WA State to require DRM blocking, eliminates open-source. makes owners guilty until proven innocent
Contact your WA representatives if concerned. The system only works if citizens participate.
HB-2320: Presumed guilt just for possessing an stl file
This bill makes a citizen presumed guilty until proven innocent for simply having a digital file. Specifically, “Possession of digital firearm manufacturing code for an unfinished frame or receiver creates a rebuttable presumption of an intent to unlawfully distribute the code or manufacture an unfinished frame or receiver in violation of this subsection” (ref sec. 6, p30, lines 13-16).
A rebuttal presumption means you are guilty until proven innocent.
According to HB-2320, the data file does not even need to be usable for the State to prove presumptive guilt. (sec. 2, p7, lines 4-9)
HB-2320: https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/2320.pdf?q=20260202081558
HB-2021: Don’t be fooled. The bill requires blocking software on your machine monitored by the WA attorney general or whomever they designate
https://legiscan.com/WA/text/HB2321/2025
HB-2321 affects both users and manufacturers. It REQUIRES printer activities be monitored by the WA attorney general or designees with software that cannot be modified (eliminates open source). It also defines a 3D printer to include subtractive manufacturing machines, such as CNC machines, lathes, and laser cutters/engravers, meaning the law affects a wide range of fabrication tools (section 1.7, lines 13-17).
YouTube video about HB-2020:
This affects out-of-state and out-of-country makers and manufacturers as well.
YouTube video about HB-2021:
WA residents
To express opinion to your WA State legislator, click the “Send comment to your legislators” button and be sure to click the appropriate oppose/in favor button.
https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?Year=2025&BillNumber=2320
Ditto for HB 2321
https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=2321&Year=2025
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RE: WA State to require DRM blocking, eliminates open-source. makes owners guilty until proven innocent
Sounds like a good solution is to stop selling to Washington State... They can do without.
RE:
It's not exactly a new concept. Photocopiers have been prevented from copying banknotes for decades.
But it was easier to implement there, since the same players who have an interest to protect the banknotes are also controlling their design -- so they can incorporate clearly recognizable features which photocopiers can detect.
In contrast, "recognizing printable guns" reliably seems very hard, since the designers of those items will have a keen interest to make them unrecognizable for the algorithms. Having read how some random dot patterns can still derail current AI solutions which try to read license plates or detect traffic signs, I fully expect each "gun detection algorithm" to be bypassed a week after its release.
I would be happy to live in a world without printable guns. Unfortunately I don't see how we would get there. Blocking algorithms as suggested in WA are probably not going to work.
RE: WA State to require DRM blocking, eliminates open-source. makes owners guilty until proven innocent
I wish it were that isolated or easy. The problem is far more insidious because it concerns stl files and is not isolated to hardware. See https://www.youtube.com/@LoyalMoses on YouTube. New York has similar legislation.
HB-2320 and HB-2321 work in concert. For example:
- If someone outside of Washington State sends a file/attachment to a WA resident that gets flagged, then the sender - outside of WA state - can be prosecuted. It does not matter if they use their own printer or a service that has to use the DRM.
- You work on a proprietary design with friends for a product. Washington State REQUIRES a 3rd party evaluate the shape file and approve it prior to printing. There is no restriction on who that 3rd party is or what country they are in so (A) a data breach leaks your design (so sorry) or, (B) the AI/LLM that approves your shape needs to be trained that it is okay. This latter case which means the AI/LLM can be used elsewhere to generate a derivative work. Such AI derivative works are already a huge problem in the publishing and entertainment industry.
The only solution is to contact the lawmakers and prevent such laws. The system can only work when citizens participate. This means making your friends in the affected states know about the problem (currently WA and NY).
Hopefully, companies such as Prusa can get involved because once adopted, such legislation will spread.
Consider the implications for 3d printer companies and families: A child downloads and prints a cosplay prop or part for their airsoft gun using their own printer or a service - then the police show up at the family home. Perhaps nothing happens or the child gets a warning, but the intimidation is real.
RE: WA State to require DRM blocking, eliminates open-source. makes owners guilty until proven innocent
The shooter in Japan showed you just need a hardware store. See wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improvised_firearm.
RE: WA State to require DRM blocking, eliminates open-source. makes owners guilty until proven innocent
I wish it were that isolated or easy. The problem is far more insidious because it concerns stl files and is not isolated to hardware.
[...]
Consider the implications for 3d printer companies and families: A child downloads and prints a cosplay prop or part for their airsoft gun using their own printer or a service - then the police show up at the family home. Perhaps nothing happens or the child gets a warning, but the intimidation is real.
But again, the actual problem is the inability to reliably identify the outlawed files, I think.
Sharing or having certain types of files is illegal in many legislations -- child pornography for example. That's a good thing. Personally I would not mind if design files for printable guns were in the same category. But as you say, false positives (harmless files misidentified as "guns") are bound to be at least as common as false negatives (gun designs cleverly disguised to bypass automated detection).