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Why are developers still limiting themselves by posting their code on the clearweb in a manner they can be traced and held liable for? Host everything on Tor fr

Why are developers still limiting themselves by posting their code on the clearweb in a manner they can be traced and held liable for? Host everything on Tor from a server outside USA jurisdiction and this should be a total non issue. Code is speech. It’s time to stop letting the government get away with trampling on our 1st amendment rights to free speech.

fortran77 4y ago
I'm not a fan of github for other reasons, but how the heck would your solution work for searchability and discoverability, two of github's largest values?
- netr0ute 4y ago
  Post the onion link on the clearweb, and then those intermediary sites are mere pawns.
  - eternalban 4y ago
    This could work for distribution but it's not a solution for shielding the developer(s). If you have already publicly published code with attribution I would not consider tor + forward pawns to be 100% invulnerable to forensics to determine authorship. So now you're looking at tackling code transformation without obfuscation to cover provenance, which sounds non-trivial. (Your comment made me wonder if coPilot can also be used to fingerprint developers based on their existing code.)
    - netr0ute 4y ago
      If the sites/authors are out of US jurisdiction, then there's not a whole lot that could be done, so there's that.
dahart 4y ago
> It’s time to stop letting the government get away with trampling on our 1st amendment rights to free speech. That needs to be a legal fight, since classified information is specifically exempted from free speech, among a long list of other things (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech#Limitations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech#Limitations). Moving to Tor might skirt the rules, but does little to challenge them, and won’t prevent any legal trouble for someone who gets caught. (It could make things worse, as it might demonstrate intent.) If you believe that free speech should be absolute, that needs to be litigated and voted for. Just remember Chesterton’s Fence: all the free speech limitations we have now have already been litigated and fought for. There are good reasons that freedom of speech is not absolute.
- unknownaccount 4y ago
  If someone independently invents something using the available resources at hand it shouldn’t be able to be considered classified or copyright restricted, if it was really that advanced and sophisticated then nobody should be able to discover it unless it leaks. If there’s no proof it leaked to the public in violation of a government employee’s oath then the information should be legal. In that case I agree anyone who leaks classified documents should be charged for treason. But there’s a major difference between a software developer accidentally inventing a banned algorithm and getting slammed with the full force of the government and secret information the government has being leaked.
  - dahart 4y ago
    I can agree with everything you just said, but there’s a bit of a misconception of what free speech means tied up in this. The government isn’t claiming ownership. Freedom of speech is a protection the government offers to protect citizens against itself, and the government defines what freedom of speech means. It’s probably best to leave copyright aside, introducing that now and mixing it up with free speech is going to muddy the discussion. This isn’t a copyright issue. It doesn’t matter if I independently invent nuclear weapons, I’m still not currently allowed to open source them for other people, possibly in other countries, to use. That isn’t because the government thinks they own my ideas, it’s because the government believes that sharing information on how to build nuclear weapons is bad for us and threatens our safety. (Edit) BTW, it’s also important here to recognize that claiming “independent” invention is risky and problematic, if you received any benefit from your environment in the form of education, ideas, collaborators, parts, market conditions, etc. There are very few, if any, truly independent inventions. Note I’m not making any arguments on whether ITAR should or should not be classified. What I’m pointing out is that that is what needs to be debated - whether ITAR is classifiable (or otherwise export controlled), and this isn’t otherwise an issue of free speech failing to be absolute. It’s a simple fact that freedom of speech is not absolute, and therefore demonstrating perceived abuses needs to be demonstrated based on the specifics of the case. Why should ITAR be declassified/open? That’s what needs to be shown. > The government shouldn’t be able to classify scientific information that the public is able to discover on their own Why? I don’t necessarily agree with this.
CapricornNoble 4y ago
My failed startup operated in a similar space: SDRs & military applications. I dunno how people don't plan from Day 1 with a knowledge of Uncle Sam's heavy-handed export restrictions in their mind. I was using existing open-source software as a basis (GNU Radio), all of my engineers were foreigners in their home countries, my SDRs and single-board computers were dual-use hardware from multiple other nations, and my company was in Hong Kong. All because I knew I primarily wanted to target foreign countries with behind-the-power-curve militaries, not the admittedly-huge US defense market with its obnoxious barriers to entry. If you operate in the US, just keep your stuff closed source until you can afford expensive lawyers to tell you what you can share.
- reachableceo 4y ago
  Please email me. I can’t find your contact info. Charles@turnsys.com I’m working on an ITAR SDR startup and would like to chat. (Goes for anyone who may want to chat on those topics).

fortran77 4y ago

I'm not a fan of github for other reasons, but how the heck would your solution work for searchability and discoverability, two of github's largest values?

netr0ute 4y ago
Post the onion link on the clearweb, and then those intermediary sites are mere pawns.
- eternalban 4y ago
  This could work for distribution but it's not a solution for shielding the developer(s). If you have already publicly published code with attribution I would not consider tor + forward pawns to be 100% invulnerable to forensics to determine authorship. So now you're looking at tackling code transformation without obfuscation to cover provenance, which sounds non-trivial. (Your comment made me wonder if coPilot can also be used to fingerprint developers based on their existing code.)
  - netr0ute 4y ago
    If the sites/authors are out of US jurisdiction, then there's not a whole lot that could be done, so there's that.

dahart 4y ago

> It’s time to stop letting the government get away with trampling on our 1st amendment rights to free speech. That needs to be a legal fight, since classified information is specifically exempted from free speech, among a long list of other things (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech#Limitations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech#Limitations). Moving to Tor might skirt the rules, but does little to challenge them, and won’t prevent any legal trouble for someone who gets caught. (It could make things worse, as it might demonstrate intent.) If you believe that free speech should be absolute, that needs to be litigated and voted for. Just remember Chesterton’s Fence: all the free speech limitations we have now have already been litigated and fought for. There are good reasons that freedom of speech is not absolute.

unknownaccount 4y ago
If someone independently invents something using the available resources at hand it shouldn’t be able to be considered classified or copyright restricted, if it was really that advanced and sophisticated then nobody should be able to discover it unless it leaks. If there’s no proof it leaked to the public in violation of a government employee’s oath then the information should be legal. In that case I agree anyone who leaks classified documents should be charged for treason. But there’s a major difference between a software developer accidentally inventing a banned algorithm and getting slammed with the full force of the government and secret information the government has being leaked.
- dahart 4y ago
  I can agree with everything you just said, but there’s a bit of a misconception of what free speech means tied up in this. The government isn’t claiming ownership. Freedom of speech is a protection the government offers to protect citizens against itself, and the government defines what freedom of speech means. It’s probably best to leave copyright aside, introducing that now and mixing it up with free speech is going to muddy the discussion. This isn’t a copyright issue. It doesn’t matter if I independently invent nuclear weapons, I’m still not currently allowed to open source them for other people, possibly in other countries, to use. That isn’t because the government thinks they own my ideas, it’s because the government believes that sharing information on how to build nuclear weapons is bad for us and threatens our safety. (Edit) BTW, it’s also important here to recognize that claiming “independent” invention is risky and problematic, if you received any benefit from your environment in the form of education, ideas, collaborators, parts, market conditions, etc. There are very few, if any, truly independent inventions. Note I’m not making any arguments on whether ITAR should or should not be classified. What I’m pointing out is that that is what needs to be debated - whether ITAR is classifiable (or otherwise export controlled), and this isn’t otherwise an issue of free speech failing to be absolute. It’s a simple fact that freedom of speech is not absolute, and therefore demonstrating perceived abuses needs to be demonstrated based on the specifics of the case. Why should ITAR be declassified/open? That’s what needs to be shown. > The government shouldn’t be able to classify scientific information that the public is able to discover on their own Why? I don’t necessarily agree with this.

CapricornNoble 4y ago

My failed startup operated in a similar space: SDRs & military applications. I dunno how people don't plan from Day 1 with a knowledge of Uncle Sam's heavy-handed export restrictions in their mind. I was using existing open-source software as a basis (GNU Radio), all of my engineers were foreigners in their home countries, my SDRs and single-board computers were dual-use hardware from multiple other nations, and my company was in Hong Kong. All because I knew I primarily wanted to target foreign countries with behind-the-power-curve militaries, not the admittedly-huge US defense market with its obnoxious barriers to entry. If you operate in the US, just keep your stuff closed source until you can afford expensive lawyers to tell you what you can share.

reachableceo 4y ago
Please email me. I can’t find your contact info. Charles@turnsys.com I’m working on an ITAR SDR startup and would like to chat. (Goes for anyone who may want to chat on those topics).