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Wed, 06 May 2026 13:53:54 -0700 (PDT) Received: from johns-pc.localnet ([150.107.174.105]) by smtp.gmail.com with ESMTPSA id d9443c01a7336-2babb1ef40bsm983115ad.81.2026.05.06.13.53.51 (version=TLS1_3 cipher=TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 bits=256/256); Wed, 06 May 2026 13:53:54 -0700 (PDT) From: John Shand To: torvalds@linux-foundation.org Cc: gregkh@linuxfoundation.org, tglx@linutronix.de, akpm@linux-foundation.org, events@linuxfoundation.org, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Subject: Concerns About Centralization and the Future of Linux Date: Thu, 07 May 2026 08:52:34 +1200 Message-ID: Precedence: bulk X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org List-Id: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/signed; boundary="nextPartHPLqdgQvRe2eYW4gAGXR0g"; micalg="pgp-sha512"; protocol="application/pgp-signature" --nextPartHPLqdgQvRe2eYW4gAGXR0g Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; protected-headers="v1" From: John Shand To: torvalds@linux-foundation.org Subject: Concerns About Centralization and the Future of Linux Date: Thu, 07 May 2026 08:52:34 +1200 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Dear Linus and to whoever this concerns, I hope you are doing well. I wanted to write because I=E2=80=99ve become increasingly concerned about = the growing=20 influence that governments, corporations, and centralized institutions appe= ar=20 to have over the Linux ecosystem and open-source infrastructure generally. One of the reasons Linux became respected worldwide is because it represent= ed=20 openness, independence, technical merit, and freedom from centralized contr= ol.=20 Many people in the community worry that increasing legal, political, and=20 corporate pressures are slowly undermining those principles. I understand that organizations operating within certain jurisdictions must= =20 comply with laws and regulations. However, many users and contributors feel= =20 uneasy when governance decisions appear influenced by geopolitical or legal= =20 pressures rather than purely technical considerations. I believe the long-term strength of Linux depends on deeper decentralizatio= n: =2D distributed governance, =2D globally mirrored infrastructure, =2D independent funding structures, =2D multi-jurisdiction stewardship, =2D and reducing dependence on any single country or corporation. Linux is one of the most important collaborative achievements in modern=20 computing, and many of us hope it remains resilient, neutral, and globally= =20 accessible for future generations. Thank you for everything you have contributed to computing and open source= =20 over the years. Kind regards, John Shand --nextPartHPLqdgQvRe2eYW4gAGXR0g Content-Type: application/pgp-signature; name="signature.asc" Content-Description: This is a digitally signed message part. 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