Why Patients Should Hack Med Tech: Clinical Safety & Right to Repair
Cory Doctorow, Dr. Christian Dameff, and Dr. Jeff Tully argue why patients and researchers must have the legal right to inspect and modify medical devices.
Summary
The Monopolistic Lockdown of Medical Devices
Medical device manufacturers increasingly use digital rights management (DRM) and Section 1201 of the DMCA to lock down insulin pumps, pacemakers, and hospital ventilators.
The Flawed Argument of Proprietary Safety
Cory Doctorow, Dr. Christian Dameff, and Dr. Jeff Tully dismantle the claim that proprietary obscurity protects patient health, showing how unpatched bugs endanger lives.
Real-World Clinical Risks of Unauditable Systems
The physician-hackers present clinical case studies where vendor lock-in prevented rapid hospital maintenance and delayed critical medical updates.
Advocating for Medical Right-to-Repair and Research Exemption
The panel calls for comprehensive copyright reform and permanent DMCA exemptions for medical device security auditing and patient-driven modifications.
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