Bonum Certa Men Certa

Linux Foundation Has Outsourced All the Licence Compliance Stuff to Microsoft, a Serial GPL Violator

No wonder the Linux Foundation also avoids copyleft/GPL (except for old projects such as Linux) and habitually slanders it

Jim Zemlin in tuxedo
Photo credit: The Linux Foundation



Summary: OpenChain Specification/OpenChain Project and Automated Compliance Tooling (ACT) are yet more examples -- the latest of many -- of the Linux Foundation being outsourced to Microsoft, not only for code but also documentation and hosting

THE Linux Foundation has long outsourced just about everything except Linux itself (except temporarily; years ago due to a security incident/breach) to Microsoft. Yes, Zemlin and the non-Linux-using Corporate Linux Foundation don't mind sending everything to Microsoft at GitHub, even new projects (they know Microsoft controls GitHub). The editor of Linux.com is meanwhile posting lots of tweets raving about Apple and Macs (several so far this week). Just so we know what kind of problem we're dealing with...



"With former Microsoft as vice chair and a Microsoft employee as second in command (longterm Linux), how long will it be before they also rehost Linux itself (kernel) in GitHub? Even permanently?"Earlier this week we saw several press releases [1-3] and puff pieces, e.g. [4], from the Corporate Linux Foundation. The Corporate Linux Foundation is once again whitewashing and openwashing a major GPL violator, VMware (it's paid for!) and of course the Linux Foundation is still promoting and feeding Microsoft's GitHub (proprietary platform) and outsourcing everything to it, even documents! Putting the Automated Compliance Tooling (ACT) aside, see the OpenChain Project's Web site.

"The Online Certification Questionnaire is available under the Apache 2.0 license on Github" and all the other documents in the page are hosted by Microsoft. Who on Earth thought this would be appropriate? Their latest press release is entitled "The OpenChain Project announces Microsoft OpenChain Conformance" and it's full of Microsoft praises.

They're already composing Linux.com puff pieces as well. The Corporate Linux Foundation is a lost cause. Some people have said that since taking millions of dollars from Microsoft (years ago) it has effectively been "bought" by Microsoft, just like GitHub. With former Microsoft as vice chair and a Microsoft employee as second in command (longterm Linux), how long will it be before they also rehost Linux itself (kernel) in GitHub? Even permanently? Microsoft does not love Linux; it's just trying to devour it and it's succeeding. It already misuses the brand "Linux" to market its proprietary spyware.

The same thing was done to ASF (Apache) when its head was a Microsoft employee; he stepped down shortly after outsourcing everything in Apache (billions of dollars in value!) to Microsoft at zero cost. Microsoft is buying the competition for slush funds. Where are the regulators? We know what Jim Zemlin would tell them. He thinks Microsoft loves Linux even though in 2019 it still blackmails Linux for money. Those who work on WSL defend this blackmail. It's also worth adding that, as per media reports from this week, Microsoft has just done to HUAWEI MateBook what it did to OLPC and EEE PC. It's pretending that it's about "choice" or options, but it's actually about Windows, replacing a GNU/Linux laptop with something that typically runs Windows, instead. That's how much Microsoft loves Linux.

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. The OpenChain Project announces Microsoft OpenChain Conformance

    Today, the OpenChain Project announced Microsoft, a Platinum Member, is the latest company to achieve OpenChain conformance. This milestone is an example of how OpenChain can be an important part of building quality open source compliance programs that meet the needs of companies and that build trust in the ecosystem.

    The OpenChain Project establishes trust in the open source from which software solutions are built. It accomplishes this by making open source license compliance simpler and more consistent. The OpenChain Specification defines inflection points in business workflows where a compliance process, policy or training should exist to minimize the potential for errors and maximize the efficiency of bringing solutions to market. The companies involved in the OpenChain community number in the hundreds. The OpenChain Specification is being prepared for submission to ISO and evolution from a growing de facto standard into a formal standard.



  2. The Linux Foundation's Automated Compliance Work Garners New Funding, Advances Tools Development


  3. The Linux Foundation’s Automated Compliance Work Garners New Funding, Advances Tools Development

    The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced founding member commitments from Google, Siemens and VMware for the Automated Compliance Tooling (ACT), as well as key advancements for tools that increase ease and adoption of open source software.

    Using open source code comes with a responsibility to comply with the terms of that code’s license. The goal of ACT is to consolidate investments in these efforts and to increase interoperability and usability of open source compliance tooling. Google, Siemens and VMware are among the companies helping to underwrite and lead this collaborative work.

  4. Google, Siemens and VMware fund The Linux Foundation to advance the Automated Compliance Tooling project

    The Linux Foundation, today announced that Google, Siemens and VMware have committed funding for the Automated Compliance Tooling (ACT), as well as key advancements for tools that increase ease and adoption of open source software. the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source. The three companies are founding members of the Foundation.



Recent Techrights' Posts

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hijacked Again by Patent Litigation Industry, as President Cheeto Prioritises Aggressors
The "mafia" has taken over the "industry" and the Federal system (justice and constitutions trampled upon)
Ubuntu Slop and FUD Manufactured With LLMs and Funded (by Oneself) 'Studies'
Slop and FUD are ruining the Web
 
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: Books and Cold Tea
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: More Layoffs, Nokia Again Takes Advantage of Illegal and Unconstitutional Patent Court With Nokia Staff as 'Judges'
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: Seizures and Returns to Windows of 24 Years Ago
Links for the day
LLM Slop Helps Obscure and Distort News About Layoffs (IBM, GAFAM)
It's hard to find accurate information
Links 02/04/2025: Microsoft Developers Are Threatening to Go on Strike, World Backup Day Noted
Links for the day
Gemini Protocol Has Growing Appeal (the Web Got Too Bloated and Full of LLM Slop)
For any "data plan" with bandwidth limits or "tiers" it would be cheaper to use/browse Geminispace
The Web Can Survive LLM Slop, But Only If We Collectively Shun and Discourage Serial Sloppers
Doing nothing ought not be a possibility
Amid Secret Shut-downs and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (4 Waves of Layoffs in 3 Months of 2025) Some Microsoft Staff Expected to Go On Strike
workers going on strike
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: No more on Mastodon and Gemini Mention Script in Go
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 01, 2025
My Motion Disbarring or “Striking Off” Brett Wilson LLP for Enabling Violent Americans Who Try to Crush Microsoft Critics in the United Kingdom by Multiple SLAPPs
"Guns for hire" (for Microsoft people who received Microsoft salaries)
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: Games and More
Links for the day
Links 01/04/2025: Apple Fined $162M for Privacy Abuses, Disinformation Online a Growing Concern
Links for the day
Why We're Reporting Brett Wilson LLP for Apparently Misusing Their Licence to Protect American Microsofters Who Attack Women
For those who have not been keeping abreast
Newer Press Reports Confirm That Microsoft Shuts Down 'Hey Hi' (AI) Labs Despite All the Hype
The "hey hi" (AI) bubble is not sustainable
Links 01/04/2025: Mass Layoffs at Eidos and "Microsoft Pulls Back on Data Centers" (Demand Lacking); "Racist and Sexist" Slop From Microsoft
Links for the day
Stefano Maffulli and His Microsoft-Funded OSI Staff Are Killing the OSI and Killing "Open Source" (All for Money!)
This is far from over
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: XKCDpunk and worldclock.py
Links for the day
50 Years of Sabotage and a Gut Punch to Computer Science (and Science in General)
Will we get back to science-based computing rather than cult-like following?
Techrights Headlines as Semaphore
"If you are hearing this, thank you"
3 Months in 2025, 4 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Now Offices Shut Down Permanently
"A recent visit by the South China Morning Post confirmed that the office was dark, unoccupied, and had its logo removed."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 31, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, March 31, 2025
Links 31/03/2025: China Tensions, Bombs Falling in Myanmar After Earthquake
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: Falling Out of Love With Tech, Sunsetting openSNP
Links for the day
R.T.O. at IBM in Texas and Atlanta (State of Georgia) Expected as "Soft Layoffs" Catalyst This Coming Year
It also sounds like more IBM layoffs are in the making
Law Firms Can Also Lose Their Licence for Clearly Misusing It
The bottom line is, never made the false assumption that because you can pile up SLAPPs in a docket you will not suffer from bad reputation or even get disbarred
Link between institutional abuse, Swiss jurists, Debianism and FSFE
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
LLM Slop Piggybacking News About GNU/Linux and Distorting It
new examples
Links 31/03/2025: Press and Democracy Under Further Attacks in the US, Attitudes Towards Slop Sour
Links for the day
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: The OSI Does Not Respect Anybody's Privacy
The surveillance mafia that bans dissent or key people (even co-founders) with dissenting views
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: More X-Filesposting and Dreaming in Emacs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 30, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, March 30, 2025