Society will never be free under nonfree software

Advocating for free software isn't just a matter of personal values (although it would be reason enough alone): it is an essential building block of any free society. In 2024, most people interact more or less with software that is controlled by a tech industry that jealously guards its secrets. When the choice to understand and alter the technology that runs our world is locked away, we the people are forced to live in a nonfree society. We don't have to accept an existence reminiscent of dystopian novels. While free software doesn't guarantee a free society, it does provide many kinds of frameworks and tools needed for building and sustaining free societies.

At the individual user level, free software is an important component of a free society because it allows users to study source code and alter it to suit their needs instead of the desires of proprietary vendors. With freedom in mind, there is no good reason why a tech giant should be able to tell you how, on which device, and for what purpose you can run a program. There are only bad reasons to deprive you of the freedom to study, modify, and share the program. Everyone should have the choice to control their own computing.

At a governmental level, a free society is dependent on accountable governance that is influenced only by its people, not by outside entities. When a government uses proprietary software, power is ripped away from the people and sold to the highest-paying corporation. Residents of a country have significantly less influence over their government when it's controlled by private money, and as a consequence, much less control over the laws in place, the choices they have, and who gets to watch the lives they lead. There may even be a strong suggestion or requirement to use proprietary software for government business. In addition to all of these freedom violations resulting from a government using nonfree software, the government (and basically anyone), is unable to shield itself from foreign influences accessing a possibly unlimited amount of information. A government run on proprietary software must be held accountable by its people for not using free software.

For a society to be free, everyone must possess freedom of speech and the right to express dissent through protest. Free software allows activists to check and confirm privacy on their devices and channels before organizing and discussing issues. It allows movements and journalists, no matter how autocratic the society, to coordinate protests, express opinions, and publish facts without fear of prosecution or even violence. Free software makes it possible for people at every level to work for a free society.

A society is not free when it is rife with injustice, and free software is a vital weapon against injustice. Free software helps remove barriers to seeking any kind of information that a person may need or want, from life-saving reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare to how to build a computer from scratch and program troubleshooting. It allows scientists of all levels and backgrounds to contribute to disaster response programs and equity-informed technology solutions that make human existence more sustainable. Free software also makes it possible for us to have control over the medical technology that helps keep us healthy. If you look at an aspect of a society that is currently not free and just, there is probably a way that free software can contribute to it being more free.

We don't have to accept the "predetermined" path of non-freedom. You and I, and everyone else who lives on this planet, deserve to make our own choices when it comes to software. We shouldn't be forced to allow tech giants to control our destinies. We can decide who gets to have a say over our technology and our societies.

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