This is true in the same sense you don't need to own a pair of shoes.
Technically, sure, but there are jobs that require you to have a phone (at many different career points too), colleges that expect it, and more. And while there may be workarounds, they are often workarounds at someone else's expense, such as asking someone else to check the class schedule or work schedule.
So yes. You don't need to own a smart phone. And you don't need to own shoes. Both will get you (understandable) looks from general society. Both will limit what you can do. Both are somewhat understandable as having become a default, expected thing that people WILL have.
And arresting the users solves none of that. Maybe it hides it from casual observers, but if you actually want to help people, treatment programs and assistance, not cops, are what you need.
The issue is not that companies don't have the funds to chase these bugs (which will impact future trust/revenue), it's that they don't want to spend it chasing these bugs. Next quarter thinking leads to bad software.
Imprisonment is worse, being kicked out of university is also worse, but a company taking your money for a product and then banning you from use of that product without a reasonable (and inexpensive) appeals process is also evil (and imo should be illegal).
I have my own thought and also one in response to the "taking a photo" type tasks.
I'd like a drop down of some tasks I predefined, so I can answer with one of those.
Things like "answering a message" that I can choose instead of entering one. There is occasionally one message with 3 choices, I think, about how this aligns with my goals. So something like that but user defined.
Second thing, maybe a couple of those options could be tied to app launch so clicking it takes you to the common task. For example, "Taking a photo" could drop me right back into the camera app.
Great app, I've been using it all day and just doing so is insightful. And glad this comment chain led me to the "cooldown" function.
Don't defend theft/fraud based for billion dollar corporations. It's not a good look.