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08.14.20

[Meme] Linux Foundation and ZDNet Openwashing Proprietary Mass Surveillance (for a Fee!)

Posted in Deception at 1:53 am by Guest Editorial Team

Man makes millions from surveillance; you can abuse privacy as much as you want, then pay to call yourself 'open' and 'security'

Summary: The Linux Foundation and ZDNet [1,2] tell us that Facebook is “open” (because it pays for that openwashing); the Foundation’s love of mass surveillance [1, 2, 3, 4] and spin regarding such surveillance is reaching new heights for the Foundation, clearly misusing the “Linux” brand, is rapidly becoming a leading voice for malicious surveillance companies that need openwashing to merely seem or feel “ethical”

Related/contextual items from the news:

  1. Facebook’s Long History of Open Source Investments Deepens with Platinum-level Linux Foundation Membership

    From its efforts to reshape computing through open source to its aggressive push to increase internet connectivity around the world, Facebook is a leader in open innovation. Perhaps more important today than ever, Facebook’s focus on democratizing access to technology enhances opportunity and scale for individuals and businesses alike. That’s why we’re so excited to announce the company is joining the Linux Foundation at the highest level.

    Facebook’s sponsorship of open innovation through the Linux Foundation will help support the largest shared technology investment in history with an estimated $16B in development costs of the world’s 100+ leading open source projects and supports those project communities through governance, events and education. The company is also already the lead contributor of many Linux Foundation-hosted projects, such as Presto, GraphQL, Osquery and ONNX. It has been an active participant in Linux kernel development, employing key developers and maintainers across major kernel subsystems.

  2. Facebook joins The Linux Foundation as a platinum member

    Most web-based companies are built on Linux and open-source software. Two-billion member social network Facebook is no different. For years, Facebook has not only relied on open-source, it’s been an active contributor to major open-source projects. These include the React JavaScript library; the Open Compute Project, which open sources data-center hardware; and Linux’s cGroup2 container software. Now Facebook is joining The Linux Foundation membership at the Platinum level.

    [...]

    While Facebook has been criticized for how it deals with privacy and politics, it has impeccable open-source credentials. It was already the lead contributor of many Linux Foundation-hosted projects, such as Presto, GraphQL, Osquery, and ONNX. The company also employs many Linux kernel key developers and maintainers.

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