2019-12-29T10:56:20+01:00
Dec 29, 2019
·
1 min read
A new article by Input Magazine gives a good example of green washing and why we need the right to repair our own devices. The article is about a “recycling mode” for Sonos devices that effectively bricks a device, and makes it impossible for it to enter the second-hand market. Read the short article here.
Sonos implements a setting called “recycling mode” that bricks consumer’s devices after 21 days, essentially keeping them from being reused or resold on the secondary market. (…) Sonos’ “Trade Up” program is meant to offer its customers an incentive to upgrade, which, naturally, benefits Sonos the most — by reeling customers with older devices back into a new product lifecycle.
Authors
Wouter Van Rossem is a researcher on the intersection between social science and computer science. He previously worked on the European Research Council (ERC) funded project, Processing Citizenship, where he investigated how data infrastructures for population processing co-produce citizens, Europe, and territory. He completed his PhD at the University of Twente in the Netherlands and is still working on publications stemming from these impactful projects. In addition to his academic pursuits as a PhD at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, he brings a diverse background as a software engineer, having worked in various companies and at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Italy. His diverse background, spanning both theoretical and hands-on knowledge, reflects his keen interest in exploring the intricate interconnections between technology and society.