this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2024
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I think it is a circular problem.
Another example that comes to mind: the sanctions on Huawei and whether Google would be considered to be supplying software because Android is open-source. At the very least any contributions from Huawei is unlikely to be accepted into AOSP. The EU is also becoming problematic with their whole software origin and quality certifications they're trying to impose.
This leads to exactly what you said: national forks. In Huawei's case that's HarmonyOS.
I think we need to get back to being anonymous online, as if you're anonymous nobody knows where you're from and your contributions should be based solely on its merit. The legal framework just isn't set up for an environment like the Internet that severely blurs the lines between borders and no clear "this company is supplying this company in the enemy country".
Governments can't control it, and they really hate it.
It's also the fact that the measures taken are very reminiscent of that one phrase about locks: they keep the honest people away.
I have serious doubts that an hacker group, government-sponsored or not, would be using corporate, easily-traceable emails, like the removed maintainers did.
Seeing governments tackle tech in general is very weird. Sometimes I wonder if they feel the same way when making this kind of decisions or actually never feel a little odd about them.