Collaboration is orthogonal to the software being free though. You're free to make a fork and accept (or not) any contributions you want to - not just based on

Collaboration is orthogonal to the software being free though. You're free to make a fork and accept (or not) any contributions you want to - not just based on your country laws, but also even just on your whim. If the laws prohibit you from collaborating with someone, it's you who's not free, not the software you make. Also, being able to get newer copies is not an issue from the Free Software definition point of view. All it cares about is whether you're free to do things with a copy you already got. Don't get me wrong, taking away the ability to collaborate and having to jump through hoops to be able to participate in modern world are real and severe problems - it just has nothing to do with software freedom per se (at least unless you're prevented from sharing the obtained software with someone else).