your-freedom-needs-free-software.html (7950B)
1 <!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" --> 2 <!-- Parent-Version: 1.96 --> 3 <!-- This page is derived from /server/standards/boilerplate.html --> 4 <!--#set var="TAGS" value="essays aboutfs principles" --> 5 <!--#set var="DISABLE_TOP_ADDENDUM" value="yes" --> 6 <title>Your Freedom Needs Free Software 7 - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> 8 <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/your-freedom-needs-free-software.translist" --> 9 <!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" --> 10 <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/ph-breadcrumb.html" --> 11 <!--GNUN: OUT-OF-DATE NOTICE--> 12 <!--#include virtual="/server/top-addendum.html" --> 13 <div class="article reduced-width"> 14 <h2>Your Freedom Needs Free Software</h2> 15 16 <address class="byline">by Richard Stallman</address> 17 18 <div class="introduction"> 19 <p>Many of us know that governments can threaten the human rights of 20 software users through censorship and surveillance of the Internet. 21 Many do not realize that the software they run on their home or work 22 computers can be an even worse threat. Thinking of software as 23 “just a tool,” they suppose that it obeys them, when in 24 fact it often obeys others instead.</p> 25 </div> 26 27 <p>The software running in most computers is <a 28 href="/philosophy/categories.html#ProprietarySoftware">nonfree, 29 proprietary software</a>: controlled by software companies, not 30 by its users. Users can't check what these programs do, nor 31 prevent them from doing what they don't want. Most people accept 32 this because they have seen no other way, but it is simply wrong 33 to give developers power over the users' computer.</p> 34 35 <p>This unjust power, as usual, tempts its wielders to further 36 misdeeds. If a computer talks to a network, and you don't control the 37 software in it, it can easily spy on you. Microsoft Windows spies on 38 users; for instance, it reports what words a user searches for in her 39 own files, and what other programs are installed. RealPlayer spies 40 too; it reports what the user plays. Cell phones are full of nonfree 41 software, which spies. Cell phones send out localizing signals even 42 when “off,” many can send out your precise GPS location 43 whether you wish or not, and some models can be switched on remotely 44 as listening devices. Users can't fix these malicious features 45 because they don't have control.</p> 46 47 <p>Some proprietary software is <a href="/proprietary/proprietary.html"> 48 designed to restrict and attack its users</a>. 49 <a href="https://badvista.fsf.org/">Windows Vista</a> was a big 50 advance in this field; the reason it required replacement of old 51 hardware is that the new models were designed to support unbreakable 52 restrictions. Microsoft thus required users to pay for shiny new 53 shackles. Vista was also designed to permit forced updating by corporate 54 authority. Hence the <a href="https://badvista.fsf.org/">Bad Vista</a> 55 campaign, which urged Windows users not to “upgrade” to 56 Vista. For later Windows versions, which are <a 57 href="/proprietary/malware-microsoft.html">even more malicious</a>, we 58 now have <a href="https://www.fsf.org/windows">Upgrade from Windows</a>. 59 Mac OS also contains features designed to <a 60 href="/proprietary/malware-apple.html">restrict its users</a>.</p> 61 62 <p>Microsoft has installed back doors for the US government's use in 63 the past (<a 64 href="https://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/5/5263/1.html">reported on 65 heise.de</a>). We cannot check whether they have successors today. 66 Other proprietary programs may or may not have back doors, but since 67 we cannot check them, we cannot trust them.</p> 68 69 <p>The only way to assure that your software is working for you is to 70 insist on free/libre software. This means users get the source code, 71 are free to study and change it, and are free to redistribute it with 72 or without changes. The <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux 73 system</a>, developed <a href="/gnu/gnu.html">specifically for users' 74 freedom</a>, includes office applications, multimedia, games, and 75 everything you really need to run a computer. 76 See our list of <a href="/distros/distros.html">totally free/libre 77 versions of GNU/Linux</a>.</p> 78 79 <p>A special problem occurs when activists for social change use 80 proprietary software, because its developers, who control it, may be 81 companies they wish to protest—or that work hand in glove with the 82 states whose policies they oppose. Control of our software by a 83 proprietary software company, whether it be Microsoft, Apple, Adobe or 84 Skype, means control of what we can say, and to whom. This threatens 85 our freedom in all areas of life.</p> 86 87 <p>There is also danger in using a company's server to do your word 88 processing or email—and not just if you are in China, as US lawyer 89 Michael Springmann discovered. In 2003, AOL not only handed over to 90 the police his confidential discussions with clients, it also made his 91 email and his address list disappear, and didn't admit this was 92 intentional until one of its staff made a slip. Springmann gave up on 93 getting his data back.</p> 94 95 <p>The US is not the only state that doesn't respect human rights, so 96 keep your data on your own computer, and your backups under your own 97 custody—and run your computer with free/libre software.</p> 98 </div> 99 100 </div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above --> 101 <!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" --> 102 <div id="footer" role="contentinfo"> 103 <div class="unprintable"> 104 105 <p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to 106 <a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. 107 There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> 108 the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent 109 to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p> 110 111 <p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, 112 replace it with the translation of these two: 113 114 We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality 115 translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection. 116 Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard 117 to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org"> 118 <web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> 119 120 <p>For information on coordinating and contributing translations of 121 our web pages, see <a 122 href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations 123 README</a>. --> 124 Please see the <a 125 href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations 126 README</a> for information on coordinating and contributing translations 127 of this article.</p> 128 </div> 129 130 <!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to 131 files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should 132 be under CC BY-ND 4.0. Please do NOT change or remove this 133 without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first. 134 Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the 135 document. For web pages, it is ok to list just the latest year the 136 document was modified, or published. 137 138 If you wish to list earlier years, that is ok too. 139 Either "2001, 2002, 2003" or "2001-2003" are ok for specifying 140 years, as long as each year in the range is in fact a copyrightable 141 year, i.e., a year in which the document was published (including 142 being publicly visible on the web or in a revision control system). 143 144 There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers 145 Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. --> 146 147 <p>Copyright © 2007, 2021 Richard Stallman</p> 148 149 <p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license" 150 href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative 151 Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.</p> 152 153 <!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" --> 154 155 <p class="unprintable">Updated: 156 <!-- timestamp start --> 157 $Date: 2021/09/22 07:26:29 $ 158 <!-- timestamp end --> 159 </p> 160 </div> 161 </div><!-- for class="inner", starts in the banner include --> 162 </body> 163 </html>