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diff --git a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/android-and-users-freedom.html b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/android-and-users-freedom.html index 40678ea..edc53ad 100644 --- a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/android-and-users-freedom.html +++ b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/android-and-users-freedom.html @@ -1,29 +1,33 @@ <!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" --> -<!-- Parent-Version: 1.86 --> +<!-- Parent-Version: 1.96 --> +<!-- This page is derived from /server/standards/boilerplate.html --> +<!--#set var="TAGS" value="essays aboutfs practice" --> +<!--#set var="DISABLE_TOP_ADDENDUM" value="yes" --> <title>Android and Users' Freedom - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/android-and-users-freedom.translist" --> <!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" --> +<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/ph-breadcrumb.html" --> +<!--GNUN: OUT-OF-DATE NOTICE--> +<!--#include virtual="/server/top-addendum.html" --> +<div class="article reduced-width"> <h2>Android and Users' Freedom</h2> -<p>by Richard Stallman<br />First published in <em><a -href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/sep/19/android-free-software-stallman"> -The Guardian</a></em></p> -<hr class="thin" /> +<address class="byline">by Richard Stallman</address> -<p class="comment"> +<p> To what extent does Android respect the freedom of its users? For a computer user that values freedom, that is the most important question to ask about any software system.</p> -<p>In the <a href="http://fsf.org">free/libre software movement</a>, we +<p>In the <a href="https://fsf.org">free/libre software movement</a>, we develop software that respects users' freedom, so we and you can escape from software that doesn't. By contrast, the idea of “open source” focuses on how to develop code; it is a different current of thought whose principal value is <a href="/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html">code quality rather than freedom</a>. Thus, the concern here is not whether -Android is “<a href="/philosophy/free-open-overlap.html">open</a>”, +Android is “<a href="/philosophy/free-open-overlap.html">open</a>,” but whether it allows users to be free.</p> <p>Android is an operating system primarily for mobile phones and @@ -43,13 +47,15 @@ versions 1 and 2, as released by Google, is free software—but this code is insufficient to run the device. Some of the applications that generally come with Android are nonfree, too.</p> -<div class="announcement comment"> -<p><em>Support the <a href="http://FreeYourAndroid.org/">Free Your -Android</a> campaign.</em></p> +<div class="announcement comment" role="complementary"> +<hr class="no-display" /> +<p>Support the <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/android/">Free Your +Android</a> campaign.</p> +<hr class="no-display" /> </div> <p>Android is very different from the <a -href="/gnu/the-gnu-project.html">GNU/Linux operating +href="/gnu/thegnuproject.html">GNU/Linux operating system</a> because it contains very little of GNU. Indeed, just about the only component in common between Android and GNU/Linux is Linux, the kernel. People who erroneously think “Linux” refers to the @@ -102,12 +108,12 @@ talking to services such as YouTube and Google Maps. These are officially not part of Android, but that doesn't make the product ok. Many of the free applications available for earlier versions of Android have -been <a href="http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/10/googles-iron-grip-on-android-controlling-open-source-by-any-means-necessary/"> +been <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/10/googles-iron-grip-on-android-controlling-open-source-by-any-means-necessary/"> replaced by nonfree applications</a>; in 2013 Android devices appeared -which <a href="http://www.androidbeat.com/2013/12/new-google-play-edition-devices-lack-photo-gallery-app-use-google/"> +which <a href="https://www.androidbeat.com/2013/12/new-google-play-edition-devices-lack-photo-gallery-app-use-google/"> provided no way to view photos except through a nonfree Google+ app</a>. In 2014 Google announced -that <a href="http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/06/android-wear-auto-and-tv-save-you-from-skins-and-oems-from-themselves/">Android +that <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/06/android-wear-auto-and-tv-save-you-from-skins-and-oems-from-themselves/">Android versions for TVs, watches and cars would be largely nonfree.</a> </p> @@ -130,7 +136,7 @@ nonfree; it can't run on a free version of Android, such as Replicant. <p>If you value freedom, you don't want the nonfree apps that Google Play offers. To install free Android apps, you don't need Google Play, because you can get them -from <a href="http://f-droid.org">f-droid.org</a>. +from <a href="https://f-droid.org/">f-droid.org</a>. </p> <p>Android products also come with nonfree libraries. These are @@ -148,12 +154,12 @@ source version that they really use.</p> <p>One user discovered that many of the programs in the Android system that came with his phone -were <a href="http://www.beneaththewaves.net/Projects/Motorola_Is_Listening.html">modified +were <a href="https://www.beneaththewaves.net/Projects/Motorola_Is_Listening.html">modified to send personal data to Motorola.</a> Some manufacturers add -a <a href="http://androidsecuritytest.com/features/logs-and-services/loggers/carrieriq/"> +a <a href="https://androidsecuritytest.com/features/logs-and-services/loggers/carrieriq/"> hidden general surveillance package such as Carrier IQ.</a></p> -<p><a href="http://replicant.us">Replicant</a> is the free version of +<p><a href="https://replicant.us/">Replicant</a> is the free version of Android. The Replicant developers have replaced many nonfree libraries, for certain device models. The nonfree apps are excluded, but you certainly don't want to use those. By contrast, CyanogenMod @@ -196,7 +202,7 @@ software is that we have control of our software and our computing; a system with a back door doesn't qualify. While any computing system might <em>have</em> bugs, these devices can <em>be</em> bugs. (Craig Murray, -in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2006/aug/12/politics">Murder +in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/aug/12/politics">Murder in Samarkand</a>, relates his involvement in an intelligence operation that remotely converted an unsuspecting target's non-Android portable phone into a listening device.)</p> @@ -222,14 +228,14 @@ to be done on some other system. The tools in Google's but it is hard work to check this. The definition files for certain Google APIs are nonfree. Installing the SDK requires signing a proprietary software license, which you should refuse to sign. -<a href="http://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/ReplicantSDK"> +<a href="https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/ReplicantSDK"> Replicant's SDK</a> is a free replacement.</p> <p>Recent press coverage of Android focuses on the patent wars. During 20 years of campaigning for the abolition of software patents, we have warned such wars could happen. Software patents could force elimination of features from Android, or even make it unavailable. -See <a href="http://endsoftpatents.org">endsoftpatents.org</a> for more +See <a href="https://endsoftpatents.org/">endsoftpatents.org</a> for more information about why software patents must be abolished.</p> <p>However, the patent attacks and Google's responses are not directly @@ -240,14 +246,14 @@ short. This issue merits the attention of the press too.</p> <p>Android is a major step towards an ethical, user-controlled, free software portable phone, but there is a long way to go, and Google is taking it in the wrong direction. Hackers are working -on <a href="http://replicant.us">Replicant</a>, but it's a big job to +on <a href="https://replicant.us/">Replicant</a>, but it's a big job to support a new device model, and there remains the problem of the firmware. Even though the Android phones of today are considerably less bad than Apple or Windows phones, they cannot be said to respect your freedom.</p> +<div class="column-limit"></div> -<hr class="thin" /> - +<h3 class="footnote">Footnote</h3> <ol> <li id="linuxnote">The extreme example of this confusion appears in the site linuxonandroid.com, which offers help to “install Linux @@ -259,15 +265,17 @@ distros</a>, we do not recommend it. </li> </ol> -<!-- If needed, change the copyright block at the bottom. In general, - all pages on the GNU web server should have the section about - verbatim copying. Please do NOT remove this without talking - with the webmasters first. - Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the document - and that it is like this: "2001, 2002", not this: "2001-2002". --> +<div class="infobox extra" role="complementary"> +<hr /> +First published in <cite><a +href="https://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/sep/19/android-free-software-stallman"> +The Guardian</a></cite>. +</div> +</div> + </div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above --> <!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" --> -<div id="footer"> +<div id="footer" role="contentinfo"> <div class="unprintable"> <p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to <a @@ -285,16 +293,33 @@ href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p> to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org"> <web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> - <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of + <p>For information on coordinating and contributing translations of our web pages, see <a href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations README</a>. --> Please see the <a href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations README</a> for -information on coordinating and submitting translations of this article.</p> +information on coordinating and contributing translations of this article.</p> </div> -<p>Copyright © 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020 Richard Stallman</p> +<!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to + files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should + be under CC BY-ND 4.0. Please do NOT change or remove this + without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first. + Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the + document. For web pages, it is ok to list just the latest year the + document was modified, or published. + + If you wish to list earlier years, that is ok too. + Either "2001, 2002, 2003" or "2001-2003" are ok for specifying + years, as long as each year in the range is in fact a copyrightable + year, i.e., a year in which the document was published (including + being publicly visible on the web or in a revision control system). + + There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers + Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. --> + +<p>Copyright © 2011-2016, 2021 Richard Stallman</p> <p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative @@ -304,7 +329,7 @@ Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.</p> <p class="unprintable">Updated: <!-- timestamp start --> -$Date: 2020/02/09 07:43:36 $ +$Date: 2021/10/01 17:02:52 $ <!-- timestamp end --> </p> </div> |