Defense Distributed files are being removed from public access at the request of the U.S. Department of Defense Trade Controls. Until further notice, the United States government claims control of the information.I'm not sure how they think it will work.
That and it's already been downloaded 100,000 times. As we all know, it's real easy to put the genie back in the bottle once something hits the internet.
It scares 'em....
ReplyDeleteYou're right, it obviously had some kind of visceral affect on them.
DeleteThey'll do this under ITAR restrictions... My guess...
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, NFO, but I also think they are reaching here. If he didn't send the file to someone else, it was not technically exported. I don't know if the law is up to date enough to apply to someone from another country downloading the plans. It's also been the case that some countries with crazy strict gun laws don't have laws against possession of plans to make them. That and the fact that CNC plans are rampant on the net. How is that different other than the publicity? I'm curious how the judicial branch will see this.
Delete:shakes head: They just don't get it, do they? Once its online, its everywhere! Prohibition didn't teach them anything....making drugs illegal didn't teach them anything...making the downloading of music illegal didn't teach them anything. Telling people what they can't do is the FASTEST way to ensure that a large portion of the population goes out and does exactly that. Want to put a cap on this thing? Make the plans publicly available from some .gov website. Working plans, not something that's "tweaked" to make it no better than a cheap paintball or BB gun. Make it legit. Sure, someone will download it. But do they have any idea how expensive a 3D printer is these days? 10 years from now, everyone may have one in their garage, but for right now, I don't think they're very wide-spread. So a couple of kids will download the plans, but there's no thrill in it since its free (stealing that penny from the penny-cup at the checkout stand at the local gas station does not make one a gangster, after all), and its useless since the cost of printing is pretty high. You can buy a decent handgun, extra mag, and box of ammo for what one of these printable guns costs today. Again, 10 years from now, things might be different. But 10 years from now, those plans will be dusty files sitting on some forgotten server as the general public moves on to the next shiny "forbidden fruit". :sigh: The .gov never learns.
ReplyDeleteYou're right on the money, Rabid. The tech is out there and it's only a matter of time before the price point comes down. I'm also sure this isn't the only person working on these designs. Acting like it's not really a big deal would have been the smartest course the gov could take, but smart isn't their forte.
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