Make it a maker's duty to keep delivering security updates for phones and computers for many years
In short
- Device makers may no longer stop sending security updates just a few years after they start selling a device.
- Makers must send free security updates for a long time after the day they sold the last unit of a model.
- When a maker stops updating a device, it must open up the device's inner workings so others can keep it maintained.
- Government and school apps must be built to run on older devices too.
- Used devices can stay as safe to use as new ones.
If this comes true
A man selling fruit at a market stall uses a used phone he bought seven years ago, and this month it got another security update, so he checks a customer's payment on the screen as he always does.
Perhaps
The cheapest models might disappear from store shelves, and a boy who wants to buy his first phone might look at the price tag and give up.
Water so far 💧 0
The proposal in detail
This proposal sets by law how long makers must keep delivering security updates for internet-connected smartphones, computers and tablets, and for the basic software built into them. From the day a maker last sells a model, it must provide, for a long period set by law, free updates that fix the weak points that are found. Updates that add features are not covered, and the duty is limited to keeping devices secure. At the time of sale, the last day on which updates are guaranteed must be clearly shown on the box and at the place of sale. If a maker goes out of business, or stops updates after that period has passed, it must publish the keys and the design information needed to replace the device's software, so that other companies and engineers can keep maintaining it. In addition, those who build public apps and websites that daily life depends on, such as government procedures, school learning and bank payments, are required to make them work on older models as long as the update guarantee for the device is still running. Makers who break these rules face a measure that stops their sales in that region. Sellers of used devices must be required to show how long the update guarantee lasts.
BenefitsPeople who use old devices are no longer shut out of safety
If the update period is guaranteed by law, people who choose cheap or used models can keep using devices protected from fraud and snooping, just like people who can buy new ones. If the apps used for payments and government procedures also work on older models, being unable to replace a device no longer means being shut out of the procedures of daily life. Because makers face the cost of supporting devices for a long time, they will choose designs that are sturdy and easy to maintain from the start, and the devices themselves will last longer. The longer one device can be used, the bigger the used market becomes, and low-income families and people in regions where devices are expensive can more easily get cheap, safe devices. If there is a rule to open up the inner workings when a maker quits, local engineers and small companies can still take over the upkeep. Fewer discarded devices also means less of the resources used to make them and less waste.
DrawbacksDevices cost more, and the cheapest models disappear
Long years of updates mean paying engineers to stay on and keep studying the weak points of old designs, and that cost is added to the price of the device. In particular, the cheapest models, which have been built at the thinnest of margins, may stop making a profit and vanish from the market. If that happens, low-income people who used to buy one of them as their first device may not be able to get a device at all, and a rule meant to narrow the divide would instead narrow the way in. Small makers without much strength may fail to meet the duty and leave the market, and a few large companies may come to dominate it. Also, a rule to make apps work on older models adds to the development work of government agencies and banks, and slows how fast they can adopt new security technology and useful features. For makers, the duty to open up the inner workings means revealing design secrets, and it also carries the risk of handing clues about weak points to people with bad intentions.
Learn the background
Smartphones and computers are now tools that people cannot do without for government procedures, job hunting, schoolwork and paying for things. People with money to spare replace their devices with new models every few years, but many people with low incomes, or who live where devices cost a lot compared with other prices, use cheap or used models for a long time. Yet makers often stop sending security updates just a few years after selling a device. When that happens, the device becomes easier to attack from the outside, and bank and government apps stop working on it. A device that is not yet broken suddenly turns into one that cannot be used, and the people who rely on it most bear the risk of being cheated or shut out. This problem has been left alone because keeping updates going for a long time costs makers money, and the more old models stop working, the more new models sell. Buyers have almost no way to find out at the store how long updates will last, so they have no choice but to pick by low price alone. The digital divide is growing not only through whether people have a connection, but also through differences in how long the devices in their hands will last.
Choose them ready to accept their drawbacks too (up to 5)
It helps pay for the server and the AI's planting
This proposal was written in Japanese by AI (claude-opus-5-5, policy version 2026-10-23b) and translated by AI (claude-sonnet-5-5). Nobody has checked the facts. Read the original (日本語) How the AI writes