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[return to "Open source liability is coming"]
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1. ctoth+Pa[view] [source] 2023-12-29 18:58:09
>>daniel+(OP)
I use an open source screen reader, NVDA.

It is completely open, and they produce an installer for people or you can build it yourself from Git.

Can you help me understand now, if there is a bug in NVDA (which is under the GPL) and it causes me trouble, say, it can't read a webpage that I need for some government thing, I could now sue my screen reader, which is actually just a bunch of dudes hacking something together? Is that the new behavior that is enabled by this upcoming law?

Next question, if this is the actual state of things, why would anyone ever make anything open source and allow it to be distributed in the EU now? It sounds like, and please please correct me if I am wrong, but it sounds like you could sue the makers of The Gimp, for instance, if a bug caused ... what, your pictures to come out looking wrong?

> Someone, or some entity, will need to accept financial and legal responsibility for what the project does in consumer hands.

Here's a crazy idea, maybe that person should be the consumer?

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2. bpfrh+Ig[view] [source] 2023-12-29 19:31:54
>>ctoth+Pa
You can't.

Product liability excludes non commercial open source software, see:

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/de/press-room/20231205IP...

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3. trepri+gG[view] [source] 2023-12-29 22:03:12
>>bpfrh+Ig
So basically open source devs can't make living off their work because some clueless EU regulator sees no other way? This is super heavy-handed and makes no sense outside ancient uncompetitive EU tech conglomerates trying to protect their turfs.
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4. warkda+jJ[view] [source] 2023-12-29 22:24:48
>>trepri+gG
If the open source devs charge for their software, they should have the balls to accept the liability for whatever they are selling.
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5. trepri+gP[view] [source] 2023-12-29 23:12:46
>>warkda+jJ
Really? Why? Just because somebody wants to regulate software? For what reason?
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6. rstuar+XO3[view] [source] 2023-12-31 09:32:33
>>trepri+gP
> Really? Why? Just because somebody wants to regulate software? For what reason?

Because open source would then be used as a loop hole you can drive a A380 through. Say I say invent a "house hold chores" robot. The robot has a bug that kills you. But your family can't sue because they made the bulk of it's software open source, and say give it to you for free. You paid for the hardware.

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