cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/7492853
Software that controls your body should always respect your freedom. This article is a recap of scandals of medical devices, like hearing aids, insulin pumps, bionic eyes, and pacemakers, and what we can learn from them. It’s astonishing: you wouldn’t expect these devices to be run by software in such a way that they can leave you completely helpless.
The article didn’t go in the direction I expected. Theoretically, open source software can be fixed by experts outside of the main company, but it would be very niche. The expert would need to be familiar with the specific hardware at least, have varying degrees of medical knowledge and have access to the individual in need in some cases.
Forced updates and treating medical software as no more special than a game is the problem when dealing with apps. Tag medicals apps and make it so that system updates have to be manual or go through warnings before being deployed. Offer the option to go back to a version that previously worked. Create regulations to make companies liable for malfunctions.
It’s not about open source, but free/libre software. Third-party developers being able to change the software is a side effect of who is in control of the software that keeps you alive.
Sure we can do certification and similliar, but we still can’t be sure what’s really inside. Also the is a problem of accessibility. What if the app that you need to be alive is made only available from Google Play Store for “security reasons”? Now you are tied to the will of Google if they want you to serve the app or approve account for you.
What free software does is basically makes a protection from many types of abuses that are implications of user not being practically able to do what developer can.