Free Software Foundation (FSF) Tackling Proprietary JavaScript
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FSF announces JShelter browser add-on to combat threats from nonfree JavaScript
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today announced the JShelter project, an anti-malware Web browser extension to mitigate potential threats from JavaScript, including fingerprinting, tracking, and data collection. The project is supported by NLnet Foundation's Next Generation Internet (NGI) Zero Privacy & Trust Enhancing Technologies fund. Collaborators include Libor Polčák and Bednář Martin (Brno University of Technology), Giorgio Maone (NoScript), and Ana Isabel Carvalho and Ricardo Lafuente (Manufactura Independente). The JShelter browser add-on is in development and the first release is available.
Most modern Web sites contain a growing number of programs that the user's Web browser downloads and runs automatically as pages are loaded. While these JavaScript programs can provide functionality to a site in conjunction with native browser features, they are also a significant liability both from security and privacy perspectives. Moreover, the software is typically licensed under unethical terms by the FSF's standards, disempowering users and hampering learning and security. With a thirty-six year history of defending software ethics, The FSF recognizes the importance and urgency of both aspects of the problem and its role in solving this significant challenge. In response, the FSF has been working on an ambitious new initiative, the JShelter browser extension. This browser add-on will limit the potential for JavaScript programs to do harmful actions by restricting default behavior and adding a layer of control. JShelter is a significant next step in the FSF's "Free JavaScript Campaign," providing a new tool that can be used in conjunction with another related extension, GNU LibreJS, which allows the user to identify and run only freely licensed scripts.
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Keeping your freedom intact when registering or renewing as a DMCA agent
DMCA agent registration only lasts three years before it must be renewed. Use these add-ons to register and renew without the use of nonfree JavaScript.
Users shouldn't be forced to use nonfree software when interacting with their own government. Every user has the right to control their own computing, and the government shouldn't be forcing you to download and install proprietary software just to take advantage of its services. But when it comes to registering and renewing the status as an agent under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the United States, that's exactly what the government expects you to do.The U.S. Copyright Office requires a registered agent to renew their status every three years to help ensure that the agent directory stays up to date. However, the renewal can only be done online, and you are required to use nonfree software. We find this unacceptable. Fortunately, three years ago we devised a way to complete an agent’s registration circumventing the use of nonfree Javascript. Today, we confirm the process still works and it can be applied to renewal as well. We encourage everyone to learn more about these tools to access your government services in software freedom.
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Free Software Foundation Introduces JShelter Browser Add-on...
Free Software Foundation Introduces JShelter Browser Add-on to Restrict JavaScript API