The Politics of the Internet 13 The Politics

The Politics of the Internet 13 The Politics of Open Source n n Problem of monopoly on the Internet is the topic of major controversy. So-called ‘network effects’ mean that control of platforms (such as Windows) allows actors to maintain monopoly (perhaps stifle innovation). Major court case of the 1990 s over web browsing software in which Microsoft was found guilty of being a monopolist and squashing Netscape’s alternative browser. But it proved very difficult to find an appropriate regulatory solution or remedy.

A non-regulatory alternative n n n But what if platforms are run in such a way as to prevent actors from taking advantage of them to hurt competitors? Open source – software which has no “owner” Usually created for non-profit reasons (though may be used and promoted by profit seeking firms). May have broader consequences for how markets work too. But how can this work – why would anyone produce it?

The Politics of the Internet 13 Structure of Lecture n n n Beginning – what is open source? The “impossible public good” – how open source is created and maintained Example of open source – Linux operating system. n n Brief discussion of Firefox. Consequences for market control The politics of open source Conclusions

The Politics of the Internet 13 n n Three main themes of lecture (1) How and why open source software is produced n n n Quite problematic for theory – which would predict that people wouldn’t write it – because they don’t get obvious economic gains from so doing. (2) What effects does open source software have for control of markets. (3) Extension of open source “model” to new areas of activity – Creative Commons.

The Politics of the Internet 13 Hardware and software - beginnings When most computers were mainframes (up until late 1970’s), software considered less important than hardware n Emphasis of IBM and others on selling hardware at huge costs – with software thrown in. Software specific for each machine n Result – software not seen as a valuable commodity by firms n Individuals could swap software/ideas n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Hacker culture In this era, people swapped software all the time – and improved it sometimes for their own benefit and benefit of others n Lax approach to copyright law n Emphasis on solving technical problems with software – not with making money out of it n “Hacker culture” – rapid exchange of ideas, hacks (smart software tricks) and advice n

The Politics of the Internet 13 When it changed Began to change when computers switched from mainframes to PC n Bill Gates – and others – began to defend the copyright of their code n n Gates letter Copyright of software seen as a valuable asset n Efforts to stop copying of software n Near-disappearance of old hacker culture n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Free Software Movement Resistance to this from “Free Software Movement” – Richard Stallman n Perceived software as something that should be free for others to change and modify and re-use n “Free as in free speech, not free beer” n Used copyright law against itself n General Public Licence (GPL) n Software made available to general public n you could modify free software as much as you wanted and pass it on for free, or for money– as long as your changes were also subject to the GPL n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Problems of GPL n n n This system led to the creation of many nifty software tools – but also had problems You couldn’t mix “free” code and commercial code without breaching the conditions of the General Public Licence Meant that you couldn’t use many useful pieces of software Also meant that the model was unattractive to firms. As much a matter of appearance as of actuality – sounded dangerously radical.

The Politics of the Internet 13 Move to Open Source n n n n New definition – open source began to evolve GPL vs. open source. GPL requires that all redistributions of the software be released under the same terms Open source merely allows this. Under “open source definition”, firms can take open source product – and then add something, and have copyright over the bit they’ve added. Much more attractive to firms. Although in practice most open source software is also more or less ‘free software’ too, if not necessarily compatible with the GPL.

The Politics of the Internet 13 Open source Like GPL – open source helps promote nonproprietary basic software n But allows a variety of commercial and noncommercial uses to be made of that free software n Began to have impact in early 1990’s n Apache, Sendmail, and most famously – Linux (which uses the GPL). n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Open source and property rights Open source and GPL seek to free software (to varying extents) from property rights n What are property rights? n n Complex – but basically the right to control the future use of something (and extract money from others who want to use it. ) Open source and GPL both use copyright system – which usually protects property rights. n But do so in a somewhat subversive way – copyright laws are used not to assert property rights, but to prevent others from so doing. n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Open source and open code Open source software allows users to see the “source code” – the basic computer code that the program in question uses. n Users can then debug – or modify – the source code as they want n Contrast with proprietary software n Keeps the source code hidden from the user n Forbids the user from changing the code n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Public good/common good problem n n Why does Weber describe open source as the “impossible public good” (nb – public goods are a type of common good – see lecture on filesharing) It is difficult for someone to make money from something unless they have property rights over it. Thus, there is little economic reason why people would contribute to the creation of open source or free software. A common good problem – we’d all be better off with it, but no individual has incentives to produce

The Politics of the Internet 13 Open source in reality n n Despite theory, thousands of people contribute to the creation of open source software without obvious rewards Difficult to explain from viewpoint of conventional economic theory Why are people prepared, in effect to work for free? Also – how does it get organized – if there isn’t anyone with real authority to say what gets done?

The Politics of the Internet 13 How open source works n n n Some organization – but largely consensual and voluntary Someone announces that they want to start an open source project to do xxxx – they ask for volunteers If they get them, then start to work on code – anyone can join in, seeking to do whatever they want and propose changes However, person who started it off (or heir) retains some informal clout to say what is accepted and what is not Those who don’t like this are perfectly free to “fork” and start their own projects (taking as much of the original code with them as they want).

The Politics of the Internet 13 Elements of explanation Weber – discusses different theories of why people are prepared to get involved – none of which is sufficient on its own to explain open source n (1) People are uninterested in money n Want to contribute for joy of it n Or because they hate Microsoft n Or because they want to boost their ego n Some validity, but unlikely as a general explanation n Software coders aren’t necessarily very idealistic n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Elements of explanation II n n n (2) Economic explanation - it may be economically rational for people to work on open source Reason – reputation for programming well is a valuable asset By working on open source – and getting a reputation for doing good work, programmers can signal how good they are Then get better jobs with better pay because of their “volunteer” work Doesn’t explain why open source is organized the way it is however – why so little “strategic forking”?

The Politics of the Internet 13 Elements of explanation III n n Necessary to turn to a broader level of social explanation. (2 a) Implicit property rights – people have property rights not over the software itself – but over how it is written If reputation etc are valuable – then a prominent role in the process of writing software is key (this is what your reputation depends upon) Thus people begin to develop property rights over positions of authority in the code writing process

The Politics of the Internet 13 Elements of explanation IV Weber – even if people usually don’t contribute to open source directly, they may contribute indirectly n Can distinguish between two groups n “hard core” of programmers who create system n Mass group of individuals who use it n At first it seems as if the second group “free rides” on the first n But in fact it provides benefits to the first group n n May report bugs etc – thus improve code

The Politics of the Internet 13 Elements of explanation V Weber – suggests different levels of explanation– all required for open source process to work. n level of individual motivation n level of organizing production n n Reputation (economic) and social norms Informal norms and authority Nature of collective good being produced n the more people involved the better, even if only a few actively contribute

The Politics of the Internet 13 Success and failure Many open source projects fail. n Research by Kieran Healy and Alan Schussman on Source. Forge projects suggest that over half of the projects out there have no-one working on them. n Only 10% of projects seem to have 2 people or more working on them. n So – in some senses, there are more failures in open source than successes. n But some of the successes have been quite spectacular. n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Linux as test case n n n Various important open source packages out there. Apache – popular software for web servers Sendmail – basic mainstay of email Open. Office – good (and free) Microsoft Office alternative. La. Te. X – for people (like me) who want to produce beautiful looking text. But most famous is Linux – a replacement operating system

The Politics of the Internet 13 Where Linux came from Linux was started as a hobby project by a Finnish programmer – Linus Torvalds n Wanted to create an Unix clone for small computers (Unix – a popular operating system for big computers) n Started to write “kernel” (core of operating system) – and appealed for volunteers. n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Growth of Linux Torvalds put out appeal in late 1991 n By end of the year – nearly 100 people involved in the project n Now, many thousands are involved in creating the code n Linux has grown extraordinarily in complexity and power – a genuine operating system n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Organizing production of Linux Torvalds serves as “benevolent dictator” – nothing becomes part of the Linux kernel without his say-so n Delegates supervision of specific parts of the kernel to senior volunteers n These supervise mailing lists and accept or decline proposed changes n Anyone who disagrees can branch out on their own – but it may be that no-one follows them n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Evolution of Linux Started as standard Unix clone – i. e. hairy and scary n Required a high degree of technological knowledge and commitment from its users n Had to configure the system themselves – delve deep into code n Has gotten friendlier over time – now has graphical interface like Windows n But still somewhat forbidding. n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Open source advantages Open source has some technical advantages over non-open source software n Less likely to have bugs – and easier to identify them and fix them when it has n More likely to be stable n Free $$$ n

The Politics of the Internet 13 But why the politics? Open source arguably not only has technical advantages – it may serve as a solution to problems of monopoly. n Why? n Consider “post-Chicago” arguments about monopoly n Computer software more open to monopoly n Network effects n Individuals can use control of one market segment to enter others n Can use code to disadvantage others n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Open source and post-Chicago I n Also relies on network effects n As more people adopt an open source program it is more likely that people will work on improving it, and that bugs will be identified But these network effects will not do much more than enhance the ego of programmers n They have specifically given up the ability to control what people do with their software – or to profit much from it. n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Open source and post-Chicago II Thus – cannot use control of one market segment (operating system) as leverage to get control of other parts (office software). n Other projects for other pieces of software likely to be led by other individuals – who will have their own agenda n More like a bazaar than a cathedral (Eric Raymond) n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Open source and post-Chicago III n Can’t use control of operating system to squash competitors through technical incompatibilities n In contrast, Microsoft Windows “mysteriously” developed incompatibilities with Real. Player. Other software producers have access to source code – and know how it is written n Change is a consensual process n Everyone can understand any changes and respond to them quickly and easily n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Open Source vs. Microsoft n n n Linux unlikely to become a replacement for Microsoft Windows anytime soon Still too demanding for everyday users. Although people are beginning to use it on ‘Netbooks’ But nonetheless a big threat to Microsoft in other market segments – server software etc. Serves as credible alternative – especially given Microsoft’s efforts to exploit its monopoly by squeezing more money from customers

The Politics of the Internet 13 If Linux was everywhere … If Linux ever manages to become more generally established (big if), then Microsoft is in trouble. n Network effects which currently reinforce Microsoft’s dominance would reinforce Linux instead n If everyone uses Linux – why buy Windows? n And Linux more likely to be popular with other software firms (little chance of a legal action against Linux for being anti-competitive) n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Current battles Some Microsoft competitors have adopted Linux as a new standard n IBM – provides Linux based solutions to its customers n Sun Microsystems – turned to Linux as its own operating system began to lose market share. n n n But has turned back to Microsoft. Competitors weren’t attracted because of idealism – but in order to weaken Microsoft

The Politics of the Internet 13 Microsoft’s response Microsoft identified Linux as a threat in successive “Halloween documents” n Has tried to badmouth it n Has claimed that it is insecure (although probably it is more secure than Windows) n Has argued that it is un-American and anticapitalist (i. e. slight whiff of Communism) n n Threat of legal actions for patent infringements

The Politics of the Internet 13 Microsoft and SCO n n n Microsoft backed SCO, a company which claims it holds copyright over Unix System V. Claimed that Linux infringes its copyright in (unspecified) ways, and that Unix code is directly incorporated into Linux. Sued IBM for $1 billion. Also threatened lawsuits against Linux users – unless they pay royalties to SCO. This case was found to have no legal merits in court. But generated real legal uncertainties for a while.

The Politics of the Internet 13 Governments and operating systems Governments periodically investigate using open source as an alternative to MS products. Would mandate that all government purchases be of open source software. n Particularly attractive to developing world. n Microsoft has donated large amounts of money/free software to countries considering this in order to sway them against it n Has also sought to lobby on behalf of “software choice” (i. e. continued place in the market for Microsoft products). n

Moving beyond open source The open source movement is beginning to have a wider cultural and political impact as people begin to apply similar ideas in new fields. n Basic motivation behind open source – to make material available to others to modify as they will and to create a thriving space of interchange as people improve each others’ work. n Doesn’t only have to apply to software. n

The Politics of the Internet 13 Creative Commons

The Politics of the Internet 13 Creative Commons n n n The open source model has influenced other areas than software production. Creative Commons – a response to the increasing grip of copyright law on cultural production. Jamie Boyle (law prof. at Duke University) argued that we were facing a second “enclosure” of the commons. n n First enclosure in Scottish highlands and elsewhere at the end of the eighteenth century broke collectively owned common land up, and turned it into private property. This inspired Creative Commons: an organization run by Boyle, Lessig etc, which seeks to stop this from happening again.

Enclosures of culture n n Lessig and others argue that our culture is being enclosed – just as the Highlands were. Examples: n n n Music sampling – forms of music production which rely on extensive sampling, such as hip-hop, are becoming increasingly infeasible due to copyright law - cf Notorious BIG case. Movies – practically impossible for indie film makers to include others’ work in their own (show TV etc). Copyrighting of architecture. Want to allow people to do the same things with culture as programmers do with open source software as an alternative.

The Politics of the Internet 13 Creative Commons and open source n Creative Commons: seeks to borrow the idea of open source and apply it to cultural production. n “Taking inspiration in part from the Free Software Foundation's GNU General Public License (GNU GPL), Creative Commons has developed a Web application that helps people dedicate their creative works to the public domain — or retain their copyright while licensing them as free for certain uses, on certain conditions. Unlike the GNU GPL, Creative Commons licenses are not designed for software, but rather for other kinds of creative works: websites, scholarship, music, film, photography, literature, courseware, etc. ”

The Politics of the Internet 13 Creative Commons licences n n n n Creative Commons allows people to generate a variety of basic licences. May make work public domain – i. e. allow people to do whatever they want with it. Or make it free for further use only for non-commercial purposes. Or allow it only to be used with attribution to the original author. Or only if no derivative works are created. Or only if derivative works are also part of the Creative Commons. Etc, etc.

The Politics of the Internet 13 Creative Commons aims Seeks like the GPL to use the copyright system against property rights in creative goods. n Allows people to license their creations so that others can use them – but also (if they want) to prevent others from commercializing them. n Can have the same ‘viral’ qualities as the GPL. n Is being applied to a wide variety of cultural work on the WWW and elsewhere. n

GPL and culture An alternative is provided by the GNU Free Documentation License, which is applied to all Wikipedia entries. n When someone modifies a Wikipedia entry, or otherwise contributes material, this material falls under the GFDL, so that others can then use and re-use it. n Other non-Wikipedia resources, which have the same license, can grab material from Wikipedia as appropriate. n

Wikipedia Result – an online encyclopedia with over 1, 000 entries in its English language version. n Has faults – some entries are badly written, some have errors (Farrell’s law: the geekier the topic, the more likely it is that the relevant Wikipedia entry will be accurate). n But anyone who wants to can correct errors. n Result: a very considerable information source available free (as in beer) and free (as in speech). n

The Politics of the Internet 13 What we’ve talked about n Origins – and nature – of open source software n n n How open source is produced n n n Why it appears strange that people would contribute to writing open source code Linux Effects of open source n n Beginnings of free software movement and GPL Move to open source – and why it is different Implications for market control. Creative Commons: an extension of the open source idea to cultural products as well as software code.