[OSM-legal-talk] Use of OSM data by the military and/or intelligence services

[Rob Myers]

On 04/02/10 14:49, Martin Koppenhoefer wrote:
> AFAIK our current license offers our data for everyone who attributes
> correctly, but I'd like to raise the issue of malicious use of our
> data by governmental organisations. What do you thing about setting up
> a paragraph that prohibits the use of our data for military and
> intelligence services? Not that I'm hoping this would seriously
> prevent the use in case we have useful data to them, but still it
> would be a statement.

The military are often involved in humanitarian aid and relief projects
that can benefit from OSM data.

Military and intelligence data shared through a project like OSM would
allow civilian organizations, even dissenting civilian organizations, to
benefit from that data.

If one wishes to criticise the military and the intelligence services,
getting them to open up and become more engaged with civil society is a
good thing.

A discriminatory licence would prevent all of these benefits while not
preventing military or espionage use or creation of other map data that
we do not get access to.

I mention these points as illustrations of the argument that abandoning
a commitment to freedom would be bad, not in addition to it.

- Rob.