- Twitter kneecapping 3PAs with it's API changes
- Reddit doing the same
- Meta sending Cease & Desists to Whatsapp API alt OSS devs
- Youtube sending legal threats to Invidious OSS devs
Last two succeed because (shocker!) OSS devs don't have the resources to fight legal battles against $700bn megacorps.
Every age was defined by the rights we gained. Enlightenment, Suffrage, Post-World War, etc. all lead to new human rights. On the precipice of a digital age we need to start thinking about new human rights.
We all know the right to privacy (lol), I propose a few more:
- Right to Automate/Interoperability; A service must provide a programmatic interface with feature parity, or must allow users to create the tools to automate without any prior consent of the service.
- Right to 3PA; Users have the right to use and develop 3rd party apps without the consent of the service.
- Right of OSS dev defense; megacorps have to pay for the defense of the individual they are actively bullying.
These three will force services to either create a fully featured and open API or leave developers to create the tools to enable others to develop and use 3rd party applications or automation.
Without these three basic rights, we cannot realize the AI vision of a personal Jarvis for everyone.
Maybe we should also be thinking about a developer union that protects independant devs & advocates for coders rights. Also, maybe some sort of organization that acts as the digital-equivalent of the "public domain", which has ROFR for acquiring services which have become monopolies in their respective sectors (e.g Reddit, Whatsapp, Youtube, Twitter, etc.)
It's time to build..... the foundation for a digital utopia.
