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A fair point, but then again, if people don't react to #2 now, how long until it turns into #1?

Things would be much simpler if companies were up front about what they're selling, instead of giving you incomplete information optimized to placate the unsophisticated buyers.



Disclosure of things like microphones on internet-connected devices is the type of no-brainer regulation that our regulatory bodies should be promoting. No need for real behavior changes, no need for giant Surgeon General's warnings, just a mention in printed user documentation, the same way products attest that they aren't in violation of FCC regulations on airwaves. There can be a healthy debate about whether this needs to go even further, e.g. legally requiring what Apple does for its laptop cameras in that a hardware light is lit whenever the recording system is powered up. But at least documentation-level transparency seems like a no-brainer. Unfortunately our regulatory bodies seem incapable of common sense these days, but that's a topic for another day.




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