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Read and share online: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2022/june

Welcome to the Free Software Supporter, the Free Software Foundation's (FSF) monthly news digest and action update -- being read by you and 229,215 other activists. That's 409 more than last month!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • FSF board shares next steps in board nomination process
  • Software Freedom Conservancy right-to-repair lawsuit against California TV manufacturer Vizio, Inc. remanded to California State Court
  • Judge rules Cydia's antitrust case against Apple can move forward
  • Happy birthday, Libera Chat!
  • US Department of Justice says security researchers won't face hacking charges
  • Your iPhone is vulnerable to a malware attack even when it’s off
  • Nvidia takes first step toward free software Linux GPU drivers
  • The movement to ban government use of face recognition
  • May GNU Emacs news
  • Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
  • LibrePlanet featured resource: LibrePlanet 2022 video transcripts
  • May GNU Spotlight with Amin Bandali: eleven new GNU releases!
  • FSF and other free software events
  • Thank GNUs!
  • GNU copyright contributions
  • Translations of the Free Software Supporter
  • Take action with the FSF!

View this issue online here: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2022/june

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Want to read this newsletter translated into another language? Scroll to the end to read the Supporter in French or Spanish.

FSF board shares next steps in board nomination process

From May 10

The Free Software Foundation published a board matrix and a preview of the board nomination form. The board matrix is comprised of fundamental requisites and valuable attributes that will be used to evaluate nominees for the FSF board of directors. The board nomination form is for associate members to submit their nominations of candidates for the board. Read the announcement, the board matrix (https://u.fsf.org/matrix), and review the form (https://u.fsf.org/board-form).

Software Freedom Conservancy right-to-repair lawsuit against California TV manufacturer Vizio, Inc. remanded to California State Court

From May 16 by Software Freedom Conservancy

The Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) has brought a lawsuit against the TV maker Vizio, Inc. for what it calls repeated failures to fulfill even the basic requirements of the General Public License (GPL), which allows a recipient to study, share, modify, and redistribute and install modified copies of the software. They state that its customers have the right to the source code under the terms of the GPL, filing the lawsuit as the purchaser of a product which has copylefted code. This approach makes it the first legal case that focuses on the rights of individual consumers as third-party beneficiaries of the GPL. Conservancy has succeeded in federal court to argue that GPL agreements function both as copyright licenses as well as contractual agreements.

Judge rules Cydia's antitrust case against Apple can move forward

From May 28 by Igor Bonifacic

Apple Inc. lost a bid to dismiss a lawsuit in California federal court from competing app store Cydia, alleging the company had an "illegal monopoly over iOS app distribution." Cydia is seeking damages from Apple Inc. and hopes to force the tech giant to open iOS to third-party payments and app distributors. Success for Cydia could be a promising advance in software freedom for iOS users because it would pave the way for free software to be installed on their otherwise proprietary operating system. For an illustrative example of what cases such as this can mean to users, read Pumpkins, markets, and one bad Apple: https://u.fsf.org/3gf.

Happy birthday, Libera Chat!

From May 19 by Libera staff

One year ago, Libera Chat was introduced as a new service offering Instant Relay Chat (IRC). Within just a few months, it became the largest IRC network, offering services to many groups and organizations, including the FSF. To read about the FSF's rationale for moving its IRC channels to Libera Chat last year, you are encouraged to read https://u.fsf.org/3em. Happy birthday and happy hacking, Libera Chat!

US Department of Justice says security researchers won't face hacking charges

From May 19 by Jon Fingas

Some good news for researchers, ethical security hackers, and others came recently in the form of news from the US Department of Justice (DOJ). The news says that if you are investigating, testing, or fixing vulnerabilities in "good faith," you will not be charged. The article tells of a reporter who was threatened by Missouri Governor Mike Parson for pointing out a trivial Web site security flaw. Threats such as these are expected to be inconsequential after implementation of the DOJ's new policy. (Editorial note: Unfortunately, this article uses the word "hacker" to exclusively denote one who conducts security breaking. For more on the word hacker and its history, please read https://u.fsf.org/3lx.)

Your iPhone is vulnerable to a malware attack even when it’s off

From May 17 by Dan Goodin

iPhones abuse their users by way of proprietary software. One may think that such abuses may end when the phone is shut off. However, the phone never stops running some software, even when the user has powered the device down. One such software program that runs when the phone is seemingly off has been found to have a major security vulnerability which can allow an attacker to use car keys and credit cards stored on the device. Moreover, because iPhone users are denied the essential freedoms of free software, they are helpless to modify or remove such unwanted behavior (and are probably not even aware that this could be an option). The FSF has written extensively on Apple's seemingly endless number of wrongs, which you are invited to read and share: https://u.fsf.org/3ly.

Nvidia takes first step toward free software Linux GPU drivers

From May 12 by Andrew Cunningham

Nvidia announced this month that it would be freeing some of its GNU/Linux GPU driver. While the decision marks a small move in the right direction, Nvidia has a long way to go before its graphics cards can be used in freedom. Even with free drivers, they require nonfree firmware. Nouveau still remains the only choice of GPU driver for Nvidia cards that is fully free.

The movement to ban government use of face recognition

From May 5 by Nathan Sheard and Adam Schwartz

Society is now at a precipice when it comes to surveillance and technological innovations. The collection of some types of data, such as which feeds facial recognition algorithms, has already begun in many parts of the world. However, there is still time to make one's opinion heard and fight back against unjust collection of biometric data. Some government entities, thankfully, are listening to those who voice their concern about privacy violations and misuses of such data. This is an important issue, and now is a critical time. Since government-collected data is public data, and biometric data is what often trains artificial intelligence and neural networks, this issue is impossible for advocates of user freedom to ignore.

May GNU Emacs news

From May 31 by Sacha Chua

In these issues: advanced batch file renaming, new GNU ELPA (Emacs Lisp Package Archive) package, copyediting with Abbrev and more!

Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory

Tens of thousands of people visit directory.fsf.org each month to discover free software. Each entry in the Directory contains a wealth of useful information, from basic category and descriptions to version control, IRC channels, documentation, and licensing. The Free Software Directory has been a great resource to software users over the past decade, but it needs your help staying up-to-date with new and exciting free software projects.

To help, join our weekly IRC meetings on Fridays. Meetings take place in the #fsf channel on Libera.Chat, and usually include a handful of regulars as well as newcomers. Libera.Chat is accessible from any IRC client -- Everyone's welcome!

The next meeting is Friday, June 3 from 12pm to 3pm EDT (16:00 to 19:00 UTC). Details here:

LibrePlanet featured resource: LibrePlanet 2022 video transcripts

For this month, we are highlighting the LibrePlanet 2022 video transcripts page. This page is for transcripts of videos from this year's LibrePlanet. As of this writing, there are a couple transcriptions being worked on. We invite the public to contribute new transcriptions and edits to existing transcriptions. They help with and accessibility and future translation work.

Do you have a suggestion for next month's featured resource? Let us know at [email protected].

May GNU Spotlight with Amin Bandali: eleven new GNU releases!

11 new GNU releases in the last month (as of May 29, 2022):

For more information and explanation of the packages, follow the link to the Web version of these update.

For announcements of most new GNU releases, subscribe to the info-gnu mailing list: https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-gnu.

To download: nearly all GNU software is available from https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/, or preferably one of its mirrors from https://www.gnu.org/prep/ftp.html. You can use the URL https://ftpmirror.gnu.org/ to be automatically redirected to a (hopefully) nearby and up-to-date mirror.

A number of GNU packages, as well as the GNU operating system as a whole, are looking for maintainers and other assistance: please see https://www.gnu.org/server/takeaction.html#unmaint if you'd like to help. The general page on how to help GNU is at https://www.gnu.org/help/help.html.

If you have a working or partly working program that you'd like to offer to the GNU project as a GNU package, see https://www.gnu.org/help/evaluation.html.

As always, please feel free to write to me, [email protected], with any GNUish questions or suggestions for future installments.

FSF and other free software events

  • June 4, 2022, Espace Vinci, Paris and streamed online, Les libertés du logiciel et du matériel, talk by Richard Stallman, Libre en Conférences (in French)
  • June 21-24, Austin, Texas and online, OSSNA
  • July 17-24, 2022, Prizren, Kosovo, DebConf
  • July 20-25, 2022, Guadalajara, Mexico, GUADEC
  • July 22-24, 2022, St. John's University in Queens, New York, HOPE 2022
  • July 25-31, 2022, Hilton Los Angeles Airport, California, SCALE
  • September 26-30, 2022, Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C., GRCon 2022

Thank GNUs!

We appreciate everyone who donates to the Free Software Foundation, and we'd like to give special recognition to the folks who have donated $500 or more in the last month.

This month, a big Thank GNU to:

  • Adarsh Melethil
  • Andrew Gaul
  • Arthur Gleckler
  • Brad Flaugher
  • David Klann
  • Dean Ujihara
  • Ken Senoo
  • René Genz
  • Ron Hume
  • The Swords of Sophia Nate Fund

You can add your name to this list by donating at https://donate.fsf.org/.

GNU copyright contributions

Assigning your copyright to the Free Software Foundation helps us defend the GNU GPL and keep software free. The following individuals have assigned their copyright to the FSF (and allowed public appreciation) in the past month:

  • Andrea Greselin (GNU Emacs)
  • Bob Vergauwen (GNU Emacs)
  • Christian Tietze (GNU Emacs)
  • Fritz Grabo (GNU Emacs)
  • Henkjan Gersen (GNU Emacs)
  • Ireneusz Gabrys (GNU Emacs)
  • Jin Suhn Choi (GNU Emacs)
  • Mariano Montone (GNU Emacs)
  • Pieter van Prooijen (GNU Emacs)
  • Rudolf Adamkovic (GNU Emacs)
  • Sameer Singh (GNU Emacs)
  • Scarlett McAllister (GNU Emacs)

Want to see your name on this list? Contribute to GNU and assign your copyright to the FSF.

Translations of the Free Software Supporter

El Free Software Supporter está disponible en español. Para ver la versión en español haz click aqui: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2022/junio

Para cambiar las preferencias de usuario y recibir los próximos números del Supporter en español, haz click aquí: https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create?reset=1&gid=34&id=3095323&cs=f4cff470d57837fa8ba8b71411f72df0_1654138058_168

Le Free Software Supporter est disponible en français. Pour voir la version française cliquez ici: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2022/juin

Pour modifier vos préférences et recevoir les prochaines publications du Supporter en français, cliquez ici: https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create?reset=1&gid=34&id=3095323&cs=f4cff470d57837fa8ba8b71411f72df0_1654138058_168

Take action with the FSF!

Contributions from thousands of individual associate members enable the FSF's work. You can contribute by joining at https://my.fsf.org/join. If you're already a member, you can help refer new members (and earn some rewards) by adding a line with your member number to your email signature like:

I'm an FSF member -- Help us support software freedom! https://my.fsf.org/join

The FSF is always looking for volunteers (https://www.fsf.org/volunteer). From rabble-rousing to hacking, from issue coordination to envelope stuffing -- there's something here for everybody to do. Also, head over to our campaigns section (https://www.fsf.org/campaigns) and take action on software patents, Digital Restrictions Management, free software adoption, OpenDocument, and more.

Do you read and write Portuguese and English? The FSF is looking for translators for Free Software Supporter. Please send an email to [email protected] with your interest and a list of your experience and qualifications.


Copyright © 2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.