Concerns About Centralization and the Future of Linux

Concerns About Centralization and the Future of Linux

[John Shand]

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Dear Linus and to whoever this concerns,

I hope you are doing well.

I wanted to write because I’ve become increasingly concerned about the growing 
influence that governments, corporations, and centralized institutions appear 
to have over the Linux ecosystem and open-source infrastructure generally.

One of the reasons Linux became respected worldwide is because it represented 
openness, independence, technical merit, and freedom from centralized control. 
Many people in the community worry that increasing legal, political, and 
corporate pressures are slowly undermining those principles.

I understand that organizations operating within certain jurisdictions must 
comply with laws and regulations. However, many users and contributors feel 
uneasy when governance decisions appear influenced by geopolitical or legal 
pressures rather than purely technical considerations.

I believe the long-term strength of Linux depends on deeper decentralization:

- distributed governance,
- globally mirrored infrastructure,
- independent funding structures,
- multi-jurisdiction stewardship,
- and reducing dependence on any single country or corporation.

Linux is one of the most important collaborative achievements in modern 
computing, and many of us hope it remains resilient, neutral, and globally 
accessible for future generations.

Thank you for everything you have contributed to computing and open source 
over the years.

Kind regards,

John Shand

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