Jean-Baptiste Kempf of the VLC project explains that “most of the code of VLC” has been relicensed under the LGPL, moving away from the GPL. Some of the reasons for the move include “competition, necessity to have more professional developers around VLC and AppStores”.1 (With the “AppStore” comment, Jean-Baptiste is likely referring to issues regarding free software in Apple’s App Store, which the FSF has discussed on their website.)

This is unfortunate; using the LGPL in place of the GPL is not encouraged for free software projects because, while it ensures the freedom of the project itself, it does not encourage the development of free software that uses the project—the LGPL allows linking with proprietary software. Let’s explore the aforementioned reasons in a bit more detail.

Firstly, let us consider the issue of competition. In one of the discussions on Hacker News, I pointed out the distinction between “open source” and Free Software:

[…] It is important to understand the distinction between “open source” and “free software”. Open source focuses on the benefits of “open” code and development and how it can create superior software. Free Software focuses on the ethical issues—while free software developers certainly want contributors, the emphasis is on the fact that the software respects your freedom and, for that, it’s far superior to any other proprietary alternative; free software users constantly make sacrifices in functionality and usability, and we’re okay with that.

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html […]

In this sense, why should competition be considered for software freedom, unless it is between two free software projects, encouraging innovation in conjunction with freedom? In such a case, one wouldn’t change the software license from the GPL to the LGPL, because the LGPL is less pursuant toward those freedoms. Therefore, VLC instead adopts the “open source” development model, as it cares more for competition.

The next concern was to “have more professional developers around VLC”.1 Is this to imply that free software hackers cannot be professional developers? I certainly am. Consider projects like the kernel Linux—many companies have contributed back to that project, which is licensed under the GPLv2. If the goal is to have more people contributing to your project, then a license like the GPL is certainly best, as it puts a legal obligation on the distributor to release the source code, which the parent project may then incorporate. Now, the LGPL also forces this (except for linked software); since the only differences between the GPL and the LGPL deal with the linking exception, this means that the author is either (a) mistaken in the concern or (b) wishes for more proprietary development around VLC. Alternatively, the author may be concerned that the GPL introduces compatibility issues between whatever other “open source” license developers wish to use when linking VLC code, but again—that means that VLC is devaluing freedom. Risky business, but this is the model that BSD follows (permitting proprietary derivatives of the entire software—not just linking—and receiving contributions back from proprietary software makers.)

Finally, let us consider the issue of Apple’s App Store. This is issue is certainly of strong concern—Apple’s products are very popular and yet they do not even make an attempt to respect the users’ freedoms either with their software or with any of the software they allow on their “App Store”.2 However, Jean-Baptiste has made a fatal mistake—we should not be changing our licenses to suit Apple! In effect, that is giving Apple even more power over free software by allowing them to exert control not only over their users, but also over the developers of the users’ favorite software! We should instead express our condolences with those users and suggest instead that they adopt a device or operating system that respects their freedom, or that they jailbreak their devices (which is still legal).

I’ll end this commentary with an additional response of mine from the aforementioned Hacker News thread:

The freedoms represent an ethical issue—that software developers have unprecedented control over their users. Why should I, as a hacker, be able to tell you what you can and cannot do with your device? Furthermore, it raises deep privacy issues—what kind of data am I collecting and why should I have that data?

I entered the free software movement slowly (I began software development on Windows as a young boy and was trained to think that bossing the user around was a good thing; I thought it was fun to write DRM system and anti-features). I began using GNU/Linux while still rationalizing my use of proprietary software through Wine or by dual-booting into Windows. I then saw the benefits of the “open source” development model. It wasn’t until I spent the time researching the reasons behind the free software movement that things began to click. I was able to look back on everything I learned as a developer for Windows and see that I enjoyed the thought of controlling my users. I enjoyed the power I got from programming—programming was empowerment, and the only way to squeeze the money out of those unsuspecting users was to do it forcefully.

People have fundamentally different philosophies when it comes to programming. Do all proprietary software developers do so out of greed? On some level, sure—they’re not contributing that code so that others may benefit from it. But are they doing it for the purpose of controlling their users? Not necessarily, but they still are, even if they have the best of intentions. Is someone who creates proprietary educational software for children in third world companies “evil”? Certainly not. The problem is that they’re denying them an additional right—the right to modify that software, learn from it and use their devices as they please.

Of course, we often see proprietary software used unethically, often times for vendor lock-in or greed; corporations are worried that if they lighten their grip on their users, that the users may run, or worse, do something [il]legal. I don’t believe that is the place of software developers. I remember, back when I used Windows, I was obsessed with magic/illusion. I purchased a ton of videos online teaching me various magic tricks, but the videos were laced with DRM (which, at the time, as a Windows developer, I applauded). The problem was, that I then upgraded my hardware. My videos no longer worked. I contacted them for a new key, and could view them again. Then I got a new PC. And now I use GNU/Linux. I can no longer watch those videos that I purchased because of this unnecessary, artificial restriction. Was I going to distribute those videos? No. Did that prevent others from stripping the restrictions and distributing it anyway? Certainly not. I was being punished for others’ actions and the others weren’t any worse off from the restrictions, because they understood how to defeat them.

Of course, DRM’s only one of the many issues (and DRM cannot exist in free software, because the community would simply remove the anti-feature). What if I were using some software—let’s say Photoshop—and it crashed on me in the middle of my work. Crap. Well, if I were using GIMP, I would run gdb on the core dump (assuming a segfault) and inspect the problem. I would try to repeat it. I could, if I wanted to, get my hands on the source code, fix the problem and distribute that fix to others. If I didn’t have the time or ability, others could fix the problem for me, and we have the right to share those changes. We have the right to benefit from those changes. With Photoshop, we’d better start waiting. What if I was able to magically come up with a fix, perhaps by modifying the machine code? Hold on—I’m not allowed to do that! And I’m certainly not allowed to distribute that fix to others. And I’m certainly not allowed to give my son a copy for his PC if he wanted to do an art project for school.

The FSF provides a great deal of information on their philosophy: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/. You could also gain a great deal of insight by reading up on the history: http://shop.fsf.org/product/free-as-in-freedom-2/ or by reading RMS’ essays: http://shop.fsf.org/product/signed-fsfs/.

And ultimately, you may find that you do not agree with our philosophy—many don’t. That’s certainly your right, and I respect that. What I cannot respect, and will not respect, is when that philosophy is used to exert control over others.

(As a final note: many say we control developers through our “viral” licenses. But keep in mind that we’re trying to protect the users from developers. This means taking power away from developers. This is intentional.)