Stallman warns of "Javascript trap"

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 24 Mar 2009 at 11:23

Richard Stallman has warned against browsers that surreptitiously download Javascript code that's not "free".

Stallman claims the spread of services such as Google Docs means many free-software advocates are inadvertently running Javascript code on their machine that's not free.

"Browsers run other non-free programs which they don't ask you about or even tell you about," says Stallman. "For instance, Google Docs downloads into your machine a Javascript program which measures half a megabyte."

"Even in the free software community most users are not aware of this issue; the browsers' silence tends to conceal it," adds Stallman.

The free-software guru wants browsers to warn users about the presence of "non-trivial" Javascript code - not merely banner ads, but the presence of hidden Javascript in web services.

So what does Stallman mean by non-trivial? Something that "defines methods and either loads an external script or is loaded as one, or if it makes an AJAX request."

He concludes by claiming "these features will make it possible for a Javascript program included in a web page to be free in a real and practical sense. Javascript will no longer be a particular obstacle to our freedom - no more than C and Java are now."