Freedom
Freedom of the software implies so many things. Maybe the will of enrolling freedom of the software is offering a fairer future for the next generations, allow the tech to spread further, or just because it just feels like the right thing to do. But, where are we using this freedom?
Privacy
Internet is made out of information: users’ digital footprint, communication, posts and more. Are we facing information sovereignty or a products based structure¹? Think about all the personal information that is sold and collected on social networks and other services. Freedom of the software implies believing in equality and transparency, does it engage with data trading? The reality of digital surveillance is well known but widely ignored, as it’s uncomfortable and difficult to handle. Does it make sense that many companies based on data trading are the standard-bearer of freedom of the software? Is Freedom of the Software another way of showing off in these cases? I actually wrote a bit about that here already, and thought about all your answers. There’s this interesting speech called “Linux sucks. Forever” I know the name is a trigger but trust me on this one, it’s a very good speech, which made me think of this (even tho it’s not exactly about this but about the path Linux is taking right now) and for some months I’ve been trying to better understand freedom of the software communities and motivation. Is that “rightness” feeling enough to keep Freedom of the software standing still, or evolving in society?
Not so long ago I was invited to a KDE event and asked about my job and related, and then an interesting question emerged “why is freedom of the software necessary for privacy?” My main point at that time was transparency (and, due to my job tendencies, security), but I kept thinking about it, and that concept evolved into trust. Our current digital context could be easily described as “unfair”. Data trading based companies know a lot about us, but we don’t really have their transparency back², which causes an uncomfortable distrust, accepted though. In this context, privacy is a claim for equality. But then, is privacy needed if trust existed in this relationship between services and users? When we ask for privacy we ask for a basic right, therefore a basic claim in a fair society, something that should be there and ideally should be granted.
To sum up
In conclusion, digital privacy is a right and freedom of the software a needed property of it, which makes freedom of the software more of a philanthropist cause, more than the rightness, but a praxis for a fair internet.
I encourage you guys to give your opinions on these thoughts and to discuss if we should be thinking about reasons why freedom of the software is in fact needed and not just optional.
Top comments (4)
Thanks for this. I've been thinking in terms of IOT and our current privacy and licensing structures and i'm not sure if either is adequate enough for what i believe to be the next great wonder of the world. Freedom, right now is measured by backers, fans, and supporter groups and its a big reason for corporations that have considerable power to influence. technology and law are usually biased towards the nuances of the creator however technology and law are global ideas.
Uh, IoT it's an interesting point to take care about. I'm not aware of how is the state of the art in terms of licencing that technology, I'd love if you could extend that. And yes, I agree with the influence-seeking in relevant communities.
Great write-up, I also read your linked article on FOSS and I have similar views with you. I, too, feel very strongly about privacy. It can be frustrating how open source communities are seemingly fine with big corporations being part of open source, especially some corporations that are notorious about how they violate users' privacy and how they collect, manipulate and trade our personal data.
I think freedom of software and open source software is becoming the norm now, compared to 10-15 years ago, and it has long stopped to be a safeguard for better transparency and privacy. I think privacy is a matter on its own, cause it is not anymore guaranteed by open source codebases and FOSS and because many open source contributors are part of the same companies that collect and trade our data. Privacy is a basic human right, but we are okay with our privacy being compromised because the average technology user is not aware of how much data is being collected about them, without informed consent, and how much it is worth and sold.
That's an interesting point, the choice. We strongly depend on those services when there are tons of alternatives, but most of them need other users to make sense (for example social networks)... What would you think about government law getting in between companies and users for fairer data use? (such as GDPR in Europe but... better implemented, honestly). Also, about the point of not trusting corporations, I agree. There isn't an easy path to take in this case, in our current system, though.