Open source has long been shaped by the tension between community ideals and commercial reality. This past week highlighted just how distinct those two forces remain.
On one side, activists and open-source advocates published an open letter on February 24 opposing Google’s plans to require all Android app developers to register directly with the company to distribute apps outside the Google Play Store. The signatories argue the requirement effectively centralizes control over who can publish software on the platform — even beyond…

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