Relevant parts:

Partner represents and warrants that it shall not introduce into WhatsApp’s Systems or Infrastructure, the Sublicensed Encryption Software, or otherwise make accessible to WhatsApp any viruses or any software licensed under the General Public Licence or any similar licence (e.g. GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL), GNU General Public License (GPL), GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)) containing a “copyleft” requirement during performance of the Services.

Partner shall not: (i) combine Sublicensed Encryption Software with any software licensed under any version of or derivative of the GNU General Public License (e.g.; GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL), GNU General Public License (GPL), GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) in any manner that could cause, or could be interpreted or asserted to cause, the Sublicensed Encryption Software or any modifications to the Sublicensed Encryption Software to become subject to the terms of any version of or derivative of the GNU General Public License or other copyleft open source software

  • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.com
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    70
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    8 months ago

    What is that bs? So they only interoperate with closed source, for profit services or what? I hope the EU rips them a new one.

    • poVoq@slrpnk.net
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      16
      ·
      8 months ago

      All the closed source for profit services that might be relevant already said that this crippled access is of no interest, and the only ones left (Matrix and some hobbiists) will be likely prevented from ever using it by these legal shenanigans. Malicious compliance accomplished 😒

      • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.com
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        8 months ago

        Well, the DSA goes in the right direction so I am still hopeful. Feel free to write to your representative how exactly these laws need to be changed. Be the change you want to see.

      • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.com
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        8 months ago

        The EU has done a wonderful job by making the DSA which went into effect yesterday. My personal favorite is up to 10% of global revenue per transgression and 20% for repeat offenses.

              • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.com
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                8 months ago

                Welp, thats pretty bad. Since I get defeatist thoughts when I watch the news, I block them wherever I can, go protest, write complaints, vote and so on. Thats all that I think can be asked of me so I‘ll just go on doing that until morale improves.

        • @haui_lemmy @helenslunch The EU generally has the right idea but is often pretty bad at writing « ironclad » laws. I’m pretty sure most of the people writing these texts have very little experience in tech, and they tend to leave gaping holes that big tech companies are quick to exploit.

          Still, in general, they’re doing a solid job at curbing the power and abuses of these companies. It just takes longer than it should to patch the holes!

    • RecallMadness@lemmy.nz
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      8 months ago

      No, just GPL licensed source.

      MIT, BSD, Apache, and all the other OSI licenses are fair game.

      • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.com
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        8 months ago

        i‘m not familiar with the differences. I know they differ in terms of „can the end product be closed source“ but no idea which one does what. I read up every time i need to use one but hasnt been too often.

        • lemmyvore@feddit.nl
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          8 months ago

          GPL is a “copyleft” license aka a “viral” license. It forces anybody who uses it to keep the software open but not just the code, also the way it is being used, and to use the same license if they modify the code, or distribute anything made with the code, and these terms are perpetual and unrevokable.

          Basically anything GPL will keep being GPL and anything that comes into contact with it will have to be GPL or take certain precautions to avoid becoming GPL.

    • onlinepersona@programming.dev
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      arrow-down
      6
      ·
      8 months ago

      I just hope the elections in June don’t get the EU a parliament of right wingers dead set on “smaller government” and “free market”. Given that EU citizens are just humans and very influenced by the republicans of the USA, it wouldn’t surprise me though. Let us enjoy what could’ve been while 30% of the population ignores its democratic duty and 60% give in to USAian + Russian propaganda 🍷

      CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

      • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.com
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        8 months ago

        I hope so too but we have to admit that it is hard enough for a lot of people to get by so besides going to protests and talking, I cant fret too much about it anymore or I risk permanent damage to my life which wont bring anyone any good.

        I have since blocked all american politics and topics that I cant change and dont have the energy to advocate for. My family and community need me for a couple years longer so I have to choose my fights. Sorry if thats not enough for you.

        • onlinepersona@programming.dev
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          8 months ago

          I have blocked American politics too. Just take and evening out of your life to look at which parties will be on the ballot and their election program points (just bullet points), take another hour on election day and that’s it. There’s nothing more to it.

          It happens every 4 years. Is that really too much?

          CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

          • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.com
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            8 months ago

            Since I‘m not in the US, my times are a little different but I go vote and I go protest (which is more than most) if stuff is bad. But reading bad things every day sends me into defeatism so I need to keep it away from me so I can stay being productive (not only work but also live and vote)

            • onlinepersona@programming.dev
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              8 months ago

              Then you’re doing fine 👍 I know many people who don’t follow politics because it’s theatre, and no world news because it’s just depressing. Totally understandable. You haven’t given up and still vote, which is good. I can only hope you vote for the good of all, but at least you show up.

              Have a good day, mate.

              CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

              • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.com
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                edit-2
                8 months ago

                Well, thats quite a broad term. As a minority member, I feel responsible to vote for equality and inclusion. Thats not great for those who would like „a strong leader“ or „just let the markets decide“ but I consider going against others‘ opinion less of an offense than going against their personhood.

                Edit: you have a good one as well. :) Edit2: do you put that license in manually or automatically?

  • sweng@programming.dev
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    8 months ago

    Just dual-license your software under the TNGPL (Totally Not GPL) license that just so happens to afford the same protections.

    • lemmyvore@feddit.nl
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      edit-2
      8 months ago

      Fun fact: the GPL license is itself under copyright, held by the FSF, and subject to certain conditions. That’s why there’s only one “GPL” and it remains the same and everybody can rely on what’s in it.

      Besides, they did mention that derived licenses or any copyleft licenses are not ok either.

      • sweng@programming.dev
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        8 months ago

        They actually did not. They clearly state (at least in the text posted by the OP) that you are not allowed to license under a version or derivative of the GPL if it would end up copyleft. The main condition is that it is licensed under a version of the GPL.

        (To be clear, I’m talking about the second quote, about combining)

  • fenndev@leminal.space
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    12
    ·
    8 months ago

    Pardon me, but would this not interfere with partners’ ability to host services via 99% of Linux-based servers?

    • RecallMadness@lemmy.nz
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      14
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      8 months ago

      No, running software on GPL licensed systems does not make the guest software GPL.

      But, The AGPL is “infectious”, and one bit of AGPL can make your entire project subject to the AGPL. It’s a legal nightmare and many businesses outright ban the use of AGPL software.

      Presumably, they’ve just blanket banned GPL to avoid any ambiguity.

  • Pup Biru@aussie.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    8 months ago

    i THINK they’re saying that they sublicense a library to do encryption in order to talk to WhatsApp and that it’s this software that they won’t be allowed to be included in GPL-licensed software because it may be that in the future that implies a release of source code?

    this doesn’t seem unreasonable as long as you can create a facade or abstraction that’s NOT GPL-licensed to interact with WhatsApp that then interacts with your GPL code?

    or i could be misreading entirely

  • Melllvar@startrek.website
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    5
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    8 months ago

    Partner represents and warrants that it shall not introduce into WhatsApp’s Systems or Infrastructure, the Sublicensed Encryption Software, or otherwise make accessible to WhatsApp any viruses

    The technical definition of a “computer virus” is actually quite narrow, and true viruses are rare these days because they are passive and slow compared to more modern malware types.

    A strict, literal reading of the text says that all other kinds of malware are acceptable.

    • d3Xt3r@lemmy.nz
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      edit-2
      8 months ago

      Paragraph 3.1.5. expands on that though:

      To transmit, send or upload any material that contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time-bombs, keystroke loggers, spyware, adware or any other harmful programs or similar computer code designed to adversely affect the operation of any computer software or hardware.

  • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    8 months ago

    This looks written to protect against copyleft infection. It’s probably fine to link.

        • मुक्त@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          8 months ago

          Don’t be paranoid. They scans our chats against problematic keywords to find out bad guys, and metadata helps law enforcement in catching these bad guys. /s