[Ecommerce] AP on Congressional controversey over GPL and government support of free software

[James Love]

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20021024_1032.html

October 24, 2002

Rep. Blasted for Open-Source Attack
Congressman Under Fire for Turning Bipartisan Letter Into Attack on 
Microsoft's Enemies

The Associated Press

W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 24— A congressman from Microsoft Corp.'s home 
state has been criticized by the chairman of a House technology committee 
for an attack on the free software movement.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers had written a letter this week urging White 
House computer security adviser Richard Clarke to find sales opportunities 
for government-funded software projects. The letter had no mention of the 
issue of free software, also known as open-source or General Public License 
(GPL) software.

But when Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., whose biggest political contributor is 
Microsoft, began circulating the letter to his fellow Democrats asking for 
their signatures, he added his own correspondence saying the free software 
philosophy is "problematic and threaten(s) to undermine innovation and 
security."

The open-source movement advocates that software, such as the Linux 
operating system, should be distributed free and open to modification by 
others rather than be treated as copyright-protected, for-profit property.

Smith's attack on open-source drew an angry response from one of the 
original authors of the letter, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., chairman of the House 
Government Reform subcommittee on technology and procurement policy.

"We had no knowledge about that letter that twisted this position into a 
debate over the open source GPL issues," said Melissa Wojciak, staff 
director of the subcommittee. Wojciak added that Davis supports government 
funding of open-source projects.

Smith spokeswoman Katharine Lister said he has "definitely spoken with 
(Microsoft) about this issue," but that there wasn't a direct relationship 
between those discussions and his decision to write his letter to fellow 
Democrats.

Sixty-seven representatives signed the letter to Clarke; almost two-thirds 
were Democrats. "I'm going to hope that the people who signed on to the 
letter did their homework," Lister said.

Microsoft, whose Windows operating system competes with Linux, says 
open-source hurts a company's right to protect its intellectual property.

Microsoft is Smith's top source of donations. According to the Center for 
Responsive Politics, Microsoft employees and its political action committee 
have given $22,900 to Smith's re-election campaign.

The original letter was fashioned by Davis and Jim Turner, D-Texas. They 
wanted the White House's national cybersecurity plan, which is set to be 
finished next month, to ensure that companies that develop software using 
federal funds are free to use the resulting products for commercial gain.

Clarke and his top spokeswoman were traveling and did not return a message 
seeking comment.

The debate over open source in government has raged over the past year. 
Supporters say open source software is more secure, cheaper to buy and 
maintain and easier to customize. Several federal agencies use the Linux 
operating system to some degree, and the National Security Agency briefly 
developed a more secure version of Linux that it released under the GPL.

A study completed this summer for the Pentagon by Mitre Corp. recommended 
further use of computing systems using Linux on the grounds that they are 
less vulnerable to computer attacks and far cheaper.

Many companies do make money from open-source software, including Sun 
Microsystems and IBM Corp. Red Hat, a company that distributes Linux, sells 
proprietary software in addition to the open-source Linux and charges for 
service and support.

Microsoft Corp., however, has lobbied the government to reject GPL software. 
Last year, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer called Linux a "cancer" 
that destroys intellectual property rights.

An open-source supporter said the issue shouldn't be swayed by lobbying.

"Before congressmen start signing letters, there should be more debate on 
the subject," said Tony Stanco of George Washington University's Cyber 
Security Policy and Research Institute. "The weight of people who are really 
in the know go against this kind of stance."

On the Net:

General Public License:

Rep. Adam Smith:

Microsoft:


photo credit and caption:
Microsoft Corporation's Vice President of World Sales and Service Group 
Orlando Ayala announces that Microsoft will actively assist the Taiwan 
government in developing the Taiwan software industry and cultivate local 
talents during a press conference, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2002, in Taipei. (AP 
Photo/Wally Santana)