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California’s New Bill Requires DOJ-Approved 3D Printers That Report on Themselves

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Submitted ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Templa@beehaw.org⁩ to ⁨technology@beehaw.org⁩

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/02/19/californias-new-bill-requires-doj-approved-3d-printers-that-report-on-themselves/

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  • hazelnoot@beehaw.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Ethics and rights aside, this isn’t even possible to comply with. The law applies to additive and subtractive manufacturing hardware, and expects it to automatically detect and refuse any attempts to manufacture a firearm. But that depends on an underlying assumption that a machine can answer the question “will this command (set) result in the construction of a gun?” And that assumption is false.

    Even if you somehow designed an algorithm that could read a G-code program and determine whether it produces something shaped like a gun, it still wouldn’t be enough - because the CNC machine is just one step of a manufacturing process. The human operator controls what materials and commands go into the machine, so they also have full control over all inputs that the “oversight” program is allowed to see.

    Some simple ways to bypass this (hypothetical and perfect implementation):

    • Print the gun in two pieces, then combine them manually.
    • Print something that contains a gun, then cut out all the non-gun material.
    • Use multiple separate machines for different parts of the gun.
    • Design something that looks nothing like any existing gun, but is still capable of firing a bullet.
    • Print most of a gun, the build the rest by hand.
    • Build part of a gun, then print the rest onto the hand-made parts.
    • Print part of a gun, then run a separate program to print the rest onto the previous result.
    • A thousand variants of the above.

    So even if this was something we wanted to enforce, it’s just not possible. For the same reason why Minecraft abandoned their plans for an SMP “penis detector”, this law could never be complied with because it’s impossible to build a machine that actually meets the requirements.

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  • BCsven@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Net York trying to get subtractive manufacturing CNC mills to obey this is going to be a trick.

    The controller just runs Gcode for positioning and speeds. They’d need to preprocess the gcode through an AI database to check if the path builds a gun part shape then allow machining or block it.

    Inevitably somebody will just replace the controller with a home grown system.

    And a CNC mill can still run manual cuts a single passes that may not appear to look like a part, when done separately

    This is old clueless men trying to make laws about technology they don’t understand.

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  • Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Such freedom. Such bravery.

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  • SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Reminds me of my friend and I discussing this open source printer that you build and maintain yourself.

    “I wonder how the NSA will install the unique invisible tracking dots into the firmware?”

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  • Wahots@pawb.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    I just don’t really know how it’s really going to work. Couldn’t you just design your own parts with one weird bit of geometry and the computer wouldn’t recognize it?

    Like, I get you don’t want ghost guns, but it seems like the bigger prize is going after illegal and currently legal guns that are actually used in mass shootings. 3D printed stuff seems like small potatoes compared to the daily casualty rates.

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  • altphoto@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Blah blah blah. It’s a stupid move because actual hardware is dumb. You apply a voltage and it moves. It will take 5 minutes to circumvent anything like that. Its probably already done. Meanwhile they get to see all your swivel joint dragons and every company’s IP. No Company would want to ever use a 3D printer because its a lame IPn stealing funnel. Its a total security flaw. Meanwhile actual criminals will just circumvent all this.

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    • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Remember that mass shooting the perpetrator used a printed gun? Yeah me neither.

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      • altphoto@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

        Upholsterers have added leather handles. They, along with roofers have staple, nail and screw-guns themselves… Unlicensed! WTF LOL…

        Image

        Imagine being happy with that?

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