I don't even know where to start.
Insert self into problem with no consequences? I can damn near guarantee if I knew the kid I would be knocking on his door to fix this issue. Everyone railing on the kid worked and the problem is being resolved now. That doesn't happen unless people call the older brother out.
Second of all, saying that it's okay because the younger brother doesn't understand is wrong. the younger brother has a level of trust in his sibling in that he is making good decisions and has his best interests in heart. Stealing is wrong regardless of relation and is certainly not how I would treat my sibling. In no way do the explanations the older brother gives justify his means.
If I'm his parents I have him apologize to his brother and give him the hardware. No further action needed.
Dude, come on. What the heck are you talking about on a message board about knocking on someone's door like Big Bertha and solving other people's problems. You'd be regarded as a crazy person. The parents would call the cops on you and the article would come out and be reposted here and people would mock you for it.
They're brothers, they share things. He probably takes care of his little brother. They share the same blood. He's out there everyday dealing with people who look at his sibling and think he's a weird kid. Do you think it pleases him?
Whoop dee doo he put those components in his station which the little one could also use. The parents don't know? You think they think in terms of having only one kid? They don't know what's going on?
Remove the autistic kid out of the equation. Take all those messages, simply from this thread, not even Reddit, targeting the older brother, saying how much of a dick or an asshole he is, package it together, send it to their parents, see how great that feels. See how good those people would feel about their son being lambasted over such a little thing. Do you think they'd understand? Who is the real asshole in that context?
In your world, dude is a straight up movie villain. He's just there to make his younger brother's life miserable. He's the bad guy. Same bad guy who says he can come in anytime and play. People just want a scapegoat, they need that bad guy. Pitchfork culture.
I hope it doesn't happen to anyone in the future because it would feel like shit.