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<title>Free Software Is Even More Important Now |
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- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> |
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<div class="article reduced-width"> |
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<h2>Free Software Is Even More Important Now</h2> |
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|
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<address class="byline">by <a href="https://www.stallman.org/">Richard |
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Stallman</a></address> |
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|
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<p>Since 1983, the Free Software Movement has campaigned for computer |
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users' freedom—for users to control the software they |
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use, rather than vice versa. When a program respects users' freedom |
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and community, we call it “free software.”</p> |
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|
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<p>We also sometimes call it “libre software” to emphasize |
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that we're talking about liberty, not price. Some proprietary |
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(nonfree) programs, such as Photoshop, are very expensive; others, |
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such as the Uber app, are available gratis—but that's a minor |
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detail. Either way, they give the program's developer power |
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over the users, power that no one should have.</p> |
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|
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<div class="announcement comment" role="complementary"> |
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<hr class="no-display" /> |
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<p><em>Watch a <a |
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href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/20140407-geneva-tedx-talk-free-software-free-society/"> |
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14-min video presentation</a> of these ideas.</em></p> |
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<hr class="no-display" /> |
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</div> |
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|
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<p>Those two nonfree programs have something else in common: they are |
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both <em>malware</em>. That is, both have functionalities designed to |
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mistreat the user. Proprietary software nowadays is often malware |
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because <a href="/malware">the developers' power |
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corrupts them</a>. That directory lists around 600 different |
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malicious functionalities (as of April 2023), but it is surely just |
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the tip of the iceberg.</p> |
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|
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<p>With free software, the users control the program, both individually |
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and collectively. So they control what their computers do (assuming |
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those computers are <a href="/philosophy/loyal-computers.html">loyal</a> |
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and do what the users' programs tell them to do).</p> |
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|
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<p>With proprietary software, the program controls the users, and some |
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other entity (the developer or “owner”) controls the |
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program. So the proprietary program gives its developer power over |
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its users. That is unjust in itself; moreover, it tempts the developer |
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to mistreat the users in other ways.</p> |
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|
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<p>Even when proprietary software isn't downright malicious, its |
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developers have an incentive to make it |
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<a href="https://observer.com/2016/06/how-technology-hijacks-peoples-minds%E2%80%8A-%E2%80%8Afrom-a-magician-and-googles-design-ethicist/"> |
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addictive, |
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controlling and manipulative</a>. You can say, as does the author of |
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that article, that the developers have an ethical obligation not to do |
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that, but generally they follow their interests. If you want this not |
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to happen, make sure the program is controlled by its users.</p> |
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|
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<p>Freedom means having control over your own life. If you use a |
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program to carry out activities in your life, your freedom depends on |
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your having control over the program. You deserve to have control |
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over the programs you use, and all the more so when you use them for |
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something important in your life.</p> |
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|
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<p>Users' control over the program requires four |
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<a href="/philosophy/free-sw.html">essential freedoms</a>. |
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</p> |
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|
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<div class="important"> |
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<p>(0) The freedom to run the program as you wish, for whatever |
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purpose.</p> |
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|
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<p>(1) The freedom to study the program's “source code,” |
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and change it, so the program does your computing as you wish. |
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Programs are written by programmers in a programming |
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language—like English combined with algebra—and that form |
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of the program is the “source code.” Anyone who knows |
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programming, and has the program in source code form, can read the |
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source code, understand its functioning, and change it too. When all |
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you get is the executable form, a series of numbers that are efficient |
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for the computer to run but extremely hard for a human being to |
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understand, understanding and changing the program in that form are |
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forbiddingly hard.</p> |
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|
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<p>(2) The freedom to make and distribute exact copies when you wish. |
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(It is not an obligation; doing this is your choice. If the program |
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is free, that doesn't mean someone has an obligation to offer you a |
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copy, or that you have an obligation to offer him a copy. |
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Distributing a program to users without freedom mistreats them; |
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however, choosing not to distribute the program—using it |
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privately—does not mistreat anyone.)</p> |
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|
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<p>(3) The freedom to make and distribute copies of your modified |
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versions, when you wish.</p> |
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</div> |
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|
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<p>The first two freedoms mean each user can exercise individual |
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control over the program. With the other two freedoms, any group of |
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users can together exercise <em>collective control</em> over the |
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program. With all four freedoms, the users fully control the program. |
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If any of them is missing or inadequate, the program is proprietary |
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(nonfree), and unjust.</p> |
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|
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<p>Other kinds of works are also used for practical activities, |
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including recipes for cooking, educational works such as textbooks, |
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reference works such as dictionaries and encyclopedias, fonts for |
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displaying paragraphs of text, circuit diagrams for hardware for people |
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to build, and patterns for making useful (not merely decorative) |
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objects with a 3D printer. Since these are not software, the free |
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software movement strictly speaking doesn't cover them; but the same |
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reasoning applies and leads to the same conclusion: these works should |
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carry the four freedoms.</p> |
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|
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<p>A free program allows you to tinker with it to make it do what you |
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want (or cease to do something you dislike). Tinkering with software |
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may sound ridiculous if you are accustomed to proprietary software as |
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a sealed box, but in the Free World it's a common thing to do, and a |
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good way to learn programming. Even the traditional American pastime |
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of tinkering with cars is obstructed because cars now contain nonfree |
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software.</p> |
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|
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<h3>The Injustice of Proprietariness</h3> |
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|
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<p>If the users don't control the program, the program controls the |
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users. With proprietary software, there is always some entity, the |
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developer or “owner” of the program, that controls the |
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program—and through it, exercises power over its users. A |
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nonfree program is a yoke, an instrument of unjust power.</p> |
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|
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<p>In outrageous cases (though this outrage has become quite usual) <a |
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href="/malware">proprietary programs are designed |
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to spy on the users, restrict them, censor them, and abuse them</a>. |
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For instance, the operating system of Apple <a |
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href="/philosophy/why-call-it-the-swindle.html">iThings</a> does all |
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of these, and so does Windows on mobile devices with ARM chips. |
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Windows, mobile phone firmware, and Google Chrome for Windows include |
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a universal back door that allows some company to change the program |
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remotely without asking permission. The Amazon Kindle has a back door |
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that can erase books.</p> |
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|
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<p>The use of nonfree software in the “internet of things” |
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would turn it into the <a |
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href="https://archive.ieet.org/articles/rinesi20150806.html"> |
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“internet of telemarketers”</a> as well as the |
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“internet of snoopers.”</p> |
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|
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<p>With the goal of ending the injustice of nonfree software, the free |
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software movement develops free programs so users can free themselves. |
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We began in 1984 by developing the free operating system <a |
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href="/gnu/thegnuproject.html">GNU</a>. Today, millions of computers |
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run GNU, mainly in the <a href="/gnu/gnu-linux-faq.html">GNU/Linux |
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combination</a>.</p> |
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|
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<p>Distributing a program to users without freedom mistreats those |
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users; however, choosing not to distribute the program does not |
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mistreat anyone. If you write a program and use it privately, that |
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does no wrong to others. (You do miss an opportunity to do good, but |
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that's not the same as doing wrong.) Thus, when we say all software |
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must be free, we mean that every copy must come with the four freedoms, |
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but we don't mean that someone has an obligation to offer you a copy.</p> |
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|
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<h3>Nonfree Software and SaaSS</h3> |
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|
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<p>Nonfree software was the first way for companies to take control of |
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people's computing. Nowadays, there is another way, called Service as |
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a Software Substitute, or SaaSS. That means letting someone else's |
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server do your own computing tasks.</p> |
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|
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<p>SaaSS doesn't mean the programs on the server are nonfree (though |
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they often are). Rather, using SaaSS causes the same injustices as |
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using a nonfree program: they are two paths to the same bad place. |
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Take the example of a SaaSS translation service: The user sends text |
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to the server, and the server translates it (from English to Spanish, |
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say) and sends the translation back to the user. Now the job of |
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translating is under the control of the server operator rather than |
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the user.</p> |
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|
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<p>If you use SaaSS, the server operator controls your computing. It |
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requires entrusting all the pertinent data to the server operator, |
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which will be forced to show it to the state as well—<a |
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href="/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html">who |
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does that server really serve, after all?</a></p> |
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|
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<h3>Primary And Secondary Injustices</h3> |
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|
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<p>When you use proprietary programs or SaaSS, first of all you do |
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wrong to yourself, because it gives some entity unjust power over you. |
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For your own sake, you should escape. It also wrongs others if you |
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make a promise not to share. It is evil to keep such a promise, and a |
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lesser evil to break it; to be truly upright, you should not make the |
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promise at all.</p> |
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|
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<p>There are cases where using nonfree software puts pressure directly |
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on others to do likewise. Skype is a clear example: when one person |
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uses the nonfree Skype client software, it requires another person to |
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use that software too—thus both surrender their freedom. |
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(Google Hangouts have the same problem.) It is wrong even to suggest |
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using such programs. We should refuse to use them even briefly, even |
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on someone else's computer.</p> |
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|
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<p>Another harm of using nonfree programs and SaaSS is that it rewards |
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the perpetrator, encouraging further development of that program or |
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“service,” leading in turn to even more people falling |
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under the company's thumb.</p> |
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|
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<p>All the forms of indirect harm are magnified when the user is a |
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public entity or a school.</p> |
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|
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<h3>Free Software and the State</h3> |
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|
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<p>Public agencies exist for the people, not for themselves. When they |
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do computing, they do it for the people. They have a duty to maintain |
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full control over that computing so that they can assure it is done |
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properly for the people. (This constitutes the computational |
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sovereignty of the state.) They must never allow control over the |
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state's computing to fall into private hands.</p> |
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|
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<p>To maintain control of the people's computing, public agencies must |
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not do it with proprietary software (software under the control of an |
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entity other than the state). And they must not entrust it to a |
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service programmed and run by an entity other than the state, since |
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this would be SaaSS.</p> |
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|
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<p>Proprietary software has no security at all in one crucial |
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case—against its developer. And the developer may help others attack. |
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<a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/06/nsa-gets-early-access-to-zero-day-data-from-microsoft-others/"> |
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Microsoft shows Windows bugs to the NSA</a> (the US government digital |
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spying agency) before fixing them. We do not know whether Apple does |
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likewise, but it is under the same government pressure as Microsoft. |
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If the government of any other country uses such software, it |
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endangers national security. Do you want the NSA to break into your |
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government's computers? See |
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our <a href="/philosophy/government-free-software.html">suggested |
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policies for governments to promote free software</a>.</p> |
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|
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<h3>Free Software and Education</h3> |
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|
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<p>Schools (and this includes all educational activities) influence the |
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future of society through what they teach. They should teach |
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exclusively free software, so as to use their influence for the good. |
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To teach a proprietary program is to implant dependence, which goes |
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against the mission of education. By training in use of free |
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software, schools will direct society's future towards freedom, and |
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help talented programmers master the craft.</p> |
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|
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<p>They will also teach students the habit of cooperating, helping |
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other people. Each class should have this rule: “Students, this |
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class is a place where we share our knowledge. If you bring software |
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to class, you may not keep it for yourself. Rather, you must share |
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copies with the rest of the class—including the program's source |
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code, in case someone else wants to learn. Therefore, bringing |
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proprietary software to class is not permitted except to reverse |
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engineer it.”</p> |
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|
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<p>Proprietary developers would have us punish students who are good |
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enough at heart to share software and thwart those curious enough to |
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want to change it. This means a bad education. See more discussion |
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about <a href="/education/education.html">the use of free software in |
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schools</a>.</p> |
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|
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<h3>Free Software: More Than “Advantages”</h3> |
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|
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<p>I'm often asked to describe the “advantages” of free |
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software. But the word “advantages” is too weak when it |
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comes to freedom. Life without freedom is oppression, and that |
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applies to computing as well as every other activity in our lives. We |
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must refuse to give the developers of the programs or computing services |
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control over the computing we do. This is the right thing to do, for |
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selfish reasons; but not solely for selfish reasons.</p> |
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|
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<p>Freedom includes the freedom to cooperate with others. Denying |
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people that freedom means keeping them divided, which is the start of |
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a scheme to oppress them. In the free software community, we are very |
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much aware of the importance of the freedom to cooperate because our |
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work consists of organized cooperation. If your friend comes to visit |
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and sees you use a program, she might ask for a copy. A program which |
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stops you from redistributing it, or says you're “not supposed |
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to,” is antisocial.</p> |
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|
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<p>In computing, cooperation includes redistributing exact copies of a |
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program to other users. It also includes distributing your changed |
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versions to them. Free software encourages these forms of |
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cooperation, while proprietary software forbids them. It forbids |
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redistribution of copies, and by denying users the source code, it |
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blocks them from making changes. SaaSS has the same effects: if your |
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computing is done over the web in someone else's server, by someone |
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else's copy of a program, you can't see it or touch the software that |
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does your computing, so you can't redistribute it or change it.</p> |
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|
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<h3>Conclusion</h3> |
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|
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<p>We deserve to have control of our own computing. How can we win |
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this control?</p> |
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|
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<ul> |
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<li>By rejecting nonfree software on the computers we own or |
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regularly use, and rejecting SaaSS.</li> |
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|
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<li>By <a |
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href="/licenses/license-recommendations.html"> developing free |
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software</a> (for those of us who are programmers.)</li> |
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|
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<li>By refusing to develop or promote nonfree software or SaaSS.</li> |
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|
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<li>By <a |
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href="/help/help.html">spreading these ideas to others</a>.</li> |
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|
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<li>By <a |
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href="/philosophy/saying-no-even-once.html">saying no and stating our |
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reasons</a> when we are invited to run a nonfree program.</li> |
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</ul> |
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|
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<p>We and thousands of users have done this since 1984, which is how |
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we now have the free GNU/Linux operating system that |
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anyone—programmer or not—can use. Join our cause, as a |
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programmer or an activist. Let's make all computer users free.</p> |
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|
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<div class="announcement comment" role="complementary"> |
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<hr class="no-display" /> |
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<p> |
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<a href="/help/help.html">Suggested ways you can help the free software |
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movement</a> |
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</p> |
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</div> |
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|
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<div class="infobox extra" role="complementary"> |
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<hr /> |
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<p>A substantially edited version of this article was published in <a |
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href="https://www.wired.com/2013/09/why-free-software-is-more-important-now-than-ever-before/"> |
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<cite>Wired</cite></a>.</p> |
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</div> |
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There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> |
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