A proposed addition to open-source licensing for improving freedom of use

Abstract

<p>This paper identifies an often overlooked dimension of open source licensing, that of users being able to run distributed software freely and without discrimination, and suggests additions that would further secure freedom 0 to end users — the freedom for the user to use software however they wish. While, traditionally, open source licenses have left developers free to work with their code in any way they wish, and only secured rights for endusers through code modifications, new licenses rethink this paradigm. Furthermore, modern mobile application infrastructure is more restricted by design, and has changed the landscape of modified versions of applications (simultaneously widening the digital divide), and thus a new analysis is needed on how (and which) freedoms should be secured to ensure that free software remains free.<br></p>