What a terribly written article. I got half way through and just gave up.
I would really appreciate an ELI5, or some examples. For example, would lemmy be regulated by CRA? What about lemmy instances? Is there a difference if there is a fee or a recurrent donations?
First: IANAL, EU law is complicated. This is my understanding as of now:
TL;DR: The EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) aims to enhance cybersecurity standards for products with digital elements. It introduces mandatory requirements for manufacturers and retailers to ensure cybersecurity throughout a product’s lifecycle. The CRA excludes open-source software developers unless their software is used commercially as part of a “product with digital elements”.
would lemmy be regulated by CRA?
Lemmy, as an open-source project, would likely not be directly regulated by the CRA. The Act specifically excludes open-source developers from its scope unless their software is used commercially.
Whaz about lemmy instances?
Lemmy instances might be regulated by the CRA if they are operated commercially as part of a “product with digital Elements”. (Is there a pay for access instance or hosting as a service for lemmy? I am not aware of one.) However, since most instances are run non-commercially or for personal use, they would likely fall outside the CRA’s scope.
Is there a difference if there is a fee or a recurrent donations?
Yes:
- A fee is typically a mandatory payment for a service or product, e.g. a feature locked behind a paywall.
- A recurring donation is a voluntary, regular contribution to support an organization or cause, often without receiving goods or services in return.
The key distinction lies in the obligation attached to the payment. Fees come with an expectation of receiving something in return, while donations are given freely without such expectations.
so, if a company decides to, for example, start using some MIT licensed software, does that suddenly materialize extra responsibilities for that software’s dev?
My understanding is that the company would be regulated by CRA and not the developer. However, that does not stop the company from pushing the developer for CRA compliance.
No. The FOSS dev would turn around and tell the entire world to go pound sand
The devs are under no obligations to do squat. Which includes responding to any EU requests.
If anyone has a problem with a FOSS project, they are welcome to fork the repo and maintain it themselves. And then send love letters back and forth to the EU.
If anyone is sent a request by the EU, i’m here to help. Some ideas to include in a response.
Shouldn’t EU be focusing on Ukraine and throwing their males into a meat grinder?
EU does not have free speech. Why take them seriously? Why have any expectations of them?
I’m so surprised to read a Microsoft article written by a former member of the European Parliament from the Pirate Party, even moreso as the president of the lobbying arm of Microsoft.
I was interested in knowing what are the duties of the software providers under the regulation, more than hiw they don’t apply to hobbyists, I keep searching for other articles that explain it.
MSFT please send all that love and support by all the bitcoin you are not buying
thank you
– package maintainers
