Legal Action Possibilities:
- Product not as advertised, because it failed to disclose the need for a smart phone model supported by their app, and WiFi, and an internet connection, and etc.
- Product is not ADA(?) compliant, because all that extra complexity makes using it too difficult for some disabled people.
- Product is in violation of data security regulations of some US States, or countries, or the EU, because ...
And in theory, any Cory Doctorow fan with the spare time could set up a web site to name & shame all the consumer products which had these "involuntary cloud" features, helping people avoid them.
I think that's somewhat the intent of this wiki (though it's more focused on making things repairable, less on the IoT shenanigans): https://repair.wiki/w/Main_Page#gsc.tab=0
I've been looking for a resource like that for a long time!
-edit- It's currently preeeeeeeetty sparse. Hopefully it (or something like it) catches on in the future.
Appliance manufacturers are not required to manufacture ADA compliant appliances.
Employers, state and local governments, businesses open to the public, commercial facilities, transportation providers, etc, are required to procure ADA compliant appliances where applicable.
Let's not forget compeled agreement to a contract. (You have to agree to the terms of their service in order to access a feature you paid for. Often times that coerces you to give up rights to the data that is produced on your resources [power and network])
You don’t need to use the app to operate the dishwasher. It works absolutely fine as a dumb dishwasher.
Competing brands offer the blocked features without any need for this sort of connectivity, so I'd say ''It works absolutely fine as a dumb dishwasher'' would not be a strong marketing slogan for Bosch.
Every other dishwasher in the price range offers the same features hidden behind the app out of the box.
This one would be fine as a 'dumb' dishwasher, but I wouldn't have paid $900 for a $400 dishwasher if I'd known all the nicer features (like Eco mode or self-cleaning) require an app.