of the four wheels.
> Homebrew modifications of that software, even in the name of “freedom”, risks the patient’s life and health and should be illegal if uncertified.
The official modifications of that software — in the name of "profit" — are currently risking the patient’s life and health, and therefore should also be illegal by your logic.
Surely you must also support effective (ie harsh/deterrent) prosecution and punishment for these crimes as well, correct?
I think this is the key part of the comment - yes, uncertified changes by anyone could feasibly be illegal. The FDA or similar should probably do code reviews.
What if you fix a bug in your own pacemaker? Would it be ok to:
a) Fine you?
b) Jail you?
c) Force you to revert the change? (plausibly leading to death in an extreme case)
[edit: I do agree that there's a chance that making a 'fix' to your own pacemaker might also make it worse. In which case, who do we trust more? The person on the ground with a stake in the matter (however misinformed), or $government_official with no stake in the matter (however well informed).
I don't think that scenario is particularly tricky. If you modify someone else's pacemaker, it's a tricky question, even with their consent. If you modify your own, absolutely nothing should stand in your way beyond a nice big notice saying "danger of death,on your head be it". That is, you should have the same freedom to screw with your own personal medical devices that you have to climb out of your own fourth floor window.
People have a right, albeit not enshrined in law, to do stupid things that might kill them - at least as long as they don't then ask someone else to save them.
> This is a huge straw man/whataboutism that contributes nothing to the discussion.
It's a countervailing concern, not a strawman.
> bad software modifications... should be punished wherever they arise
Corporations are currently unpunished (per TFA) when they alter software in a way that risks patient safety, and they have already caused documented harm to patients. This is a shocking failure of federal oversight, but the captured FDA will (by design) never fix it. Oops.
In light of the real harm caused by this neverending policy failure, the Library of Congress is morally and ethically obligated to permit fair use exemption. Individuals and homebrew communities must be unshackled to protect patients from the real (not hypothetical!), documented, and widespread harm caused by corporate-sponsored attacks on US medical infrastructure.
No, that's not an exaggeration.
Given the current anti-patient landscape, the protections of open source far outweigh any risk.
In some (western) countries, your body is your personal private property, and you have the freedom and ultimate authority over how to use and abuse it, or anything on or in it. (you are still advised to treat your most precious property wisely, obviously)
In other (western) countries/subcommunities people feel that obligations to your community are stronger.
People from these different cultures can get into some pretty hefty discussions when it comes to things like abortion, drugs, euthansia, or -here- implants.
So like suicide, drugs and other and other cases where we are denied dominion over ourselves for our own good? IE. Your life and body are not yours, they belong to society and you only get limited access.
I disagree, I think if you walk into a pharmacy and ask for something dangerous without a prescription they shouldn't be obligated to give it to you. It's the same with medical equipment that keeps you alive.
If you want to risk your life you can do it but no one should be compelled to help you.
No one should be compelled. I mean it more in a negative manner, that it has an obligation to not stop people from helping. If someone wanted to offer a nitrogen tank, valve, tube and an easily head fitting bag for sale to people who want to commit suicide in a painless and ensured manner they be able to sell that (and people would). But in fact you cannot, and that is wrong.
Your position is not universal, and in fact strongly opposed by many. I believe that I have the absolute right to edit or terminate my own existence, either on purpose or accidentally. To the extent that anyone can own a person, people own themselves exclusively.
1. Compared to the average person in the FDA's population of people who are in charge of evaluating the medical devices, the average person in the population of people who would make fixes and helpful modifications might have more expertise in determining the quality of the device's normal software.
2. It's not as if the people who depend on the medical devices have to take the word of the community of people who will mod the devices over the word of the FDA.
To achieve that, the max acceleration must be quite low (software controlled), and the whole experience is sluggish, like trying to steer a car by pulling on rubber bands attached to the wheel.
From the moment I found a way to overcome this, I never went back. I know that I can hurt myself if I do something stupid, but I prefer this hypothetical risk instead of cursing 100 times a day because I cannot move how I want. It has been 10 years and I never got hurt.
I understand that such "high" risk device cannot be sold, but forbidding someone to change this is like inflicting a second handicap on him.