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If only. The EFF has been harping about this for literally decades. The DMCA in the US and similar anti-circumvention laws around the world (primarily EU) make doing that a serious crime, with punishments well beyond any conceivable impact to society at large.

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> The DMCA in the US and similar anti-circumvention laws around the world (primarily EU) make doing that a serious crime

Yes, this is the main reason why I mentioned the cartoon episode was unrealistic fiction.

I’d imagine a paid service that did this could be illegal. But prosecuting people who did this to their own hardware would be essentially impossible.

> make doing that a serious crime

Nitpick, but it would only make "showing others how to do that" a crime.

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