MESSAGE
| DATE | 2015-03-17 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Watch Your Freedom (Because Apple's Not)
|
At Apple's "Spring Forward" press event on Monday, March 9, the
electronics company expounded upon its plans to release a smartwatch and
revealed updates to its MacBook computer line, among other
announcements. Underneath their focus on "innovation" and "design,"
however, Apple CEO Tim Cook and other participating speakers neglected
to address growing concerns about the proprietary software and __Digital
Restrictions Management__ technologies distributed with its products and
services, which only serve to extend the company's oppression of
computer users and their freedoms.
Apple's failure to release the source code for these products and
software violates users' freedoms to study, modify, and distribute
software, regardless of the type of device on which that software is
run. Its integration of Digital Restrictions Management technologies
into its products like Apple TV and iTunes place unethical restrictions
on users' interactions with movies, music, and other media. And even
though Apple has said it will release the source code of ResearchKit, an
upcoming platform to collect data on volunteer medical research, __it
cannot guarantee users' privacy or protection for their data because of
the proprietary iOS software on which it runs__. Without access to the
full source code of the operating systems collecting their personal and
health information, it is impossible for users to ensure the safety and
security of their data.
With these products, Apple only invests more in its battle against
computer user freedom and, by extension, "free speech, free commerce,
free association, privacy, and technological innovation," said FSF
executive director John Sullivan in a statement
in September.
The Free Software Foundation urges users to decline to purchase all
Apple products, including the Apple Watch, iPhone, TV, and MacBook, and
instead choose to use free software for all their devices. For mobile
and wearable devices, choose software such as Replicant
, a free software version of Android, and
F-Droid , a mobile app repository of free
software. For desktop and notebook computers, install a free GNU/Linux
distribution and have a
look around the FSF's Free Software Directory
.
Also, people should join the many activists and free software users who
have emailed Tim Cook (tcook-at-apple.com ),
pledging to boycott Apple products due to the company's use of DRM and
proprietary software. Please CC us on your email at campaigns-at-fsf.org
. You are welcome to use this example email
from our anti-DRM campaign,
Defective by Design.
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