On Wed, Nov 22, 2023 at 07:16:48PM +0100, Bart Martens wrote:
> Hello, I hereby welcome seconds for adding this text to 2023/vote_002
> as a separate proposal.
seconded
>
> START OF PROPOSAL TEXT
>
> Debian Public Statement about the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and the
> Product Liability Directive (PLD)
>
> The CRA includes requirements for manufacturers of software, followed
> up by the PLD with compulsory liability for software. The Debian
> project has concerns on the impact on Free and Open-Source Software
> (FOSS).
>
> The CRA makes the use of FOSS in commercial context more difficult.
> This goes against the philosophy of the Debian project. The Debian Free
> Software Guidelines (DFSG) include "6. No Discrimination Against Fields
> of Endeavor - The license must not restrict anyone from making use of
> the program in a specific field of endeavor." A significant part of the
> success of FOSS is its use in commercial context. It should remain
> possible for anyone to produce, publish and use FOSS, without making it
> harder for commercial entities or for any group of FOSS users.
>
> The compulsory liability as meant in the PLD overrules the usual
> liability disclaimers in FOSS licenses. This makes sharing FOSS with
> the public more legally risky. The compulsory liability makes sense for
> closed-source software, where the users fully depend on the
> manufacturers. With FOSS the users have the option of helping
> themselves with the source code, and/or hiring any consultant on the
> market. The usual liability disclaimers in FOSS licenses should remain
> valid without the risk of being overruled by the PLD.
>
> The Debian project asks the EU to not draw a line between commercial
> and non-commercial use of FOSS. Such line should instead be between
> closed-source software and FOSS. FOSS should be entirely exempt from
> the CRA and the PLD.
>
> END OF PROPOSAL TEXT
>
--
ChangZhuo Chen (陳昌倬) czchen@{czchen,debian}.org
Key fingerprint = BA04 346D C2E1 FE63 C790 8793 CC65 B0CD EC27 5D5B
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