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Open Source Social Networks The Internet

Trump's TRUTH Social May Violate Terms of Open-Source Code It's Built On (talkingpointsmemo.com) 254

Posted by BeauHD from the off-to-a-rough-start dept.
ISayWeOnlyToBePolite writes: The new social network founded by former President Trump may violate the terms of use of the software on which it is based. On Wednesday night, after Trump revealed the TRUTH social app, Twitter users began to note that the network appeared to be based on an open-source social networking software called Mastodon, which allows people to modify the underlying code so long as they abide by its license. But the Trump network appears to have taken the publicly available code for the website while violating the terms that make it free to use.

Mastodon founder Eugen Rochko told TPM in an email that TRUTH appeared to violate the terms of use that the software sets forth: making the source code available, and having a copy of the general product license available to users. "I do intend to seek legal counsel on the situation though," Rochko told TPM, while declining to discuss any specific legal action he may be contemplating. "Compliance with our AGPLv3 license is very important to me as that is the sole basis upon which I and other developers are willing to give away years of work for free," Rochko added.

The AGPL license mandates that software developed for free -- like Mastodon -- remain publicly available after its been modified. Under the license, TRUTH needs to share any modifications to Mastodon's code. The requirement allows developers to remain aware of how the software is being used so long as its run on public servers, continuing the chain by which different open-source developers continue to work on and further modify code that's been created. Former President Trump announced plans to launch the social media platform yesterday, saying his goal is to rival the tech companies that have denied him the megaphone that was paramount to his rise. TRUTH social will be open to "invited users" for a beta launch in November, with plans for it to launch publicly beginning early next year.

With that said, the "invite only" system has already run into some problems, according to Slashdot reader slack_justyb. Some users were able to sign up to create accounts using a publicly available link, allowing them to generate their own handles, like @donaldtrump.
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Trump's TRUTH Social May Violate Terms of Open-Source Code It's Built On More

Trump's TRUTH Social May Violate Terms of Open-Source Code It's Built On

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  • This is the reality of open source (Score:5, Informative)

    by ClueHammer ( 6261830 ) on Thursday October 21, 2021 @11:39PM (#61916423)
    Some a-hole will take it, and not abide by the licensing! Another large example is 90% of the consumer level 3d printers out there. They mostly run Marlin firmware, but most of them have broken the licensing agreement in particular they have not provided the source code for their machines.
    • Bear in mind that if you use the code and do not modify it, then there isn't anything to share back upstream and as for distribution, you could simply tell users who ask, to go to the upstream distribution point, where you got it, or if they insist, send them a USB nurgle with the code on it. You do not have to make a web accessible download site of your own - that only makes sense if there are lots of user code requests.

  • Licence non-compliance is a universal problem (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Flownez ( 589611 ) on Thursday October 21, 2021 @11:44PM (#61916433)
    It would be a shame to see a patent like open source licence war started out of political motivation.

    • Re:Licence non-compliance is a universal problem (Score:5, Funny)

      by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Friday October 22, 2021 @12:17AM (#61916483)

      Don't worry, someone will just say it's "Fake News".

    • I'm sure that at political motives are at least partly behind the close scrutiny that Trump's social media platform has received. But that's no excuse for non-compliance; in the end, we all have to play by the rules. License compliance may be a universal problem in the sense that almost all software publishers or users have to deal with licensing issues at some point, but that doesn't mean that non-compliance is the norm. In this case, the terms aren't onerous: make the source code available and publish
  • If Trump succeeds, we will have to find a new word for truth. If Trump loses, then it is another example of unsuccessful challenge to Silicon Valley oligarchy.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by gtall ( 79522 )

      The former alleged president will have yet one more instance of his business acumen: the University, the airline, the vodka, etc. He just sold his name to another bunch of rubes. They'll be sorry, he'll get a few nickels. The first rule of the former alleged president still applies: he destroys everything he touches.

      And his site has already been hacked in its prenatal form. The teenagers are going to have a field day like with that rally in Tulsa.

      Flunkie (all excited): Mr. . .errr. . .You, our site has cap

    • Because it's all a money making scam.

      https://www.reuters.com/techno... [reuters.com]

      Of course he's not using his own money to bankroll it.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by sinij ( 911942 )
        There is a chance this will flop, but seeing how Trump is on a warpath against nakedly partisan social media, there is a good chance he is making an honest go at it.

        Speaking of social media, have you remembered to unfollow Taliban for misgendering people they toss from the tall buildings?

    • If Trump loses, then it is another example of unsuccessful challenge to Silicon Valley oligarchy.

      ...because complying with the AGPL is impossible?

      Hyperbole much?

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by sinij ( 911942 )
        So what you are saying, is that open source licensing being used to keep competition to established SV tech giants out is exactly why it was created in the first place?

        • No, because nothing in the AGPL prevents you from competing with any other company.

          The people paying you to spout this shit are not getting their money's worth.

  • This is so very far down on the list of ignored transgressions that even if somebody told them it was wrong - and why it was wrong - that single second post-explanation would be the last second ever spent thinking about it.

    • That's why it would be funny to sue him for that. It is unrelated to the other stuff, president or not, he did.

  • Most open-source licenses require that you provide the source code for any changes you make to derivative software you sell and distribute. AfferoGPL adds the stipulation that you have to distribute changes to any software you *USE*.

    Anyone who uses AGPL code in production is running a horrible risk in exposing any changes they make particular to their system, needlessly increasing the threat surface.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Moryath ( 553296 )

      Anyone who uses AGPL code in production is running a horrible risk in exposing any changes they make particular to their system, needlessly increasing the threat surface.

      Only if their code is shitty and based on an easily cracked months-old fork of the codebase. Oh, right... that's exactly what the "truth social" app and website were.

      I mean for fuck's sake, even the guys running gab's Mastodon fork are more competent, and they still get hacked monthly or more.

    • Re:This is why you should never use AGPL (Score:5, Insightful)

      by TuringTest ( 533084 ) on Friday October 22, 2021 @02:30AM (#61916639) Journal

      Anyone who uses AGPL code in production is running a horrible risk in exposing any changes they make particular to their system, needlessly increasing the threat surface.

      That's only a horrible risk if you consider exposing the source code of your system a bad thing.

    • Re:This is why you should never use AGPL (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Friday October 22, 2021 @05:09AM (#61916827)

      If I can bring your system to its knees by reading its source, you suck as a programmer and shouldn't be allowed near production code.

    • Most open-source licenses require that you provide the source code for any changes you make to derivative software you sell and distribute. AfferoGPL adds the stipulation that you have to distribute changes to any software you *USE*.

      Anyone who uses AGPL code in production is running a horrible risk in exposing any changes they make particular to their system, needlessly increasing the threat surface.

      And all licenses for music and movies state you are not allowed to redistribute the media in any form yet people brag about stealing said items. If you don't care about what one license says, why care about another?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AvitarX ( 172628 )

      Unless your changes are in the security part of the code, and particularly make it worse, I'm not quite sure how the AGPL is worse than the GPL.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Bert64 ( 520050 )

      The GPL only requires that you make source code available to people you make the binaries available to.
      The AGPL similarly only requires that you make the source code available to people to whom you provide a service running on the code.

      Since the service has not launched yet, they are not actually providing the service to anyone and thus don't yet have to comply with that provision.

      Also if exposing your code causes a significant increase in threats, your code must be very poorly written to start with.

    • If your security relies on nobody seeing what you've done, you don't have security.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by e3m4n ( 947977 )
      i dont think the BSD license does. To me it seems less open than GPLv2 or GPLv3
  • If they are using it as is, and customization are achieved through configuration files that are read by the software, then this whole thing is all fuss and feathers, isn't it?

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      If they are using it as is, and customization are achieved through configuration files that are read by the software, then this whole thing is all fuss and feathers, isn't it?

      If anything that isn't happening, wasn't actually happening, then yes everything would be all fuss and feathers in the world.

      However they ripped out all copyright notices and mentioning of the software name, while explicitly claiming they wrote the social media software, and claiming it isn't mastodon (except for the numerous bits in the HTML saying it is mastodon because they missed removing it)

      This is no different from you taking Picassos famous "weeping woman", signing your own name to it, and announcing

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by mark-t ( 151149 )
        Ah... well that changes things then. Ripping out copyright notices and saying that they wrote is, all by itself, plagiarism, which pretty much automatically voids any copying permissions that they might have otherwise had with practically any kind of work where such permission would ordinarily be required, open source or otherwise

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by bloodhawk ( 813939 )
        In the end it is the little things that get you when you are a first class piece of shit. remember Al Capone ended up being locked away for tax evasion despite all the evil shit he did that was much worse.

  • He claims that it is his works and doesn't share them. ;)

    • Did he learn that when he was over in NKor with Li'l Kim? I mean, according to North Korean propaganda, his dad pretty much invented the world.

  • Filters (Score:2, Insightful)

    by terriblecertainty ( 243713 )

    Even if you filter politics as a topic out on this site, I still have to hear about it. More than that, it's everywhere, in many stories here. I wish there were better filters on /. The entirety of the Internet is filled with garbage gossip about Trump and Biden and their ilk, and it particularly stands out on supposedly technology oriented websites such as this.

  • Sweet ... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Freischutz ( 4776131 ) on Friday October 22, 2021 @04:54AM (#61916803)

    Trump's TRUTH Social May Violate Terms of Open-Source Code It's Built On

    A platform of neo-fascist populism built on a foundation of software communism. Ahhh ... the sweet, sweet, irony of it.

  • Trump & consorts not following laws and rules - what a shocking surprise! Because he typically did and does everything by the book*, why would he fail to follow the Open Source license requirements?

    (* his book, that is ...)

  • If Trump really removed the copyright notices, and thus very obviously broke the licensing contract, isn't each transmitted graphic from the source a copyright violation that could be stopped by a DMCA takedown notice?

  • Attention seeking behaviour (Score:5, Insightful)

    by VeryFluffyBunny ( 5037285 ) on Friday October 22, 2021 @08:15AM (#61917053)

    After Trump buildings, Trump steaks, Trump TV shows, Trump university, Trump presidency, etc., haven't we learned anything about Trump. i.e. He craves being the centre of everyone's attention? The best way to stop him is to ignore him but calmly & quietly prevent him from harming himself or others until he realises that it isn't working anymore. You know, like you do with a 4 year old.

    Then again, he also surrounds himself with enablers, like the GQP. I don't think it's going to end any time soon. Trump's the product of a socially dysfunctional upbringing & environment. I doubt he has much control over his own impulses.

    • Then again, he also surrounds himself with enablers, like the GQP. I don't think it's going to end any time soon. Trump's the product of a socially dysfunctional upbringing & environment. I doubt he has much control over his own impulses.

      It's not just enablers, he actively looks for people who will break rules on his behalf. And predictably, these people end up breaking rules in general.

      How many people in his immediate orbit have ended up in serious legal jeopardy? This lists 8 and it's not even up to date [reuters.com]. It's an inevitable consequence of the qualities he demands in people who work for him.

      That the people he hired to build his Twitter knockoff decided to rip off an Open Source project is beyond predictable.

  • TRUTH Social (Score:4, Funny)

    by mugurel ( 1424497 ) on Friday October 22, 2021 @10:38AM (#61917449)
    I was going to make a joke about ALL CAPS making things truer, but Slashdot won't let me. No wonder Trump is not on Slashdot! Fake news media censorship!!! Can you even read this lower case stuff!!??

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