Post #2092569

2026-05-03 19:11 UTC

Apparently I’m bitchy about tech today, so sorry to the people just here for squeaks… But I just saw a “news” video saying you’re not going to be allowed to own a WiFi router, you’ll be required to rent it from your ISP… and as far as I can tell, their source is “vibes”. Vibes are not a source. 😡 There are stupid and corrupt things happening in the router space that I’ve posted about before and that is certainly grounds to view things with suspicion, but one bad thing being true does not turn every speculation about more bad things into confirmed fact. Making shit up and presenting it as fact because “it’s probably something they’d want to enact” is still disinformation, and it pulls attention away from and casts doubt on real reporting.

Replies (2)

@foxyloon@blimps.xyz 2026-05-03 19:22

@lusrangifer@blimps.xyz Sounds like they ran off with the AI generated description of the Gamer's Nexus video on this situation. It's way more nuanced than "you're not going to be allowed to own a WiFi router and you'll be required to rent it from your ISP". While Steve did touch on those points in the video, it was deliberately worded to be "this very likely might happen" and not "this is definitely happening". The way the current law is worded, it's so fucking vague and misses the core of the issue entirely, which is apparently "national security" of "consumer routers". There's no contingency for the "foreign made" routers already in circulation, or finding the means of incentivizing US production of routers instead. All they're doing is allowing retailers to sell off their remaining stock and giving a cutoff date in 2027 for such devices to receive security updates. Much like many of the laws this congress has pushed out, they're downright stupid.

Open ##2204262
@JulieSqveakaroo@dragon.style 2026-05-03 19:34

@lusrangifer@blimps.xyz Whatever grabs the attention to get more views... ... I swear, I did not expect MaxHeadroom to come so soon. I really thought that "20-minutes into the future" was a touch paranoid... and yet...

Open ##2204268