Comment & Analysis
It’s not uncommon for technology development and the law to intersect. Indeed it can be seen as a positive sign that a technology is maturing at a good pace if it needs regulating. A good example is driverless cars. Automotive engineers are making sufficient progress with automated driving-assistance systems that politicians and insurers everywhere are devising laws to support their widespread use.
The application of the law is not so straightforward with 3D printing, specifically the 3D printing of guns. Ever since the first gun was 3D printed in 2013, police, lawmakers and tabloid newspapers alike have feared the advent of plastic armaments, downloaded from the internet and deployed by geeky students or terrorists.
The fear is not entirely unfounded. As 3D printers simultaneously improve, become cheaper and more accessible outside industry, different places around the world are scrambling to deal with the increased perceived threat.
New South Wales, Australia, is the place that has most recently passed laws on 3D printed guns and has created the harshest so far. The legislation means that someone caught just possessing the digital blueprints for a 3D printed gun faces up to 14 years in prison – the same maximum sentence as for being found with an actual illegal firearm.
It is already illegal to have a 3D printed gun in Australia, and in most of the rest of the world. Politicians in California last year passed a law that requires 3D printed guns to be registered and to have metal parts so they can be spotted by metal detectors. In Europe, the possession of a 3D printed firearm is already classed as illegal and the European law enforcement agency is investigating ways to control their trafficking online. While in Japan last year, for the first time in the world, a person was arrested for possessing a 3D printed gun. Twenty-eight-year-old Yoshitomo Imura was sentenced to two years in prison for printing five guns and telling others how to print a six-shot revolver called the ZigZag.
None of these measures is as harsh as the Australian approach. But last month saw a mechanical engineering student from the US release the design for the world’s first 3D-printed self-loading revolver. James Patrick’s PM522 Washbear can fire up to eight bullets between reloads and is printed in either ABS plastic or nylon using machines available to consumers.
This illustrates the difficulty of regulating the area. Legislation cannot stop the development of this undesirable aspect of 3D printing because it cannot stop the sharing of information and ideas online. The innovation in 3D printing has become rapid, even the unwanted innovation. Laws designed to suppress innovation are a peculiar measure and perhaps futile.