Bonum Certa Men Certa

Openwashing Report: G.A.F.A.M. Surveillance and Military/Imperialism as 'Open' and 'Sharing'

Let's spread democracy...

Weekly openwashing report



Summary: The (mis)use of the term "Open Source" to promote monopolies has become so profound that even corporate media such as Forbes takes note of it (but obviously defends the practice)

THOSE who've read the "Openwashing Report" series long enough very well know it's not focused on Microsoft or on large companies. It calls out every openwashing culprit we stumble upon in our research irrespective of size/market share. And G.A.F.A.M. (the 'big five') just happen to be some of the biggest culprits, Microsoft typically being the worst. Microsoft is also a bit unique in several ways. As we explained on August 20th:



There’s a common and perhaps deliberate misconception. We’re supposed to think that GNU/Linux is under attack from many large companies, but in reality there’s one single company standing to gain the most from a destruction (or hijack) of Linux. That company isn’t SCO but the company that subsidises SCO’s lawsuits against Linux. It’s also the only company that’s blackmailing, using patents, ChromeOS (GNU/Linux) and Android (Linux) OEMs, even in 2019. Those who don’t understand that are either indoctrinated or dishonest. Google isn’t the company that assaults Linux in court. Apple isn’t the company that started the “Get the Facts” FUD campaign. Amazon’s AWS is predominantly GNU/Linux and has nothing to gain from Windows. As for Facebook? It’s deeply connected to Microsoft. It’s problematic for a lot of reasons. Apache's Jim Jagielski used Facebook's abuses as a pretext for excusing Microsoft's.


As a general note, Techrights was primarily focused on Novell in the early days (when the site was small). Nowadays we're very much hinged on the key principles (e.g. software freedom/Software Freedom and software patents) and don't single out any particular company. It's important not to cheer for 'brands' -- Linux included -- but to keep in mind underlying ideologies and values.

"It's important not to cheer for 'brands' -- Linux included -- but to keep in mind underlying ideologies and values."FOSS, as in Free software, is nowadays used everywhere, yet software freedom is to be found almost nowhere. Due to openwashing, in our humble assessment, proprietary software is often marketed as "open" and "awesome", just because some code might be available. It's like false marketing. Clown Computing, as a side note, tells us that outsourcing our data and computing is "awesome" and a business would be a "relic" or a "dinosaur" for owning and controlling its own systems. The surveillance industry likes it like that because centralisation makes spying a lot more trivial.

The sad truth is that FOSS dominates, but at the same time freedom does not. Software Freedom (we sometimes capitalise it like that) is almost nowhere to be seen and general freedom (e.g. from surveillance ) isn't quite prevalent. Something needs to be done. Corporations do what they did to Hippies in the 70s. They tell FOSS people that they're winning; but actually FOSS is being taken over by monopolies.

Last month we wrote about openwashing of surveillance datacentres. Doing it the Facebook and Microsoft way (Open Compute Project), Nexedi and Hydro66 have just issued this press release. Classic openwashing! This is the kind of thing we've long written about it. "Open Compute" is hardly 'open' and it is hardly free/Free, either...

"The sad truth is that FOSS dominates, but at the same time freedom does not."Another nonsensical new buzzword of G.A.F.A.M. and the Linux Foundation is "Confidential"; pretty meaningless, right?

Calling mass surveillance "Confidential" (the very opposite!), as was done a few days ago in Computer Weekly, is an insult to the concept of confidentiality. "Companies committed to this work include Alibaba, Arm, Baidu, Google Cloud, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Red Hat, Swisscom and Tencent," it says. They call their surveillance networks "confidential computing..."

On Microsoft GitHub is where they put their code. Yes, GitHub! Which is in NSA PRISM...

But worry not; Microsoft tells us that GitHub will patch our software and code without intervention. Yes, always trust automatic patches (and patching) from the NSA and the company that puts back doors in everything for it.

""Open Compute" is hardly 'open' and it is hardly free, either..."Remember that surveillance is "confidential" now. Orwell would have loved it. NSA back doors are "Security" (the S in the acronym!) and War is "Peace"...

Let's dive a little deeper into new examples from the past week, starting with (perhaps) the biggest privacy violator, whose tentacles are all over Web pages and sometimes packet transmission as well.

Google



The "big G", one of the 'big five' or G.A.F.A.M., was mentioned here last weekend. We explained how it had spun various surveillance projects as "open". Media was happy to play along in a big way!

Not only is Google openwashing out of control. It seems to be in control of the media judging by the number of puff pieces to that effect (more than Microsoft even!). We can only guess that a Google News near-monopoly helps towards this goal.

"Not only is Google openwashing out of control. It seems to be in control of the media judging by the number of puff pieces to that effect (more than Microsoft even!)."Curiously enough, a year after Microsoft declared its intentions for GitHub Google still uses it, even for new projects. Back in the days Google had its own code repositories (Google Code), but apparently outsourcing even of Google's own projects is seen as OK now. Well, if you actually value privacy there or elsewhere, Mr. Google, you will pursue a host that is privacy-oriented (but of course you don’t/won't). Over the past week we found loads of articles like "Google open sources differential privacy dev library"; there's a whole array of others [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9] with the words "Open Source" and "privacy" in the headline. Does it not bother anyone that this is Google and GitHub, which is proprietary software and in NSA PRISM?

"Google today introduced Neural Structured Learning (NSL)," said another new article, "an open source framework that uses the Neural Graph Learning method for training neural networks with graphs and structured data."

Google uses that for surveillance. We're supposed to think surveillance becomes ethical when the abuser 'makes up' for it by uploading some code to proprietary software (the Microsoft censorship machine called GitHub).

"We're supposed to think surveillance becomes ethical when the abuser 'makes up' for it by uploading some code to proprietary software (the Microsoft censorship machine called GitHub)."So Google surveillance is... open. Moreover it's for disabled people, such as deaf and blind people (we wrote about this pattern as well a week ago). Here's the latest example to that effect ("Google open-source software allows call and music streaming directly to hearing aids"). So if you oppose privacy-infringing activity, then you actually harm deaf people? That's the sort of PR tactic which listening devices ("smart" "assistant") companies gravitate towards.

Marketing genius. Google does loads of openwashing these days. Those who oppose? They must really hate people with disabilities! How dare they? Never mind the fact that “I put my code on proprietary software GitHub for “openness” or for Open Source” is a bit like “I gave you a braid of dead flowers because I love flowers” (not you).

Notice these patterns. They're becoming more widespread over time. Now let's look at Microsoft.

Microsoft



Each quarter that passes, each time journalists are back from holiday, there's fewer and fewer of them. And they do less and less actual journalism. PR liars (think along the lines of "Microsoft loves Linux") are happy to fill this vacuum. Microsoft exploits that too.

"Each quarter that passes, each time journalists are back from holiday, there's fewer and fewer of them. And they do less and less actual journalism. PR liars (think along the line of "Microsoft loves Linux") are happy to fill this vacuum. Microsoft exploits that too."Over the years we've taken note of Fossbytes, seeing how it gradually becomes an anti-Linux site. Ignore the "FOSS" part; it's a Microsoft promotion site, nowadays run by utterly clueless (or worse -- dishonest) people...

"Microsoft loves Linux" is the kind of lie they push there every week. They're also openwashing proprietary software of Microsoft quite routinely. They describe Microsoft as "FOSS". But they should stop repeating this lie. Because pretty much every big project/product of Microsoft remains proprietary. Microsoft didn't 'open up'. It's a paid-for PR campaign. Always fact-check and assess pertinent facts.

Just before the weekend we saw Adrian Bridgwater (Forbes) repeating these PR lies. He has long repeated Microsoft talking points about FOSS; when I pointed this out he threatened me. Once again he says "Microsoft loves Linux". He can say that all he wants (that's the price of free speech), but it doesn't make this PR lie any more true, just more crap being flung at a wall.

A Techrights reader too noticed this article and quoted from it the Microsoft-connected WhiteSource: "VP of product for open source security and compliance company WhiteSource David Habusha suggests that this shift is materially impacting the entire open source community, since it is nearly impossible for hobbyist programmers and smaller special interest groups (SIGs) to compete with these huge corporations, who have the money needed to develop and maintain open source projects at a higher level."

"Microsoft didn't 'open up'. It's a paid-for PR campaign."WhiteSource is part of this problem; WhiteSource works closely with Microsoft and badmouths FOSS every week. It glorifies and cherishes proprietary software monopolies with openwashing.

We've meanwhile also noticed that Microsoft is again openwashing the proprietary software HoloLens through GitHub (which is itself proprietary). It's a paid press release... it's cross-posted. Not too shockingly the Microsoft-connected propaganda networks (check ownership) were happy to participate in the openwashing of HoloLens. Microsoft, Open Source and HoloLens are all in the headline; never mind if Microsoft and HoloLens are both proprietary. As a reminder, Microsoft sacked all HoloLens staff when it bought the company; it then gave HoloLens to the US Army (to help kill people more efficiently). It is a relatively old controversy.

"As a reminder, Microsoft sacked all HoloLens staff when it bought the company; it then gave HoloLens to the US Army (to help kill people more efficiently)."If Microsoft buys your company, it's time to move on or risk being an active (complicit) participant in crimes and other immoral acts, shows history... nowadays a lot of Microsoft's business/operation is helping governments spy on and oppress people. This is an actual fact and articles around the world have covered this point reasonably well (not necessarily in English).

Yesterday we wrote about the way Microsoft is 'Linuxwashing' its surveillance devices that are plugged into Azure (much of that has been in the media lately); someone then told me, on that same day:

#Microsoft has also recently developed hardware platforms and SoCs where they are the only actor allowed to manage all the cryptography keys stored in HW.

This means that they will be able to sell licenses for cryptography as 'IoT service' and make sure system manufacturers and users will pay fees to use open standards and cryptography on their HW.

#Microsoft IoT plans are extremely obscure and well hidden behind their #openwashing campaign


Notice that the term openwashing -- which we coined more than a decade ago -- is spreading and gaining momentum. This is good because it helps communicate a particular issue in concise (one-word) terms.

Microsoft is, according to this, also openwashing PowerToys -- software that you can only run on proprietary software with NSA back doors. How open is it really?

"Notice that the term openwashing -- which we coined more than a decade ago -- is spreading and gaining momentum. This is good because it helps communicate a particular issue in concise (one-word) terms."This sort of 'propaganda' style of reporting is becoming far too commonplace. For technology (i.e. the whole site) ZDNet deserves treatment akin to that of Daily Fail (renamed 'Mail Online' in Britain to dodge hard bans; it's a really bad tabloid; not reliable and occasionally lying, intentionally, for hits). The site is full of Microsoft insiders who call themselves 'reporters' and it is owner entirely by CBS, which is a notorious megaphone of the CIA (new example here in 'Intelligence Matters', hosted by a former CIA chief in their prime time news sites/channels).

For CBS, in the area of tech (e.g. ZDNet, Tech Republic, CNET), it's also a megaphone of Microsoft (which helps commit crimes against humanity and participates in imperialism). Watch who they pick/recruit as staff writers; some are working concurrently at Microsoft, i.e. they're salaried by Microsoft.

Speaking of imperialism, let's look at Amazon.

Amazon



The openwashing of listening devices (surveillance which media calls "smart" "assistants") by the Pentagon-connected Amazon is a subject we covered here several times last month. Here they go again openwashing Alexa: "Amazon has turned its proprietary Alexa Skills Kit Command Line Interface (ASK CLI) into an open-source tool kit."

So-called 'tool kit'. Classic openwash.

"The openwashing of listening devices (surveillance which media calls "smart" "assistants") by the Pentagon-connected Amazon is a subject we covered here several times last month."Over at another CBS-owned tech site (Tech Republic), Mac Asay (now working for Amazon's AWS) is promoting "open source" as in pure exploitation (just what the employer does). He became notorious for his Microsoft propaganda (where he had also pursued a job) and he has become a foe of Free software. His latest article, "The key to open source sustainability is good old-fashioned self-interest," was mentioned to us by readers. Months ago he was defending Amazon's abuse of Free software projects. Shortly afterwards Amazon gave him a job. Coincidence?

ZDNet



After much hesitation we've decided to demote ZDNet like we did Ars Technica. To be frank, Ars Technica is a defunct Web site. They don't produce anything of value anymore. People other than us point this out too. Publicly!

Seems like their 'in-house pedophile' Microsoft Peter added fuel to the bonfire, harming credibility and morale. They pay the price for hiring and paying salaries to Microsoft 'moles' (who publish articles 'on behalf' of Microsoft's PR staff).

"They pay the price for hiring and paying salaries to Microsoft 'moles' (who publish articles 'on behalf' of Microsoft's PR staff)."Something similar now happens in ZDNet, a prime proponent of openwashing, just like its parent company. Over time we find less (and fewer) reasons to ever link to ZDNet's Microsoft brainwashing staff. It's a rogue bunch and it it weren't for some writers like SJVN, we'd probably just impose a mental block (like blacklist) of the domain. Funded by the likes of Microsoft to promote their agenda, i.e. corrupt 'journalism', the site has nothing to offer which favours FOSS. Almost nothing (except SJVN's articles). News from ZDNet (from yesterday and the past week) is all wrong. Exim has an important bugfix, for example, but the CBS tabloid ZDNet went with: “Millions of Exim servers vulnerable” (in the headline).

As if to imply millions of businesses have just been compromised and the sky is falling. This what happens when CBS hires trolls and drama queens like Catalin Cimpanu from Bleeping Computer (misinformation site, anti-FOSS bias). Many other writers have publicly complained about misinformation from Cimpanu; the same is true for Dan Goodin from Ars Technica -- to the point where Ars Technica actually got sued for defamation (over one of many defamatory articles from Goodin).

As we said at the start of this long article, journalism is rotting. People who care about truth say, "let's create a Web site about facts and news..."

"Openwashing, for instance, is Big Business. There's demand for it; rich people view that as a form of reputation laundering and this is how the Linux Foundation makes much of its money."Liars and lying opportunists say, "let's create a Web site that attracts funding from sponsors and advertisers to lie to the public..."

Guess where the money is. Openwashing, for instance, is Big Business. There's demand for it; rich people view that as a form of reputation laundering and this is how the Linux Foundation makes much of its money. Sad, but true.

Recent Techrights' Posts

GNU/Linux is Replacing Microsoft Windows. But We Need to Eradicate Microsoft, It's a Hub of Crime.
I have been writing about Microsoft since the 1990s when I was in school
Microsoft Staff Harassing Women, Strangling Women, Telling Women to Kill Themselves and Worse? Not a Problem!
Two women have left Brett Wilson LLP
 
Happy Independence Day to Our American Readers
Maybe tomorrow will be a good opportunity to explain to American people - in terms of concepts, not brands - which tools respect their independence
Slopwatch: Linux Journal, Linuxsecurity, and Google News Getting Even Worse (More Slopfarms Added Which Attack Linux With Bruce-Force SPAM)
Google News is part of the same problem
Links 03/07/2025: More Cuts and Cancellations at Microsoft Revealed
Links for the day
Gemini Links 03/07/2025: Favourite Child and Launching WikiGem
Links for the day
Mystery Surrounding the PCLinuxOS Sites and PCLinuxOS Magazine
Let's hope this isn't something major
People and Companies Do Learn Some Lessons From Their Mistakes (Stubborn Ones Don't)
Brett Wilson LLP is an example of one that would rather drown in mistakes
Links 03/07/2025: 'Hey Hi' Slop Ridiculed Some More and Microsoft's Layoffs Tally for 2025 Reaches About 29,000 in Just 6 Months (Almost 5,000 Per Month)
Links for the day
The Slopfarms Are Losing the Plot (and Google is Propping Up Rogue Sites)
Google is part of the attack on the Web, on information, and on technology
New BetaNews Realises There's No Potential or Future in Slopfarms, Prior Editor Wayne Williams is Back
They realise that slop (so-called "AI") cannot replace humans
Claims That Microsoft Looks for Staff That Works More and Gets Paid Less (or Can Only Code by Grabbing Other People's Code, Under the Guise of "AI")
People can form their own opinion
Richard Stallman Was Right About Reasons Not to Use Microsoft
last updated 2017
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 02, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 02, 2025
Gemini Links 03/07/2025: No to Cloudflare and Small Web July
Links for the day
Links 02/07/2025: Deep Microsoft Cuts, Macron Speaks to Putin
Links for the day
Confirmed: Microsoft Shutdowns Today, Not Only Mass Layoffs
"The Initiative is the only studio closure planned today, although some other teams have seen cuts of varying degrees."
Microsoft Windows Nosedives in Switzerland While GNU/Linux Leaps Above 6%
sooner or later they might have to make the move anyway
Anxiety at Microsoft: Many Workers (Maybe Over 10,000) Still Don't Know They're Being Laid Off Just Before US Independence Day
"Has anyone gotten the notification yet?"
Microsoft "Declined to Say How Many People Would be Laid Off," According to Associated Press
Some other prominent publications said they reached out for comment from Microsoft and received none
The X War is Over and the "Wayland People" Lost
People will gravitate towards what works for them
20 Years Since My Thesis
It's still online
GNU/Linux is Replacing Windows in Laptops/Desktops
The world will move on while Windows and Microsoft shrink
Now Comes the Expected Webspam, Framing Microsoft Layoffs as "Hey Hi" Success Story (False Marketing That's Piggybacking the Layoffs)
falsely marketed as "intelligence"
Hungary: Microsoft Windows Sinks to 17% "Market Share"
In many nations in Europe it seems like the era of Windows is coming to an end
Microsoft Media Operatives and Bill Epsteingate-Funded Sites Said Microsoft Lays Off 9,000, But Other Sites Say More (Including 2,300 in Redmond Alone)
We might never know the real number/s (Microsoft will keep the cards close to its chest) until there are leakers or unless there are whistleblowers with hard proof
Microsoft Layoffs in Spain, Portugal Record for GNU/Linux
in Portugal we see GNU/Linux at record levels
GNU/Linux Reaches All-Time High in the United States of America
Windows is trending down
Yes, Microsoft is Again Using Its Favourite Liars (Stenographers) to Seed Fake Layoff Numbers, Much Lower Than What's Really Happening
It is Jordan Novet again, just as we predicted
Will Microsoft Once Again Choose Its Favourite Liar to Spread Lies About Today's Layoffs, Quickly to be Replicated and Spread by Slopfarms?
What lies is Microsoft briefing its media moles to tell today?
"OSS Fetishism" Wins After Ferenc Zsolt Szabó Ousted (Microsoft Mole From Capgemini)
Many people said 2025 would be the "year of Linux on the desktop"
There is Nothing That LLMs Can Offer Honest People
LLMs are a passing fad; they're expensive and offer poor "value" for energy; they usually offer no value at all unless you are a cheater, spammer, and liar
What statCounter Shows Today Helps Explain Microsoft's Helplessness, Mass Layoffs
Since many US journalists are already away on holiday almost nobody will dare ask the difficult questions or give a voice to whistleblowers
Microsoft Gets the Chop in South America
The notion of digital sovereignty gained a lot of popularity
Europe Has an 'Exit'
Let's see what happens the rest of this year
El Presidente Talks, Canada Walks (Away From Windows)
GNU/Linux rising
Cities in France and Germany Move to GNU/Linux and statCounter Detects Big Differences
Will governments lead by example?
Microsoft Lost Its Foothold in Africa
How many of these are "old" Windows machines converted to GNU/Linux? Probably a lot.
Led by Europe, GNU/Linux Makes Big Gains This Month
statCounter started showing new/fresh stats
Links 02/07/2025: Massive Microsoft Layoffs About to Commence, "Tesla's Robotaxi Program Is Failing"
Links for the day
Why the Microsoft People Who Started SLAPPs Against Techrights Could Very Well be Sent Back to Prison
White-collar crime is also a crime
The Company Run by Former (and Last Proper) Red Hat CEO, Promoting Microsoft Mono, Faces Shock as Senior Partner Jailed for 33 Sexual Offenses Including Pedophilia
"As reported by The Oxford Mail in April 2025, the offenses include rape, sexual assault, engaging in non-penetrative activity with a child, and more."
Microsoft Lost 29% of Windows Users, Based on Microsoft, Now Come Massive Layoffs
Microsoft collapse is today
Slopwatch: Google Serves to People Linux Slop and Linux FUD (Made by Bots)
"Slopwatch" finds it difficult to ignore Google's role in encouraging LLM slop
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 01, 2025
"Wayland People" Behave Like the Googles and Microsofts of This World
Published yesterday by Igor Ljubuncic
Gemini Links 02/07/2025: Arch Linux and Fulfillment in Gemini
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2025: "Independence Day in Taiwan", Bounties on Software Patents
Links for the day
What Happens When Your Law Firm is Preoccupied With Harassing and Trying to Extort a Humble Couple in Manchester, Even on Behalf of Violent Microsoft Staff From Another Continent
It's good to see that law firms which operate in bad faith are perishing
Lawyer X, Law Firm X and Elon Musk's X: scandals linked by Old Xaverian
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Distraction-Free Writing and Hytale Mismanagement
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2025: "Beauty of Blogging" and "Etiquette of Collapse"
Links for the day
Microsoft Uses LLM Slop to Defraud (or Rob) Shareholders
Microsoft is basically defrauding its shareholders by LLM slop
The Web is a Dead End
We need to adopt alternatives
When Words Lose Their Intended Meaning
examples of words that, at least in the technical spheres, don't mean what they sound like
People Who Disagree With You on Technical Matters May or May Not Agree With You on Political Things (But Usually They Do)
What bothers me a great deal is seeing left-leaning people accusing other left-leaning people of being "nazis"
"Too Much Choice" and "Too Many Programming Languages"
What IBM and its apologists aim for was attempted in the 1930s and it failed
Microsoft Lost 400,000,000 Windows Users, According to Microsoft
more people adopt smaller computers and many people replace Windows with GNU/Linux, as they don't really need a new computer
The "Davos Effect": Tarnishing the Reputation of Places Not by Overtourism But by Oligarch Infestation
The last Venice needs is an affiliation with Venetian oligarchs
Half a Year Gone, What's to Come Next
In the second half of 2025 we expect to be done with the Microsoft SLAPPs
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 30, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 30, 2025
People at the Very Top of Microsoft Know How Bad Things Really Are
There's no product that can replace the former profitability of Windows licensing and stuff that went on top of Windows
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Mid Year and a Tour of Old Languages
Links for the day