Free as in… obeys US foreign policy
In the article, Linus explicitly said that it’s not just a US thing:
And FYI for the actual innocent bystanders who aren’t troll farm accounts - the “various compliance requirements” are not just a US thing.
That’s more like his opinion or a post facto justification. Turns out it is a US thing.
If your company is on the U.S. OFAC SDN lists, subject to an OFAC sanctions program, or owned/controlled by a company on the list, our ability to collaborate with you will be subject to restrictions, and you cannot be in the MAINTAINERS file.
So to get back, you have to basically prove that you have no relations with OFAC SDN companies.
This update is from https://lwn.net/Articles/995186/
I’m pretty sure not just the US wants Russia sanctioned to the oblivion. All of the Europe that borders Russia wants that. Now why would it be like that?
It makes no sense to discuss here.They probably follow Russia’s narrative of Europe being a puppet of the US.