4 ms·

Out of curiosity, why is GPL software prohibited on the app store?

by fred256 10y ago

gruez 10y ago
AFAIK it's because all app store apps have proprietary DRM by apple, and since it's built into the app, it would be violating the GPL to distribute the app without also releasing the source code for apple's DRM.
- FireBeyond 10y ago
  That seems more pedantry from the FSF than anything else. You are perfectly free to distribute the source code to an app you publish to the App Store. The fact that binary compiled from said source code is digitally signed is ... neither here nor there. By that rationale, PGP signing source code would fall afoul of the same, after all, which is the bit that is compiled - the signed code, or the unsigned code?
  - davexunit 10y ago
    >You are perfectly free to distribute the source code to an app you publish to the App Store. But the GPL states that when a user receives a binary, they may request the complete corresponding source code to that software. That doesn't mean most of the code, minus this proprietary bit that handles DRM.
    - Turing_Machine 10y ago
      By that reasoning, you couldn't use any compiled GPL software on Windows, either, since the code will be linked with Microsoft's runtime libraries (which are decidedly not FOSS).
      - justincormack 10y ago
        The GPL has a system libraries exception that covers this.
        LeoNatan25 10y ago
        Wouldn't the DRM handling system be considered a system library, thus falling in the same exception?
bri3d 10y ago
The FSF argue that the App Store's ToS restricts app redistribution and therefore is incompatible with Section 6 of GPLv2: "You may not impose any further restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein." Similar language is contained in each GPL and GPL-alike license. http://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store-gpl-enforcement http://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store-...
- newjersey 10y ago
  > The FSF argue that the App Store's ToS restricts app redistribution and therefore is incompatible with Section 6 of GPLv2: "You may not impose any further restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein." I anal but why would it restrict recipient's exercise of the rights? I believe as of iOS 10, you can compile your own apps on your iPhone without paying an Apple tax and I imagine the apps have source code publicly available in summer git repository probably on GitHub anyway? I don't think the argument is that you as a developer are prohibited from using GPL code on apple app store. The argument (rightly) is that you should not participate in that ecosystem because it is a serfdom but then emacs exists on Windows which despite all the overture of "Microsoft loves open source" didn't come even close to saying in practice "Microsoft loves free software". Such is life. You can't win them all, Charlie Brown. tl;dr I anal but I don't think the GPL prohibits you from putting your app on the app store. Just make sure you somehow give the source code to everyone who installed the app.
  - icebraining 10y ago
    The thing is, the copy you get from the App Store is encumbered by the ToS licensing terms, which conflicts with the GPL. That you can get an unencumbered copy from Github doesn't fix that.
    - newjersey 10y ago
      I don't understand the distinction. Does that mean any DRM encumbered store would also automatically be in violation of GPL? I'm thinking steam, origin, or any store that doesn't like you sharing binaries with others.

Out of curiosity, why is GPL software prohibited on the app store?

by fred256 10y ago

Out of curiosity, why is GPL software prohibited on the app store?

gruez 10y ago

AFAIK it's because all app store apps have proprietary DRM by apple, and since it's built into the app, it would be violating the GPL to distribute the app without also releasing the source code for apple's DRM.

FireBeyond 10y ago
That seems more pedantry from the FSF than anything else. You are perfectly free to distribute the source code to an app you publish to the App Store. The fact that binary compiled from said source code is digitally signed is ... neither here nor there. By that rationale, PGP signing source code would fall afoul of the same, after all, which is the bit that is compiled - the signed code, or the unsigned code?
- davexunit 10y ago
  >You are perfectly free to distribute the source code to an app you publish to the App Store. But the GPL states that when a user receives a binary, they may request the complete corresponding source code to that software. That doesn't mean most of the code, minus this proprietary bit that handles DRM.
  - Turing_Machine 10y ago
    By that reasoning, you couldn't use any compiled GPL software on Windows, either, since the code will be linked with Microsoft's runtime libraries (which are decidedly not FOSS).
    - justincormack 10y ago
      The GPL has a system libraries exception that covers this.
      - LeoNatan25 10y ago
        Wouldn't the DRM handling system be considered a system library, thus falling in the same exception?

bri3d 10y ago

The FSF argue that the App Store's ToS restricts app redistribution and therefore is incompatible with Section 6 of GPLv2: "You may not impose any further restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein." Similar language is contained in each GPL and GPL-alike license. http://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store-gpl-enforcement http://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store-...

newjersey 10y ago
> The FSF argue that the App Store's ToS restricts app redistribution and therefore is incompatible with Section 6 of GPLv2: "You may not impose any further restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein." I anal but why would it restrict recipient's exercise of the rights? I believe as of iOS 10, you can compile your own apps on your iPhone without paying an Apple tax and I imagine the apps have source code publicly available in summer git repository probably on GitHub anyway? I don't think the argument is that you as a developer are prohibited from using GPL code on apple app store. The argument (rightly) is that you should not participate in that ecosystem because it is a serfdom but then emacs exists on Windows which despite all the overture of "Microsoft loves open source" didn't come even close to saying in practice "Microsoft loves free software". Such is life. You can't win them all, Charlie Brown. tl;dr I anal but I don't think the GPL prohibits you from putting your app on the app store. Just make sure you somehow give the source code to everyone who installed the app.
- icebraining 10y ago
  The thing is, the copy you get from the App Store is encumbered by the ToS licensing terms, which conflicts with the GPL. That you can get an unencumbered copy from Github doesn't fix that.
  - newjersey 10y ago
    I don't understand the distinction. Does that mean any DRM encumbered store would also automatically be in violation of GPL? I'm thinking steam, origin, or any store that doesn't like you sharing binaries with others.