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Subject: Development of Creative Commons licenses

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  • From: drew Roberts <zotz AT 100jamz.com>
  • To: Discussion on the Creative Commons license drafts <cc-licenses AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [cc-licenses] human rights license
  • Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2005 07:45:34 -0500

On Sunday 27 November 2005 02:25 am, phyllostachys nuda wrote:
> Hello.
>
> I have been wishing for a license for software that prohibits unethical
> use of that software. More specifically, it is my opinion that software,
> especially when linked to biotech and nanotech, will be more dangerous than
> atomic weapons. However I also believe that this time around, the creators
> may be able to get control of their creations, rather than militaries and
> governments, by using copyright law, which has an extreme amount of power
> behind it owing to the large multinational corporation's whose dependence
> exists upon this law being upheld.
>
> The license I am looking for goes something like this: It is a viral
> license like any generic free license, except that it prohibits use of the
> software for 'violations of human rights, privacy, freedom of speech, etc'.
>
> In this way I believe that corporations and governments that use these
> tools to control, exploit, discriminate, and abuse their populations will
> be suable under copyright law. Other corporations will have to back this on
> principle because they depend on the validity of copyright law in the
> courts. Legally, if someone uses the software to, say, illegally spy on
> citizens, then that someone is going to be breaking copyright law. Nobody
> has to fight about right, wrong, etc. It's just a matter of property law.
>
> The only problem comes with governents that use 'eminent domain' to take
> code, or simply outright steal it. Or countries that don't care about
> copyright law.
>
> Thus some brilliant new technology that could wipe out the entire planet
> should not be trusted in the hands of any human being, and so should not be
> invented until we are spiritually evolved enough to handle it.
>
> But a lot of things, say, web services or compression or database code,
> these things are in a different category. They could be used for evil but
> they aren't designed specifically for it. We need them but we might weild a
> little control over their use with a proper license.

I think you are barking up the wrong tree with this one. I try this one on
every now and then for size myself. One issue is who defines what is
unethical?

One of the beauties with Free Software is that there are no such restrictions
and people from warring factions can thus end up working together on the
software. This working together may lead to other understandings or
interactions. (We can hope.)

If we go for unethical restrictions, how about restrictions with respect to
religion and politics and wealth and height. Only tall people can use this
software? Where will we stop?
>
> Thanks.
all the best,

drew

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