Every country should enact a law, in which all products sold must be able to perform their standard functions without any connection back to the manufacturer.

For example, smartphones would qualify. While OS updates are preferable, the phone will keep operating without them, or offline.

Actually, maybe it should be the Law of Offline. The product must specify which functionality will be lost if the product is offline. That could be anywhere from an EV not finding the nearest charging station to a tractor being bricked.

Regardless, we need to protect ourselves from the very real threat of being held hostage. Specifically, I can imagine that all Chinese EVs could be rendered useless by the flip of a switch.