Open-source hardware company Adafruit HAS pushed back on proposed New York legislation that will put the burden of stopping unauthorized 3D printing of guns on 3D printer manufacturers, while also making the sharing of 3D files for guns and their components illegal. According to the company blog, this bill, which is even broader than the one proposed in Washington state, covers open-source firmware, offline machines, file formats that can’t be read by algorithms, and CNC mills that are widely used in other industries.
“The bill mandates surveillance on every maker tool in the state, with penalties for sellers who have no control over post-sale use,” Adafruit said in its blog. It also added, “…the answer to misuse isn’t surveillance built into the tool itself. We don’t require table saws to scan wood for weapon shapes. We don’t require lathes to phone home before turning metal. We prosecute people who make illegal things, not people who own tools.” The proposed law also states that a technical working group should determine whether such a surveillance mechanism is feasible or not, and that regulations aren’t required until the group determines that it is possible to enforce. However, the company warned that this group could be composed of non-experts who just rubber-stamp what the state legislators want.
Adafruit suggested the following amendments to bill to “preserve the public safety goal without breaking education, open hardware, or small manufacturers:” narrow the scope to intent, not the tool; drop mandatory file scanning; exempt open-source and offline toolchains; limit liability for sellers and educators; add guardrails to the working group; and require a real technical feasibility assessment requiring peer-reviewed evidence.
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