Re: Free licensing of surveillance software

[Roberto Beltran]

I've sent this yesterday but neglected to hit reply all hahah:

Hey Fritz,

Could you elaborate more or present other examples? I only see three distinct 
possibilities with surveillance software:

1. The software is libre and has surveillance
2. The software is proprietary and has surveillance
3. Surveillance software is being used on someone, but it's not their computing

In the first case, the surveillance anti-features can be removed. In the 
second, you should just not use that software if you can help it. I'm guessing 
it's the third case you are trying to address, but having the source code in 
this case helps nothing because you likely are not able to replicate this other 
person's computing (or more exactly the service they are providing). If you can 
then it's SaaSS and you should avoid it.

Additionally, I see issues with what you are proposing and freedom 0 and the 
privacy of the user's computing. There are legitimate forms of surveillance, 
like to watch over your property.

I think surveillance is much better addressed through legislation, since it's 
not strictly a software freedom issue (though there is intersection).

Kind Regards,
Roberto Beltran
https://libremiami.org/