Re: Export Compliance/Customs Information about Debian Software
. Cubik65536 writes:
> In the legal information of some Linux Distribution, I have seen an Export Compliance/Customs Information like this:
>
>> Export Compliance/Customs Information
>>
>> By downloading XXX Linux software, you acknowledge that you
>> understand all of the following:
>>
>> XXX Linux software and technical information may be subject to the
>> U.S. Export Administration Regulations (the “EAR”) and other U.S. and
>> foreign laws and may not be exported, re-exported or transferred (a)
>> to a prohibited destination country under the EAR or U.S. sanctions
>> regulations (currently Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and the
>> Crimea Region of Ukraine, subject to change as posted by the United
>> States government); (b) to any prohibited destination or to any end
>> user who has been prohibited from participating in U.S. export
>> transactions by any federal agency of the U.S. government; or (c) for
>> use in connection with the design, development or production of
>> nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, or rocket systems, space
>> launch vehicles, or sounding rockets, or unmanned air vehicle
>> systems.
>>
>> You may not download XXX Linux software or technical information if
>> you are located in one of these countries or otherwise subject to
>> these restrictions. You may not provide XXX Linux software or
>> technical information to individuals or entities located in one of
>> these countries or otherwise subject to these restrictions. You are
>> also responsible for compliance with foreign law requirements
>> applicable to the import, export and use of XXX Linux software and
>> technical information. XXX Linux software in source code and binary
>> code form are publicly available and are not subject to the EAR in
>> accordance with §742.15(b).
>
>
> Which tells us that the software and technical information were
> subject to the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (the “EAR”). But
> the open-sourced source code and binary code are not. But I cannot
> find this kind of information on Debian website and wiki. I understand
> that the Debian source code is not subject to the EAR, but is the
> software (as I understand, it’s the packaged version of the software,
> for example, ISOs) distributed on the website (debian.org) subject to
> the regulations? I read some documents on the wiki
> (https://wiki.debian.org/USExportControl,
> https://www.debian.org/legal/cryptoinmain, and
> https://www.debian.org/legal/notificationforarchive), but they did not
> answer directly on the question.
>
> If I have anything that I misunderstood, please tell me.
What exactly is and is not export controlled is something that changes
over time. I am pretty sure that everyone on both sides agreed that
exporting a printed book is OK. Anything beyond that becomes an
exercise in parsing Supreme Court opinions and governmental regulations.
So I do not think that we can give you a definitive answer. We can only
tell you what Debian did, which is send a letter to BXA. I think Debian
used to send letters every time crypto software was updated, but BXA
asked them to stop.
Cheers,
Walter Landry
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