The open secret of open washing – why companies pretend to be open source

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Allowing pretenders to co-opt the term is bad for everyone

Meta, unfortunately, is far from unique in wanting to claim that some of its software and models are open source. Indeed, the concept has its own name: open washing.

Some corporations use open washing to shield their models and practices from scientific and regulatory scrutiny while benefiting from the"open" label.provides special exemptions for"open source" models. This creates a powerful incentive for open washing: if their models count as open, they'll have far less restrictive requirements.

in Atlanta this week, no one can"force you to use the OSI's definitions." But"fortunately, many people, particularly lawyers, believe in this definition. They trust the work that the OSI does, and they trust and understand the protections that companies are granted when they use these licenses when they meet the open source criteria. That's why we see it showing up in procurement contracts of big companies all over the world.

If we need to check every license for every bit of code,"developers are going to go to legal reviews every time you want to use a new library. Companies are going to be scared to publish things on the internet if they're not clear about the liabilities they're encountering when that source code becomes public."

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