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California’s New Bill Requires DOJ-Approved 3D Printers That Report on Themselves
(blog.adafruit.com)
this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2026
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Technology
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Sorry, I’m just a guy from overseas trying to understand why, in a country where 1 out of 4 people possess weapons, the 3D printer is the problem. I mean, there are companies selling industrial-grade firearms—why the heck is the 3D printer the target?
It's not about firearms.
It's about controlling what you can 3D print.
When your 3D printer has to connect to a third party service to check if it's allowed to print what you just sent it. That's a clear vector for companies to enforce IPs.
Printing a replacement part for your appliance? Sorry, they're blocked.
Printing parts to repair part of your vehicle or snap something back on? Sorry, that's banned.
Printing something that resembles the intellectual property of any other company? Sorry, that's banned.
Can't have you cutting into the profits of corporations by self-servicing and self-repairing.
Also a mass surveillance device to produce surveillance of what people are 3D printing and report it to a central authority.
Ok however its hard for me to believe that such measures could render effective. Regulating the tech literate people in such a way will always fail. The only effect it could have is that when its illegal to posses a unregistered/hacked you are an easier target for "law enforcement actions"
Because money. Firearms are everywhere in the US because of gun lobbyists. If citizens print their own guns then money is lost.
Because it doesn't make money for Big War
Because between them, the legislators don't have two brain-cells to rub together and figure out why this is an un-enforceable bunch of bullshit.
Because it makes firearms available to people without having to jump through hoops the government can track, but they can make a machine that makes flexi-dragons into a boogyman, so they throw a "protect the children" in the bill and it automatically passes.
Because it makes for a good distraction from actual problems that they don't care to solve because those problems would require them to heavily tax millionaires and billionaires.
Because our government is run by old dumbasses.