4 ms·

“Linux is still legal”. Someone’s been reading too much sci-fi.

ath3nd 3y ago
Well, if currently in UK people are/could be arrested for: - Wearing an orange shirt with a specific logo - Walking on the street - Singing a song - Supporting adowntrodden nation publicly or in a protest Then it's not so far fetched for that insane government to mandate citizens machines to install some backdoor so they can be constantly monitored. I remember UK trying to pass bills like 'Porn depicting cunnilingus is illegal'. If that kind of crap occupies politicians' time, Linux being illegal is most certainly not in the Scifi realm.
- Crosseye_Jack 3y ago
  Well in most places in the world the police can arrest / detain you for pretty much anything, or they can find/create a reason to arrest you. Question then becomes a) will the charges stick b) will you be able to seek redress afterwards. Edit: not saying the UK doesn’t have some stupid laws on the books, or that politicians are not adding more stupid laws to the books, just that even in the US, the land of the free, a bad cop or a prosecutor looking for a promotion can make the next few months or even years hell for you if they wanted it.
- ck425 3y ago
  Tbf the porn law was an attempt to standardize porn regulations so they applied to porn sold via the internet the same way they applied to porn sold via traditional formats (DVDs, magazines etc). But the parts of the existing regulations were archaic and horrendously out of date, such as not allowing "depictions of cunnilingus" and they tried to standardise first before updating. I'm sure there were some puritans involved, but for the most part it was a badly handled attempt to fix a loophole in regulations not an active campaign to 'Porn depicting cunnilingus is illegal'.
  - ath3nd 3y ago
    While we were talking, this came out: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67615719 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67615719 My point is that the current UK government is a messy bunch of profiteers who will support any possible law that benefits them or their corporate friends. In addition, they and their "technical advisors" both are extremely incompetent. That's why some version of "Linux is illegal" doesn't belong strictly to the fantasy realm to me. As a matter of fact, if I see that story on the headlines, I wouldn't be surprised in the least.
- barrysteve 3y ago
  Publications can be silenced by a superinjunction in the UK. Not allowed to publicize specific information and not allowed to say they are gagged. Honestly the UK is one of the few places that treats speech like it matters enough to be kept private. A refreshing change in some ways.
selfhoster11 3y ago
We have a new law that requires mathematically impossible treatment of end to end encrypted data, which is an unenforceable clause. In a law that actually passed. We have a lovely law called RIPA that makes non-disclosure of passwords or encryption keys punishable by 2 years in prison (or up to 5 years in certain cases). One of those special cases is "national security" reasons, which is about two steps away from becoming "because someone higher up wants that data". Banning Linux, if not by malice then by incompetence/apathy, is not as unlikely as you think. Because they sure are, right now, very much incompetent and apathetic.

Well, if currently in UK people are/could be arrested for: - Wearing an orange shirt with a specific logo - Walking on the street - Singing a song - Supporting adowntrodden nation publicly or in a protest Then it's not so far fetched for that insane government to mandate citizens machines to install some backdoor so they can be constantly monitored. I remember UK trying to pass bills like 'Porn depicting cunnilingus is illegal'. If that kind of crap occupies politicians' time, Linux being illegal is most certainly not in the Scifi realm.

Crosseye_Jack 3y ago
Well in most places in the world the police can arrest / detain you for pretty much anything, or they can find/create a reason to arrest you. Question then becomes a) will the charges stick b) will you be able to seek redress afterwards. Edit: not saying the UK doesn’t have some stupid laws on the books, or that politicians are not adding more stupid laws to the books, just that even in the US, the land of the free, a bad cop or a prosecutor looking for a promotion can make the next few months or even years hell for you if they wanted it.
ck425 3y ago
Tbf the porn law was an attempt to standardize porn regulations so they applied to porn sold via the internet the same way they applied to porn sold via traditional formats (DVDs, magazines etc). But the parts of the existing regulations were archaic and horrendously out of date, such as not allowing "depictions of cunnilingus" and they tried to standardise first before updating. I'm sure there were some puritans involved, but for the most part it was a badly handled attempt to fix a loophole in regulations not an active campaign to 'Porn depicting cunnilingus is illegal'.
- ath3nd 3y ago
  While we were talking, this came out: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67615719 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67615719 My point is that the current UK government is a messy bunch of profiteers who will support any possible law that benefits them or their corporate friends. In addition, they and their "technical advisors" both are extremely incompetent. That's why some version of "Linux is illegal" doesn't belong strictly to the fantasy realm to me. As a matter of fact, if I see that story on the headlines, I wouldn't be surprised in the least.
barrysteve 3y ago
Publications can be silenced by a superinjunction in the UK. Not allowed to publicize specific information and not allowed to say they are gagged. Honestly the UK is one of the few places that treats speech like it matters enough to be kept private. A refreshing change in some ways.

selfhoster11 3y ago

We have a new law that requires mathematically impossible treatment of end to end encrypted data, which is an unenforceable clause. In a law that actually passed. We have a lovely law called RIPA that makes non-disclosure of passwords or encryption keys punishable by 2 years in prison (or up to 5 years in certain cases). One of those special cases is "national security" reasons, which is about two steps away from becoming "because someone higher up wants that data". Banning Linux, if not by malice then by incompetence/apathy, is not as unlikely as you think. Because they sure are, right now, very much incompetent and apathetic.