2019-05-20 15:42:30 +00:00
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2019-05-20 16:51:00 +00:00
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<title>Three conclusions to draw from Google denying Huawei access to software</title>
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2019-05-20 15:42:30 +00:00
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<h1>
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2019-05-20 16:51:00 +00:00
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Three conclusions to draw from Google denying Huawei access to software
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2019-05-20 15:42:30 +00:00
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</h1>
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<p newsteaser="yes">Google denies the Chinese IT giant Huawei access to
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Google's proprietary components of the Android mobile operating system
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which threatens IT security. This highlights the importance Free
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Software has for technology users, public bodies, and businesses. The
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Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) presents three essential lessons
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from this case.</p>
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<p>Following the U.S. administration's decision to effectively ban
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2019-05-23 13:36:34 +00:00
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American companies from trading with with the Chinese company Huawei,
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2019-05-20 15:42:30 +00:00
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Google suspended all business with the company. This affects all
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software which is not covered under Free Software licences. In
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practice, Huawei's upcoming and potentially also current phones will no
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longer get support and updates for the Android operating system. They
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will also not have access to the proprietary Google apps and services
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2019-05-20 16:51:00 +00:00
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like Gmail and Google Play. Although proprietary software should be
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avoided in the first place, especially the latter will put future
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2019-06-27 11:04:00 +00:00
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Huawei users at risk because without access to the default app store on
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most stock Android phones they will miss important security updates for
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the apps installed through it.</p>
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2019-05-20 15:42:30 +00:00
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<p>Google offers only a base version of Android under a Free Software
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licence but bundles it together with proprietary apps and services. The
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non-free components of most stock Android devices have numerous
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downsides for users, as the <a href="https://freeyourandroid.org">FSFE
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has documented since 2012</a>. Now, the current case demonstrates that
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2019-05-21 05:39:17 +00:00
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even tech giants like Huawei face similar dependencies and vendor
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2019-05-23 13:36:34 +00:00
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lock-in effects as those of any individual users if they rely on proprietary
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software.</p>
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<h2>Three Conclusions</h2>
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<p>The following lessons can be drawn from this case:</p>
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<ol>
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<li>The FSFE urges <strong>users</strong> to use Free Software
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operating systems and applications on their computing devices. With
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proprietary software, they are on the receiving end only and vendors
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may deny them access to crucial security updates if the vendor or a
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government changes its strategy. Free Software enables control of
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technology, and the more important that technology becomes in our
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daily lives, the more relevant Free Software becomes for users. For
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Android, the FSFE helps users to regain more control with its <a
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href="https://freeyourandroid.org">Free Your Android
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initiative</a>.</li>
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<br />
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<li><strong>Governments and especially the European Union</strong>
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should invest more resources in Free Software to gain independence
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from large enterprises and other states. The current case highlights
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the lack of influence the EU has on outside technology providers.
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Instead of waiting for a future European IT monopolist to enter the
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stage, the EU and its members states should <a
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href="https://publiccode.eu">invest in Free Software development</a>
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and focus on supporting local Free Software organisations as well as
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businesses. This would effectively foster the inner-European market
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and enable independence for European citizens and the EU economy.
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This step is essential for avoiding exposing European infrastructure
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to shutdowns controlled by external factors.</li>
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<br />
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<li>The FSFE urges <strong>companies</strong> to use as much Free
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Software as possible in their supply chains. Proprietary software
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2019-05-23 13:36:34 +00:00
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makes a company dependent on its vendor and that vendor's government.
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2019-05-21 05:39:17 +00:00
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The current case shows that the US was able to force Google to stop
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delivery of its proprietary products – but could not stop delivery of
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the Free Software components of Android. Had Huawei invested more
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resources in Free Software apps and services, the US strategy would
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not have hit them as hard. Although the current events are linked to
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the scrutiny the Chinese company is under right now, it is obvious
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that this could happen to any other company based in any other
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country as well.</li>
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</ol>
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<p>The earlier allegations against Huawei already showed that <a
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href="/news/2019/news-20190205-01.html">code for all critical
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infrastructure should be published under a Free Software licence</a>.
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The latest episode of the Huawei affair illustrates that the same
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applies to apps and services. Just days before the European Elections,
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this should be a wake-up call for the next constituent Parliament to
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ask the European Commission for European directives that foster
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independence of European technical infrastructure and that build on
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Free Software, starting with the <a href="https://publiccode.eu">demand
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to release publicly funded software as public code</a>.</p>
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</body>
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<tags>
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<tag>front-page</tag>
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<tag content="IT Security">security</tag>
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<tag content="Public Code">pmpc</tag>
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<tag content="Huawei">huawei</tag>
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<tag content="Free Your Androud">fya</tag>
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</tags>
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2019-05-20 16:53:40 +00:00
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<discussion href="https://community.fsfe.org/t/three-conclusions-to-draw-from-google-denying-huawei-access-to-software/278" />
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2019-05-20 15:42:30 +00:00
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