this post was submitted on 29 Mar 2026
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Well said. In fact there's more than an ecosystem problem. We must understand that saying or using "FOSS" or "Linux" does not automatically mean to stand up for human rights, for the community, and against corporations. I've personally been under this gross misunderstanding, and I think other users might be too.
If we read the comments in current debates about FOSS, Linux, and age verification, we can see that many developers and possibly also users make statements like "the developer has no obligation towards the community", "the law is the law, no matter what the community wants", "we must comply", and similar. It's important to realize that many developers work on FOSS not out of consideration for the community or for human rights. For them it's just one kind of software development. We may have projects that are FOSS and pro-corporations or pro-surveillance. The "F" in FOSS stands for freedom to modify and distribute the software by/to anyone in the community. But it doesn't stand for "software that promotes / stands up for general human freedom" or human rights.
So for anyone who, like me, wants to use and promote software as an assertion of and a stand for human rights and against corporations, beyond the simple "software" aspects, it's necessary not to stop at "FOSS" or "Linux" but apply more scrutiny and a more careful choice.
Agreed. I find it a bit insane that main discussion point up to now has been whether or not this PR is related to compliance with surveillance laws, especially when the author of the said PR states that is the motivation.
Whether or not such projects have a responsibility for promoting human rights is a much more valid discussion point, along with practicalities of the approach. But that also reminds us an essential aspect of FOSS. Despite being the dominant init system in the linux world, it is by far not a monopoly and any group with enough knowhow can easily maintain a surveillance free version of it. But ofcourse if people keep downplaying the political aspect of what has been done here then they might find themselves in a boiling frog situation.