• Lord Wiggle@lemmy.world
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    27 days ago

    BMW provides the service of being able to buy and use their product. The service of a gun manufacturer is providing you with a murder weapon (yes, it also can be used for sports). The service of a grocery store is providing you with a place to buy your groceries (and in the US also guns). Why is it different? Whether the product is a connection to the internet or a car, both companies provide a service for money.

    • kevin@programming.dev
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      26 days ago

      As far as the car itself, BMW provides you with a product. This differs from a service where the provider can set in place rules that you need to abide by. If I want to chop the top off my new BMW and install ugly spoiler, there’s nothing that BMW can do about that.

      • Lord Wiggle@lemmy.world
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        26 days ago

        Nothing BMW can do about that, no. But they are also not held liable in case your car breaks in two because you have been cutting through the construction beams ensuring the regidity. Yet it is illegal to do so. But you did anyway, against the advice of BMW. Who is to blame?

        There are rules you need to give your car a checkup every year. This is also advices by BMW. Otherwise you risk engine damage or something else. If you don’t, the car company isn’t liable. You are. BMW tells you not to put diesel in your benzine car, but if you do, BMW isn’t liable. There are rules on how to use your car, provided by the car company. BMW even provides you with a lot of safety precautions in case you crash your car, so you will have a better chance of survival, but they do not promote crashing. Yet when you do, you are liable. Not BMW. Also, when you do not pay their subscription service, you won’t get heated car seats etc. in their new cars. Yeah, BMW is switching to subscription plans to activate certain features already installed on your car. How is BMW not providing a “service”? When you do not repair and service your car at BMW you won’t be able to get their road service plan. They advice you to do everything at a BMW dealership, but if you don’t, BMW isn’t liable.

        When I have a shop and I have have rules for customers, like no smoking inside and no stealing, yet if someone breaks those rules, am I liable for allowing people in my store?

        When an ISP is held liable for people using it for illegal business, ISP’s just aren’t able to exist anymore. They can’t tell if someone downloads illegally when they use a VPN of when they sell drugs on silk road using Tor. Also, a VPN provider who doesn’t log isn’t able to tell either. Why not shut down the internet entirely because some people use it for bad?

        Energy providers aren’t held accountable for whenever someone uses its power for their illegal weed plantation right? When I leave open the water tap so there will be a flood and my downstairs neighbors get water damage, is the water company liable? They provided me with a service, they connected me to the water network. So they are responsible for how I use their service?

        Americans always search for a scapegoat to blame for things. School shootings? Must be too many doors in schools. Can’t be guns though, “I like guns”. Bad economy? Must be China, can’t be your own choices of course.

        The movie Idiocracy was meant to be a comedy, not a tutorial.