[Discuss] Govt Source Code Policy

[richard.pieri at gmail.com (Rich Pieri)]

On 4/3/2016 7:58 AM, Matthew Gillen wrote:
> That is quite debatable.  Auto-bricking the phone would definitely count
> as interfering with the device.  Erasing protected storage that does not
> render the device unusable (even if, for instance, it made it so you
> could never talk to iTunes again), would not necessarily constitute
> interference.

Part 6 stipulates that, "[t]he information must suffice to ensure that
the *continued* [emphasis mine] functioning of the modified object code
is in no case prevented or interfered with solely because modification
has been made." Wiping the protected storage constitutes such
interference: functioning would no longer be identical to what it was
prior to modification modulo changes or bugs introduced by the user.
Your proposed auto-wipe mechanism would be a blatant violation of the GPL.


> That's not what Part 3 actually says.  What it says is that any DRM
> mechanisms cannot be construed as 'protection' w.r.t. the DMCA.
> 
> It does not say "I need to build in a way for end users to bypass my DRM".

You're responding to something I didn't write. What I wrote is, "Part 3
requires that circumvention of DRM around covered works be permitted."

Fact is, circumventing boot loader security is easy. It's an important
step in jailbreaking iThings and rooting Android devices. What Part 3
says is that you cannot use laws like WIPO and the DMCA to prevent this
nor can you use these laws to prevent dissemination of software and
methods for doing so.

To date, every version of iOS has a jailbreak available for it.

So I stand by my assertion: if iOS were GPLv3 then the FBI would not
require Apple's assistance in creating and installing a custom "GovtOS"
on Farook's iPhone.

-- 
Rich P.