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115 lines
5.2 KiB
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<html newsdate="2019-05-20"> |
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<version>1</version> |
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<head> |
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<title>Three conclusions to draw from Google denying Huawei access to software</title> |
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</head> |
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<body> |
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<h1> |
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Three conclusions to draw from Google denying Huawei access to software |
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</h1> |
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<p>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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American companies from trading with with the Chinese company Huawei, |
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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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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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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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<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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even tech giants like Huawei face similar dependencies and vendor |
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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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makes a company dependent on its vendor and that vendor's government. |
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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 key="front-page"/> |
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<tag key="security">IT Security</tag> |
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<tag key="pmpc">Public Code</tag> |
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<tag key="huawei">Huawei</tag> |
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<tag key="fya">Free Your Androud</tag> |
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</tags> |
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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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<image url="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/49b5342a0da31877a6c7bb01dc5a482d.jpg" /> |
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