Hacktivismo Enhanced-Source Software License Agreement

The Hacktivismo Enhanced-Source Software License Agreement (HESSLA) is a software license proposed by Hacktivismo that attempts to put ethical restrictions on use and modification of software released under it.

The license was written by Oxblood Ruffin (of Hacktivismo and CULT OF THE DEAD COW) and Eric Grimm, an attorney with the EFF.

The HESSLA allows for enhancements to be made and for derivative works to be created, but it prohibits the use or modification of the software to violate human rights or to introduce features that spy on the user. It is intended to be a legally enforceable document. However, due to these restrictions, it is not technically a free software license,^[1] though it was inspired by free software and open source licenses.

It has been criticized by the Free Software Foundation ^[2] for introducing restrictions that are ineffective for preventing abuse, but introduce legal incompatibility with other licenses.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Licenses - Free Software Foundation". http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses. Retrieved January 5, 2009. 
2. ^ http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/hessla.html

External links

• The HESSLA
• "The HESSLA's Problems" from gnu.org