Comment by mrguyorama

Government "micromanaging" technology is why you can actually plug things into the phone network. Things like modems. For the internet. Before the government slapped AT&T, you leased the phone and it was wired into the wall and they could take you to court for connecting anything "unauthorized" into the wall.

It's also why PC compatibles ever happened at all.

It's also why Apple phones finally have a standard port. Which you admit.

Interoperability is not natural, and IP laws make it trivial for companies to utterly block as we are dealing with today. Interoperability often requires regulation to force companies to allow people to interact with "their" standards.

The government can manage interfaces in a way that enables standardization and interoperability without limiting capabilities.