Could We Get Access To The Full Code Running On Our Linux TVs?

The legal fight between Vizio owners and Vizio itself started in 2021 and it seems Vizio’s lawyers have finally run out of ways to delay the court case, as it will be going before a Californian court this year.  Their legal argument doesn’t stem from the privacy concerns of Vizio owners, though it is definitely a driving reason behind the case.  Instead they argue that Vizio is in breach of the terms of GPLv2, seeing as how the TV’s operating system is based on Ubuntu.  That is a major problem for the defence as GPLv2 is legally binding and definitely applies and can be enforced.

Vizio’s lawyers have made some successes, or so they seem to feel, such as not having to provide “guarantees a TV will continue working properly if a user reinstalls a modified version of the OS.”  They seem to think that will discourage Linux gurus and speaks to the depth of their ignorance of the community.  Vizio and Walmart have also tried to argue that the Software Freedom Conservancy “doesn’t have the right to sue Vizio to enforce license terms” and that “GPL is a software license, not a contract”.  These do not seem like strong arguments; but we will finally see them properly tested in court.

The argument that making their source code available could reveal DRM keys that Netflix and other streaming companies provide TV manufacturers, however SFC has repeatedly pointed out that they are not seeking access to those keys.  If they are so poorly encrypted as to allow someone with access to the source code the ability to figure out the DRM keys, that seems to be very much a problem for the providers and is not involved with their breach of GPLv2.

If the SFC succeeds in their legal battle, it will have huge implications for the market as LG’s webOS, Samsung’s Tizen, and Roku’s Roku OS are all also based on Linux distros which are covered under GPLv2 or other versions of that license.  Check out Ars Technica’s article on the legal fight against Vizio for the many other benefits getting access to our TV’s source code will provide.