this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2023
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The organization that represents Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's works has petitioned the U.S. government to restrict the right to repair a religious artifact called an E-Meter. This device is core to Scientology practices but the group argues exemptions allowing device hacking should not apply to equipment restricted to trained users. Experts believe the E-Meter is the targeted device, which the Church says requires specific Scientologist operation. Documentation shows the E-Meter updater software mandates registration, including a membership number, suggesting repair restrictions. The language used in the petition matches stipulations Scientology requires for E-Meter use and purchase agreements. In short, the Church appears to be attempting to prevent independent E-Meter repair or experimentation through copyright exemption restrictions.

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[–] prd@beehaw.org 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Has no one ever taken one surreptitiously and dismantled it? Like ever?

[–] beejjorgensen@lemmy.sdf.org 10 points 1 year ago

They're patented (or were, at least) how they generally work is public knowledge. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-meter#Functional_description

This seems to be more a matter of the device refusing to update without credentials that are generally unobtainable.