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+<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
+<!-- Parent-Version: 1.90 -->
+<title>The Problem Is Software Controlled By Its Developer
+- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
+<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/the-root-of-this-problem.translist" -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
+<h2>The Problem Is Software Controlled By Its Developer</h2>
+
+<address class="byline">by Richard Stallman</address>
+
+<p>
+I fully agree with Jonathan Zittrain's conclusion that we should
+not abandon general-purpose computers. Alas, I disagree completely
+with the path that led him to it. He presents serious security
+problems as an intolerable crisis, but I'm not convinced. Then he
+forecasts that users will panic in response and stampede toward
+restricted computers (which he calls &ldquo;appliances&rdquo;), but there is no
+sign of this happening.</p>
+
+<p>
+Zombie machines are a problem, but not a catastrophe. Moreover, far
+from panicking, most users ignore the issue. Today, people are indeed
+concerned about the danger of phishing (mail and web pages that
+solicit personal information for fraud), but using a browsing-only
+device instead of a general computer won't protect you from that.</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile, Apple has reported that 25 percent of iPhones have been
+unlocked. Surely at least as many users would have preferred an
+unlocked iPhone but were afraid to try a forbidden recipe to obtain
+it. This refutes the idea that users generally prefer that their
+devices be locked.</p>
+
+<p>
+It is true that a general computer lets you run programs designed to
+<a href="/philosophy/proprietary.html">spy on you, restrict you, or
+even let the developer attack you</a>. Such programs include KaZaA,
+RealPlayer, Adobe Flash Player, Windows Media Player, Microsoft
+Windows, and MacOS. Windows Vista does all three of those things; it
+also lets Microsoft change the software without asking, or command it
+to permanently cease normal functioning [<a href="#note1">1</a>].</p>
+
+<p>
+But restricted computers are no help, because they present the
+same problem for the same reason.</p>
+
+<p>
+The iPhone is designed for remote attack by Apple. When Apple remotely
+destroys iPhones that users have unlocked to enable other uses, that
+is no better than when Microsoft remotely sabotages Vista. The TiVo is
+designed to enforce restrictions on access to the recordings you make,
+and reports what you watch. E-book readers such as the Amazon
+&ldquo;<a href="/philosophy/why-call-it-the-swindle">Swindle</a>&rdquo;
+are designed to stop you from sharing and lending your
+books. Features that artificially obstruct use of your data are known
+as Digital Restrictions Management (DRM); our protest campaign against
+DRM is hosted
+at <a href="http://defectivebydesign.org">http://defectivebydesign.org</a>. (Our
+adversaries call DRM &ldquo;Digital Rights Management&rdquo; based on their idea
+that restricting you is their right. When you choose a term, you
+choose your side.)</p>
+
+<p>
+The nastiest of the common restricted devices are cell phones. They
+transmit signals for tracking your whereabouts even when switched
+&ldquo;off&rdquo;; the only way to stop this is to take out all the
+batteries. Many can also be turned on remotely, for listening,
+unbeknownst to you. (The FBI is already taking advantage of this
+feature, and the US Commerce Department lists this danger in its
+Security Guide.) Cellular phone network companies regularly install
+software in users phones, without asking, to impose new usage
+restrictions.</p>
+
+<p>
+With a general computer you can escape by rejecting such programs. You
+don't have to have KaZaA, RealPlayer, Adobe Flash, Windows Media
+Player, Microsoft Windows or MacOS on your computer (I don't). By
+contrast, a restricted computer gives you no escape from the software
+built into it.</p>
+
+<p>
+The root of this problem, both in general PCs and restricted
+computers, is software controlled by its developer. The developer
+(typically a corporation) controls what the program does, and prevents
+everyone else from changing it. If the developer decides to put in
+malicious features, even a master programmer cannot easily remove
+them.</p>
+
+<p>
+The remedy is to give the users more control, not less. We must insist
+on free/libre software, software that the users are free to change and
+redistribute. Free/libre software develops under the control of its
+users: if they don't like its features, for whatever reason, they can
+change them. If you're not a programmer, you still get the benefit of
+control by the users. A programmer can make the improvements you would
+like, and publish the changed version. Then you can use it too.</p>
+
+<p>
+With free/libre software, no one has the power to make a malicious
+feature stick. Since the source code is available to the users,
+millions of programmers are in a position to spot and remove the
+malicious feature and release an improved version; surely someone will
+do it. Others can then compare the two versions to verify
+independently which version treats users right. As a practical fact,
+free software is generally free of designed-in malware.</p>
+
+<p>
+Many people do acquire restricted devices, but not for motives of
+security. Why do people choose them?</p>
+
+<p>
+Sometimes it is because the restricted devices are physically
+smaller. I edit text all day (literally) and I find the keyboard and
+screen of a laptop well worth the size and weight. However, people who
+use computers differently may prefer something that fits in a
+pocket. In the past, these devices have typically been restricted, but
+they weren't chosen for that reason.</p>
+
+<p>
+Now they are becoming less restricted. In fact, the OpenMoko cell
+phone features a main computer running entirely free/libre software,
+including the GNU/Linux operating system normally used on PCs and
+servers.</p>
+
+<p>
+A major cause for the purchase of some restricted computers is
+financial sleight of hand. Game consoles, and the iPhone, are sold for
+an unsustainably low price, and the manufacturers subsequently charge
+when you use them. Thus, game developers must pay the game console
+manufacturer to distribute a game, and they pass this cost on to the
+user. Likewise, AT&amp;T pays Apple when an iPhone is used as a
+telephone. The low up-front price misleads customers into thinking
+they will save money.</p>
+
+<p>
+If we are concerned about the spread of restricted computers, we
+should tackle the issue of the price deception that sells them.
+If we are concerned about malware, we should insist on free
+software that gives the users control.</p>
+
+<div class="column-limit"></div>
+<h3 style="font-size: 1.2em">Postnote</h3>
+
+<p>
+Zittrain's suggestion to reduce the statute of limitations on software
+patent lawsuits is a tiny step in the right direction, but it is much
+easier to solve the whole problem. Software patents are an
+unnecessary, artificial danger imposed on all software developers and
+users in the US. Every program is a combination of many methods and
+techniques&mdash;thousands of them in a large program. If patenting these
+methods is allowed, then hundreds of those used in a given program are
+probably patented. (Avoiding them is not feasible; there may be no
+alternatives, or the alternatives may be patented too.) So the
+developers of the program face hundreds of potential lawsuits from
+parties unknown, and the users can be sued as well.</p>
+
+<p>
+The complete, simple solution is to eliminate patents from the field
+of software. Since the patent system is created by statute,
+eliminating patents from software will be easy given sufficient
+political
+will. (See <a href="http://www.endsoftpatents.org">http://www.endsoftpatents.org</a>.)</p>
+
+<h3 style="font-size: 1.2em">Footnote</h3>
+
+<p id="note1">1. Windows Vista initially had a &ldquo;kill switch&rdquo; with
+which Microsoft could remotely command the computer to stop
+functioning. Microsoft
+subsequently <a href="http://badvista.fsf.org/blog/windows-genuine-disadvantage">removed
+this</a>, ceding to public pressure, but reserved the
+&ldquo;right&rdquo; to put it back in.
+</p>
+
+</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
+<div id="footer">
+<div class="unprintable">
+
+<p>Please send general FSF &amp; GNU inquiries to
+<a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org">&lt;gnu@gnu.org&gt;</a>.
+There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a>
+the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent
+to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org">&lt;webmasters@gnu.org&gt;</a>.</p>
+
+<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph,
+ replace it with the translation of these two:
+
+ We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality
+ translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection.
+ Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard
+ to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org">
+ &lt;web-translators@gnu.org&gt;</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>For information on coordinating and submitting 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>
+</div>
+
+<p>Copyright &copy; 2008, 2010, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Richard M. Stallman</p>
+
+<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license"
+href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative
+Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.</p>
+
+<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" -->
+
+<p class="unprintable">Updated:
+<!-- timestamp start -->
+$Date: 2020/10/06 08:25:53 $
+<!-- timestamp end -->
+</p>
+</div>
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+</body>
+</html>