FSF Reveals Criteria For Hardware Endorsement

The campaign group the Free Software Foundation (FSF) has published its initial set of criteria for endorsing computers and other devices.

In the long run, FSF is aiming to create and promote an endorsement mark that would be carried on products that meet the criteria, and that ‘respects your freedom’.

Seal Of Approval

“The desire to own a computer or device and have full control over it, to know that you are not being spied on or tracked, to run any software you wish without asking permission, and to share with friends without worrying about Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) – these are the desires of millions of people who care about the future of technology and our society,” said Peter Brown, executive director of the FSF.

“Unfortunately, hardware manufacturers have until now relied on close cooperation with proprietary software companies that demanded control over their users,” he added. “As citizens and their customers, we need to promote our desires for a new class of hardware – hardware that anyone can support because it respects your freedom.”

The Conditions

Essentially, the FSF’s criteria seeks to cover all aspects of user interaction with and control of a device: the hardware must run free software on every layer that is user-upgradeable, allow the user to modify that software, support free data formats, be fully usable with free tools, and more.

For example, in order to meet the conditions for endorsement, sellers have to ensure that all product software will always be free software. The user must also be given the product software source code, and the ability to install replacement software if they so choose.

Other criteria include ensuring that, besides being free, all the product software must be buildable using 100 percent free software, that is released to the public on a “100 percent free operating system”. Likewise, all the software needed for the user to fully use and administer the product, and to get full use of all its features, must be free.

And then there is the pledge that the product must not do any spying, and must not transmit or make available to anyone any information about the owner, unless permission is given by the owner, or when required to do so by the law or communication protocol.

Another issue is encumbered formats that are impeded by patents, interface copyrights or other restrictions. If the device supports encumbered formats, it must also support free formats that serve the same purpose.

“For instance, MP3 is an encumbered format, because several organisations actively work to get patent royalties from players,” said the criteria.

No Reason Not To

“Every software component needed to produce endorsable hardware is now available,” said FSF licence compliance engineer Brett Smith. “We have several GNU/Linux distributions that only include free software, and are completely functional on the right hardware.”

“With our endorsement mark and the strong criteria that back it, we plan to bridge that gap and demonstrate to manufacturers that they stand to gain plenty by making hardware that respects people’s freedom instead of curtailing it,” he said.

The FSF is looking for feedback on the criteria for its hardware endorsement programme, and is looking to raise interest in the programme among hardware and device makers. The initial set of guidelines are available here.