Comment by jcgl

> Should everyone be required to use private banks to access e.g. foreign exchange?

Maybe so, I don't know. Though it is worth remarking that "private" banks in the US really are only semi-private. The (admittedly imperfect) regulations that banks are subject to starts to blur the lines between public and private. Not to mention that there are far more banks than smartphone handset-and-OS makers.

> No modern society is going to maintain a parallel government economy to serve the vanishingly small minority who live in fear of private companies.

This is not the only option (though it would potentially be an option for some sufficiently-powerful societies). Other options could include:

1. Multilateral coalitions to do some combination of specify/design/build smartphones and/or their OS

2. Specify a set of user rights and regulate smartphone handset and OS manufacturers accordingly

As a sibling commenter said, this isn't about living in fear of private companies as such. It's about not wanting to be coerced into a system of products that don't preserve liberal rights.