commit c26d3cbb44f5b4c8e9fc60f2a04902d1a4beb939
parent e06d96f866a59b5182b74d71dec29f24fcf647e1
Author: Christian Grothoff <christian@grothoff.org>
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2022 18:43:53 +0100
edits
Diffstat:
1 file changed, 11 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)
diff --git a/2022-privacy/privacy.tex b/2022-privacy/privacy.tex
@@ -452,7 +452,7 @@ inspired by~\cite{dold2019}, given in order of priority:
\begin{enumerate}
% FIXME: free software using open standards?
- \item \textbf{A CBDC must be implemented as free software.}
+ \item \textbf{A CBDC must be implemented as Free Software.}
Free refers to ``free as in free speech'', as opposed to ``free as in free beer''.
More specifically, the four essential freedoms of free software
@@ -467,12 +467,16 @@ inspired by~\cite{dold2019}, given in order of priority:
As the ECB report states, international or even cross-border use of a
CBDC may be desireable, but this excludes solutions that would be under
the control of one nation unless we presume that nations will be willing
- to subject critical infrastructure to the whims of other nations. Given
- recent attacks by the US government against Huawei --- which effectively limited
- Huawei's ability to use US software to Free Software~\cite{huawei} --- it is clear that
- only Free Software is acceptable for critical infrastructure of sovereign
- countries. With Free Software all countries and
- organizations can run the payment system without being controlled by a
+ to subject critical infrastructure to the whims of other nations.
+ Recent attacks by the US government against Huawei effectively limited
+ Huawei's ability to use US software~\cite{huawei}. Such political games
+ can cause significant suffering for the population when they impact
+ critical infrastructure. It is thus clear that
+ only domestic or Free Software is acceptable for critical infrastructure of sovereign
+ countries. Cross-border payments using the same payment system
+ require at least one country to use
+ non-domestic software. Thus, only with Free Software all countries and
+ organizations can run the payment system without the risk of being controlled by
foreign entities. Customers benefit from this freedom, as the wallet
software can be made to run on a variety of platforms, and user-hostile
features such as tracking or telemetry could easily be removed from
