Haier Europe sends takedowns over open source plugins
The Register notes the following:
A plugin and library to permit the control of Haier, Candy, and Hoover appliances recently received takedown requests from Haier Europe's Security and Governance department.
The repositories, owned by Andre Basche, consist of a Python library to retrieve information and execute commands on appliances – for example, a smart washing machine – and an integration plug-in for the Home Assistant app.
The plugin supports anything from air conditioners to tumble dryers to wine cellars. It is also not something produced by Haier itself, and the repository for the library proclaims: "This python package is unofficial and is not related in any way to Haier. It was developed by reversed [sic] engineered requests and can stop working at anytime!"
Judging by the takedown notices, it could well stop working sooner rather than later. According to a notification in both repositories – https://github.com/Andre0512/pyhOn and https://github.com/Andre0512/hon – Haier has taken exception to the project and claimed: "The plug-ins are using our services in an unauthorized manner which is causing significant economic harm to our Company." Hence a cease and desist, coupled with legal threats.