After our coverage of London's Oyster card, which uses Linux for its online payment system, we had a response from Richard Stallman, head of the Free Software Foundation.

The original article was Linux Opens London's Oyster, and we report Stallman's comments here .

The GNU system (often called "Linux") has been developed, since 1984, for the sake of computer users' freedom. Ironically it is now the basis for a system designed to smother the freedom of the people of London, through online payments to Oyster cards.

Each Oyster card has a unique ID, which it transmits when it is used. So if you make the mistake of connecting the card with your name, then Big Brother knows exactly when and where you enter the tube, system and where you leave. For the surveillance-mad government of the UK, this is like a dream come true. Since the card contains an RFID, it can be scanned any time, anywhere - not just when you think you are using it.

No wonder they would like more people to use on-line payments. There is no anonymous method of on-line payments, so anyone doing this will have to give them a name to tie to the card. The same happens if you use a credit card or debit card to pay.

Some have proposed that free software licenses such as the GNU General Public License should restrict use of the software to do unethical things. (Military use was the one most often suggested.) I've concluded that this would be misguided. A general tool will inevitably be used for all sorts of things. We cannot prevent surveillance, or wars of aggression, but trying to prohibit the use of certain operating systems for these purposes, any more than we could do so by putting restrictions on the use of pens or chairs. The worst evils are committed by governments, and since they make the copyright laws on which free software licenses are based, they could always vote themselves an exception -- or use non-free software.

We cannot stop London from implementing on-line payments for
surveillance cards, but we can refuse to fall into the trap it sets.

To protect yourself from surveillance, you must pay cash. It is also
a good idea to swap empty Oyster cards with other people from time to time. That way, even if Big Brother finds out which card you have today, he can't use its number to look up all your movements for the past N years. And keep the card in aluminum foil whenever you are not using it -- that way it can't be scanned when it shouldn't be.

Copyright 2008 Richard Stallman
Creative Commons Noderivs license