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0 pointsGhostVII7y ago0 comments

I don't think that would be reasonable. Unless there is a significant safety issue or privacy issue that would be solved, I don't think the government should force manufacturers to add features to their phones, seems like a pretty extreme overreach. Any LED added could easily be removed or covered up in a few seconds, so I don't see how it changes anything.

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nitrogen7y ago· 1 in thread

The ability to defeat a safety or privacy measure doesn't mean it shouldn't be implemented. People sometimes buckle their seatbelts behind them instead of wearing them, but seatbelts are still mandatory in most places.

There are many different instances where someone would want an indicator for a camera and would not block the LED: detecting apps that take pictures without being asked, knowing whether the person across the street is taking a photo or a selfie so you don't accidentally photo bomb, random people taking photos who didn't block the LED (of all the camcorders with LEDs back in the day, how many actually had the LED covered?), etc.

GhostVIIOP7y ago

The difference between this and seatbelts is that with the LED, you are trying to prevent someone from maliciously using the camera, while with seatbelts you are trying to give everyone the ability to be safe should they choose to do so.

And regardless, the ability to defeat it should be a factor in determining whether or not it is worth regulating, even if it isn't the sole factor. The combination of having the LED both easy to defeat, and having very limited usefulness, make it not worth regulating.

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