Increasingly computer users depend on network services provided by a third-party for their computing needs. Social software, software-as-a-service, and application hosting have become an important part of the "always on" Internet culture.
On March 16th, 2008, a workgroup convened at the FSF to discuss issues of freedom for users of network services. We considered a number of issues: how implementers of network services help their neighbors, and how users can tell which services are friendly to freedom. We believe this will be an ongoing conversation, and our hope is that the FSF will continue to take a role of moral and technical leadership in this area.
We consider network services that are Free Software, and which share Free Data, as a good starting-point for ensuring users' freedom. Although we do not have formal recommendations for users, developers, or implementers, we do have guidelines for each group.
- Developers of network service software should carefully consider using the Affero GPL for their software to ensure that users of services have freedom to examine the source or implement their own instance.
- Implementers should make their software Free Software, and share source code with their users and with their fellow development community whether or not they are required to do so by license terms. They should make any data available under a free license, such as the FDL. Implementers should review existing definitions, such as the Open Service Definition, and see if their implementations comply.
- Users should consider very carefully whether to use software on someone else's computer at all. Especially if the data you are working with is sensitive or private, carefully weigh the pros and cons of using someone else's computer rather than your own. Many hosted applications have Free Software equivalents that run on your own desktop or laptop. When deciding whether to use a network service, look for implementers that use Free Software, provide source code, and that make their data available under a free license.
