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<title>Proprietary Tyrants - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
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<h2>Proprietary Tyrants</h2>
<div class="infobox">
<hr class="full-width" />
<p>Nonfree (proprietary) software is very often malware (designed to
mistreat the user). Nonfree software is controlled by its developers,
which puts them in a position of power over the users; <a
href="/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html">that is the
basic injustice</a>. The developers and manufacturers often exercise
that power to the detriment of the users they ought to serve.</p>
<p>This typically takes the form of malicious functionalities.</p>
<hr class="full-width" />
</div>
<div class="article">
<p>A <em>tyrant</em> is a malicious device that refuses to allow users to
install a different operating system or a modified operating
system. These devices have measures to block execution of anything
other than the “approved” system versions. We also
refer to this practice as <em>tivoization</em>.
</p>
<div class="important">
<p>If you know of an example that ought to be in this page but isn't
here, please write
to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>
to inform us. Please include the URL of a trustworthy reference or two
to serve as specific substantiation.</p>
</div>
<div class="column-limit" id="proprietary-tyrants"></div>
<ul class="blurbs">
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<li id="M202312040">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2023-12</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Bungie's Destiny 2 is plagued with two major flaws:</p>
<ul>
<li>Like all proprietary tethered games, <a
href="https://destinytracker.com/destiny-2/articles/is-destiny-2-down-how-to-check-server-maintenance-and-downtime">
it can't be played when the company's servers are offline</a>.</li>
<li>Ever since Bungie chose BattlEye as an anti-cheat program,
Destiny 2 has been <a href="https://areweanticheatyet.com/">
incompatible with GNU/Linux</a> <small>[this page can't be viewed
without JavaScript]</small>. Bungie forces Steam Deck users
to <a href="https://www.pcguide.com/steam-deck/play-destiny-2/">
replace SteamOS with Windows, or play from Edge browser</a>.
This doesn't have to be so, as several other games that use BattlEye
do support GNU/Linux systems. Rather than doing the necessary
adjustments, Bungie forces users to run nonfree software in order to
keep an absolute control over them.</li>
</ul>
</li>
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<li id="M202210110">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2022-10</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Xiaomi provides a tool to <a
href="https://www.guidetoroot.com/unlock-bootloader-on-any-xiaomi-phones/">
unlock the bootloader of Xiaomi smartphones and tablets</a>,
but this requires creating an account on the company's servers,
i.e. providing your phone number. This is the price you have to pay
for “legally” running a free software operating system
on Xiaomi devices. But the manufacturer retains control of the
unlocked device through a backdoor in the bootloader—the same
backdoor that was remotely used to unlock it.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201802120">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2018-02</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Apple devices lock users in <a
href="https://gizmodo.com/homepod-is-the-ultimate-apple-product-in-a-bad-way-1822883347">
solely to Apple services</a> by being designed to be incompatible
with all other options, ethical or unethical.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201607150">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2016-07</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Microsoft accidentally left a way for users
to install GNU/Linux on Windows RT tablets, but now it has <a
href="http://www.securitynewspaper.com/2016/07/15/microsoft-silently-kills-dev-backdoor-boots-linux-locked-windows-rt-slabs/">
href="https://www.securitynewspaper.com/2016/07/15/microsoft-silently-kills-dev-backdoor-boots-linux-locked-windows-rt-slabs/">
“fixed” the “error”</a>. They have the gall
to call this “protecting” the users. The article talks
of installing “Linux”, but the context shows it is really
<a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux</a> that users install.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201412010">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2014-12</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Apple arbitrarily <a
href="http://9to5mac.com/2014/12/01/ios-8-1-signing-window-closed/">blocks
href="https://9to5mac.com/2014/12/01/ios-8-1-signing-window-closed/">blocks
users from installing old versions of iOS</a>.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201403150">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2014-03</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p><a href="http://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=14/03/15/1912255"> href="https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=14/03/15/1912255">
Intel processors will have tyrant software built in</a>.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201304080">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2013-04</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Motorola, then owned by Google, made <a
href="http://blog.azimuthsecurity.com/2013/04/unlocking-motorola-bootloader.html">
href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250422121516/http://blog.azimuthsecurity.com/2013/04/unlocking-motorola-bootloader.html">
Android phones that are tyrants</a> (though someone found a way to
crack the restriction).</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201212180">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2012-12</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Samsung “Smart” TVs have <a
href="https://wiki.samygo.tv/index.php?title=SamyGO_for_DUMMIES#What_are_Restricted_Firmwares.3F">
turned Linux into the base for a tyrant system</a> so as to impose
DRM. What enables Samsung to do this is that Linux is released
under GNU GPL version 2, <a
href="/licenses/rms-why-gplv3.html">not version 3</a>, together with
a weak interpretation of GPL version 2.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201210020">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2012-10</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Some LG TVs <a
href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190917164647/http://openlgtv.org.ru/wiki/index.php/Achievements">
are tyrants</a>.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201205280">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2012-05</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>The Apple iThings are tyrant devices. There is a
port of Android to the iThings, but installing it requires <a
href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150721065208/http://www.idroidproject.org/wiki/Status">
finding a bug or “exploit”</a> to make it possible to
install a different system.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201110110">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2011-10</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p><a href="https://fsf.org/campaigns/secure-boot-vs-restricted-boot/"> href="https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/secure-boot-vs-restricted-boot/">
Mobile devices that come with Windows 8 are tyrants</a>.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201105070">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2011-05</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p><a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/sony">The Playstation
3 is a tyrant</a>.</p>
</li>
</ul>
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