Consumers are keeping their devices for longer than ever, putting a lot of pressure on smartphone manufacturers that were used to selling a user a new phone every two years. As a result, some countries want to legislate that manufacturers make sure older phones keep getting updated security software to protect these consumers. Germany wants to take this concept to the extreme, though, proposing new legislation that would force smartphone manufacturers to update their devices with security updates for seven years.
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German federal government is reportedly pushing the European Union to pass the legislation for the region, which would not only require seven years of security updates, but also require the manufacturers to make sure certain spare parts for the device is available for the same amount of time. There is a similar legislative proposal on the floor of the European Commission at the moment, but it stipulates a period of ‘only’ five years.
Unsurprisingly, manufacturers are pushing back against these proposals. The industry advocacy group called DigitalEurope, which includes the likes of Apple, Samsung and Google, is lobbying to have it amended to only three years. It also wants to limit the spare parts that need to be provided to batteries and screens and discard the proposed availability of speakers and cameras.
As we’ve discussed before, Android manufacturers already have trouble delivering more than two years of software updates. Apple has a better track record, but seven years is still a big stretch for their devices. While we understand why the legislation has been proposed, technology moves quickly and to expect seven-year-old hardware to still work optimally with the latest software seems a step too far.
Mobile security is a massive problem around the world, but to pass all the responsibility onto smartphone manufacturers seems short-sighted. Education systems need to be changed to take into account the massive shifts we’ve seen in society because of technology, so that everyone can take their security needs into their own hands.
