Ethical Source

Noun · Open Source

Definitions

  1. A movement advocating licenses that restrict harmful uses of software, such as abuse, surveillance, or human-rights violations, even if those restrictions make the licenses non-open-source by OSI criteria. The term sits at the center of debates over whether freedom to use software should include explicitly unethical use cases.

    In plain English: An approach to software licensing that tries to block harmful uses on ethical grounds.

    Example: "The ethical source proposal split the community because some saw it as necessary and others saw it as breaking core open source principles."

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