The old Soviet Union strictly controlled photocopiers, because they empowered individuals to share ideas that challenged state control. The restrictions ultimately broke down under the weight of mass defiance as people took advantage of every opportunity to distribute that which was forbidden by the government. Now, politicians in several states are channeling totalitarian policies of the past, this time with their eyes on 3D printers that can manufacture gun parts. Their intrusive rules are likely to suffer the same humiliating fate.
