Solarpunk

It should be a commitment to complete register level public documentation.

That is the benchmark of true ownership.

Android is a Linux kernel google prepares so that the kernel modules (drivers) for the device hardware can be added at the last possible moment. These kernel modules are added as binaries directly on the device. This is called an orphaned kernel. The source code for these binary modules is not publicly available, and the devices hardware is not publicly documented. This is how they steal ownership of the device.

The alternative is either to merge the original source code into the kernel, which the community can then maintain for decades, or simply make the documentation public and we will write our own kernel modules to support the device.

There is no reason to obfuscate this information except for theft of ownership. There is no security in obscurity, and hiding this information makes the hardware far less safe for the end user.

No one can ever update the Linux kernel for security or their own use case. Without the ability to recompile the kernel modules for the hardware, it is impossible to completely own the device. You can never trust the hardware, because those binaries are not verified.

The modem on the device is the same. There is no documentation. Between the processor and modem, there is no way to determine what or who is connected to your device at any time. Every interface on the device is untrusted.

Fixing all of this is simple; require full register level and API documentation of all digital devices. Anything less than this simple standard is ultimately giving up democracy for neo feudalism and authoritarianism. You have a right to own your tools as a citizen; a right to autonomy. A serf does not have a right of ownership or full autonomy. Citizens are a fundamental requirement for democracy, as serfs are to feudalism. Not caring about this fundamental issue is ultimately selling your autonomy. It is a regression of a thousand years of human sociopolitical progress.