GNU/Linux and freedom: non-free software hidden in your GNU/Linux distribution

“Most people with an interest in software freedom will turn to
GNU/Linux as their operating system of choice. Few realize however,
that the vast majority of GNU/Linux distros are not entirely free.
Imagine migrating away from Windows, only to find that by
installing GNU/Linux you are accepting a restrictive Microsoft
license!

“Many distros promote the use of proprietary software, knowingly
show incorrect licenses, and attempt to hide the problem under the
guise of an ‘option of freedom’. When the majority of
developers of a collection of software don’t care about
freedom, neither will their users. Non-free distros make almost no
attempts to inform their userbases of the importance of freedom,
even though they wouldn’t exist without it. I will discuss
how the option of freedom is an unacceptable solution, and propose
some real fixes.

“The problem

“I’ve been using GNU/Linux for over 5 years, but
I’ve only recently discovered just how much non-free software
my distro contains. I decided to search through my system and
remove everything that was non-free, and there was quite a lot that
I removed.”

Complete Story