Right now, the FCC is considering a proposal to require manufacturers to lock down computing devices (routers, PCs, phones) to prevent modification if they have a “modular wireless radio”[1][2] or a device with an “electronic label.”

That would mean no Linux, very restricted OSes and no escaping the panopticon.

General purpose computing is doomed because it is too dangerous (to existing power structures) and too difficult for most people to handle, but it might be gone sooner than we thought.