https://blog.opensource.org/metas-llama-2-license-is-not-open-source/ Voices of Open Source Voices of Open Source * About * Donate * Home Search [ ] July 20, 2023 Stefano Maffulli OSI opinion Meta's LLaMa 2 license is not Open Source OSI is pleased to see that Meta is lowering barriers for access to powerful AI systems. Unfortunately, the tech giant has created the misunderstanding that LLaMa 2 is "open source" - it is not. Even assuming the term can be validly applied to a large language model comprising several resources of different kinds, Meta is confusing "open source" with "resources available to some users under some conditions," two very different things. We've asked them to correct their misstatement. "Open Source" means software under a license with specific characteristics, defined by the Open Source Definition (OSD). Among other requirements, for a license to be Open Source, it may not discriminate against persons or groups or fields of endeavor (OSD points 5 and 6). Meta's license for the LLaMa models and code does not meet this standard; specifically, it puts restrictions on commercial use for some users (paragraph 2) and also restricts the use of the model and software for certain purposes (the Acceptable Use Policy). Why Open Source matters An Open Source license ensures that developers and users are able to decide for themselves how and where to use the technology without the need to engage with another party; they have sovereignty over the technology they use. Open Source is premised on the understanding that everyone gets to share no matter who you are. The commercial limitation in paragraph 2 of LLAMA COMMUNITY LICENSE AGREEMENT is contrary to that promise in the OSD. OSI does not question Meta's desire to limit the use of Llama for competitive purposes, but doing so takes the license out of the category of "Open Source." The OSD does not allow restrictions on field of use because you can't know beforehand what can happen in the future, good or bad. That's what allows the Linux kernel to become popular in medical devices as well as airplanes and rockets. But the Meta policy prohibits use in several areas that might be highly beneficial to society, such as regulated/controlled substances and use for critical infrastructure. Even something that sounds as simple as "you must follow the law" is problematic in practice. What if the law in different places is inconsistent? What if the law is unjust? Avoiding adding more confusion The license for the Llama LLM is very plainly not an "Open Source" license. Meta is making some aspect of its large language model available to some, but not to everyone, and not for any purpose. OSI realizes how important it is to come to a shared understanding of what open means for AI systems. These are new human artifacts, much like software was a new creation of human intellect in the 70s. We're running a series of events to craft a common definition of "open" in the AI context and we welcome submissions of ideas. Mentions 1. Dylan Roskams-Edris Avatar 2. Thomas Amberg Avatar 3. Vincent Picavet Avatar 4. Berkubernetus Avatar 5. Dylan Roskams-Edris Avatar 6. Ryan the hepcat Avatar 7. compilation-error Avatar 8. Simon Phipps Avatar 9. Guto Carvalho Avatar 10. avlap Avatar 11. Michael Stanclift Avatar 12. Berkubernetus Avatar 13. Eric Schultz Avatar 14. Nil Kraunis (Read as Crownis) Avatar 15. bedast :diabetes: Avatar 16. Nil Kraunis (Read as Crownis) Avatar 17. Eric Schultz Avatar 18. Take It EV Podcast [?] Avatar 19. Take It EV Podcast [?] Avatar 20. nizarus@mastodon.tn Avatar 21. Jeff Geerling Avatar 22. fuomag9@kiwi.fuo.fi Avatar 23. Jan Ainali Avatar 24. ItsPlasmaSir Avatar 25. Stefano Marinelli Avatar 26. Josh Triplett Avatar 27. Carlos Avatar 28. Jonathan Wright :almalinux: Avatar 29. Alex Barredo Avatar 30. Martin Juhasz Avatar 31. Jeff Geerling Avatar 32. daniel (taco) Avatar 33. Jan Ainali Avatar 34. Ian Kluft [?] Avatar 35. Tassoman Avatar 36. sudo brakhukukloma :kafeneio: Avatar 37. Dek Avatar 38. Jeff Geerling Avatar 39. daniel (taco) Avatar 40. Rachel Lawson Avatar 41. Matt "msw" Wilson Avatar 42. Zef Hemel Avatar 43. Larry Garfield Avatar 44. David Eccles (gringer) Avatar 45. Esther Plomp Avatar 46. houfu Avatar 47. Paul Allen Avatar 48. pchestek Avatar 49. Dylan Roskams-Edris Avatar 50. boajornada Avatar 51. VeilleOff Avatar 52. Tyng-Ruey Chuang Avatar 53. VeilleOff Avatar 54. Cheuk Ting Ho Avatar 55. chamila :neovim: :ubuntu: Avatar 56. Filipo Avatar 57. repi Avatar 58. Eugene Alvin Villar Avatar 59. Eugene Alvin Villar Avatar 60. Paul Fish Avatar 61. Bao Mao Avatar 62. Eugene Alvin Villar Avatar 63. AnEthernetCable Avatar 64. Austin Lehman Avatar 65. jeffluszcz Avatar 66. Xerophile Avatar 67. Paris B-A Avatar 68. Xerophile Avatar 69. Turbo Avatar 70. Anton Ohorodnyk Avatar 71. The Flight Attendant Avatar 72. evasb@c.im Avatar 73. Grumpy Gramp Avatar 74. bedast :diabetes: Avatar 75. bedast :diabetes: Avatar 76. bedast :diabetes: Avatar 77. kotatsuyaki Avatar 78. kotatsuyaki Avatar 79. genehack Avatar 80. DeFrisselle [?] Avatar 81. Ward Avatar 82. Ivan Tsenov Avatar 83. sc :agorism_heart: Avatar 84. Vitor Avatar 85. sc :agorism_heart: Avatar 86. Chartreuse Avatar 87. minecraftchest1 Avatar 88. Sarah Kaiser Avatar 89. DeFrisselle [?] Avatar 90. thegx.ca/forum Avatar 91. PublicLewdness Avatar 92. DVS Avatar 93. Anselm Schuler Avatar 94. mashbooq Avatar 95. Thoralf Will Avatar 96. Marcel Waldvogel Avatar 97. binaryphile :clippy: Avatar 98. Backendzeit Avatar 99. Carmen Bianca BAKKER Avatar 100. Anton Ohorodnyk Avatar 101. Travis F W Avatar 102. Egon Willighagen :oa: Avatar 103. Richard Fontana Avatar 104. Adam Trickett Avatar 105. Jmbmkn Avatar 106. Henri Sivonen Avatar 107. Thierry Carrez Avatar 108. Kristof Grozdan :debian: Avatar 109. FineFindus Avatar 110. Mathias Schindler Avatar 111. Klaus Alexander Seistrup Avatar 112. Benjamin Hagemann Avatar 113. Merlijn Sebrechts Avatar 114. lostdoco@aus.social Avatar 115. lunazea Avatar 116. RT bot :blobcheer: Avatar 117. Daniel P. Berrange Avatar 118. Jordan Open Source Association Avatar 119. Islamic Audiobooks Central Avatar 120. Jordan Open Source Association Avatar 121. Rodrigo Moya Avatar 122. MaryMarasKittenBakery Avatar 123. Nicolas Fressengeas Avatar 124. MaryMarasKittenBakery Avatar 125. Nicolas Fressengeas Avatar 126. Henk ze Broer Avatar 127. Xebulun EnEssEitch Avatar 128. Xebulun EnEssEitch Avatar 129. MaryMarasKittenBakery Avatar 130. Nicolas Fressengeas Avatar 131. Islamic Audiobooks Central Avatar 132. bluemilla Avatar 133. April :verified8: Avatar 134. Atsushi Eno Avatar 135. Glamax Thirteen Avatar 136. Bjorn Stenberg Avatar 137. baconandcoconut Avatar 138. gregorni Avatar 139. meadowhawk Avatar 140. Islamic Audiobooks Central Avatar 141. Islamic Audiobooks Central Avatar 142. Kushal Das :python: :tor: Avatar 143. Lorenzo @ FOSDEM Avatar 144. Victor R. Ruiz Avatar 145. Lorenzo @ FOSDEM Avatar 146. Anne-Marie Scott Avatar 147. tomo Avatar 148. jeffluszcz Avatar 149. Demain. Peut-etre. Avatar 150. jeffluszcz Avatar 151. Berkubernetus Avatar 152. Jens Ohlig Avatar 153. Jon Avatar 154. Berkubernetus Avatar 155. cameronbosch Avatar 156. cameronbosch Avatar 157. Je ne suis pas goth Avatar 158. danielwestermann@mastodon.social Avatar 159. Rodney Avatar 160. Annemarie Bridy Avatar 161. Akira Aogawa Qing Chuan Ming Avatar 162. benx@kolektiva.social Avatar 163. Hemant[?] Avatar 164. Jason Li Avatar 165. Jungle George Avatar 166. Daniel Le Berre Avatar 167. Jesus M. Gonzalez-Barahona Avatar 168. Bart Groeneveld Avatar 169. Bart Groeneveld Avatar 170. Bart Groeneveld Avatar 171. Bart Groeneveld Avatar 172. Simon Phipps Avatar 173. silly_apple Avatar 174. DACBARBOS Brand Avatar 175. DACBARBOS Brand Avatar 176. DACBARBOS Brand Avatar 177. Mure, die Avatar We support webmentions. You can add comments here from your own website: enter the URL of your response making sure it contains a link to this post's permalink URL. Your response will then appear (possibly after moderation) on this page. Learn More. [ ] [Ping me!] Likes * [missing] Hyperlunk * [ba7875b4] Mure, die * [8fb769d1] silly_apple * [missing] Jungle George * [missing] Jason Li * [fb144c96] Akira Aogawa Qing Chuan Ming * [c8a15a51] benx@kolektiva.social * [missing] cameronbosch * [53cb6e99] Berkubernetus * [faed527b] jeffluszcz * [missing] Lorenzo @ FOSDEM * [34912599] Islamic Audiobooks Central * [34912599] Islamic Audiobooks Central * [1918f2ff] meadowhawk * [missing] gregorni * [5ced27e4] baconandcoconut * [a8d3a4fc] Glamax Thirteen * [8c2bf42c] April :verified8: * [34912599] Islamic Audiobooks Central * [missing] MaryMarasKittenBakery * [a502a783] Xebulun EnEssEitch * [1b70c8de] Nicolas Fressengeas * [missing] MaryMarasKittenBakery * [3d318d20] Jordan Open Source Association * [34912599] Islamic Audiobooks Central * [6227fa51] lunazea * [47213603] Benjamin Hagemann * [f524bd0c] Klaus Alexander Seistrup * [529de5ad] Kristof Grozdan :debian: * [5237d63c] Travis F W * [b0cbe664] Egon Willighagen :oa: * [d1b25844] Carmen Bianca BAKKER * [81e4b384] Anton Ohorodnyk * [7a9bbdad] Marcel Waldvogel * [403c9a1e] Sarah Kaiser * [missing] DeFrisselle [?] * [missing] minecraftchest1 * [missing] Chartreuse * [246ea94c] sc :agorism_heart: * [7bea655b] Ward * [missing] DeFrisselle [?] * [2f9081a3] kotatsuyaki * [64fe8994] bedast :diabetes: * [64fe8994] bedast :diabetes: * [missing] The Flight Attendant * [81e4b384] Anton Ohorodnyk * [90e44f60] Turbo * [faed527b] jeffluszcz * [missing] Xerophile * [28fa36b6] Austin Lehman * [d7a04c37] AnEthernetCable * [adc88909] Eugene Alvin Villar * [6e2691a6] Paul Fish * [f155c0d3] Bao Mao * [2ab06a70] repi * [adc88909] Eugene Alvin Villar * [19dce764] chamila :neovim: :ubuntu: * [567201f2] Cheuk Ting Ho * [0a94d4dc] VeilleOff * [4b69c3f7] boajornada * [30b10a57] daniel (taco) * [7bf4d85c] Jeff Geerling * [3459957d] Martin Juhasz * [missing] Alex Barredo * [13050ac1] Jonathan Wright :almalinux: * [9969c23c] Carlos * [deed4dd0] Josh Triplett * [44c92885] Stefano Marinelli * [missing] ItsPlasmaSir * [6b6c874f] Jan Ainali * [missing] fuomag9@kiwi.fuo.fi * [missing] Take It EV Podcast [?] * [e55cd056] Eric Schultz * [d4248e28] Nil Kraunis (Read as Crownis) * [53cb6e99] Berkubernetus * [48136924] Thomas Amberg * [missing] Vincent Picavet * [8cdfe1fb] Dylan Roskams-Edris Reposts * [c101c5d5] [?][?] DACBARBOS Brand * [80e78302] [?][?] DACBARBOS Brand * [37cac565] [?][?] DACBARBOS Brand * [669f9a27] [?][?] Simon Phipps * [d71050b6] [?][?] Bart Groeneveld * [d71050b6] [?][?] Bart Groeneveld * [d71050b6] [?][?] Bart Groeneveld * [d71050b6] [?][?] Bart Groeneveld * [2a8a3980] [?][?] Jesus M. Gonzalez-Barahona * [159a0784] [?][?] Daniel Le Berre * [missing] [?][?] Hemant[?] * [bd733156] [?][?] Annemarie Bridy * [missing] [?][?] Rodney * [04ede9f7] [?][?] Je ne suis pas goth * [2ce49b4f] [?][?] danielwestermann@mastodon.social * [missing] [?][?] cameronbosch * [53cb6e99] [?][?] Berkubernetus * [cedad7c6] [?][?] Jon * [70b9ab20] [?][?] Jens Ohlig * [faed527b] [?][?] jeffluszcz * [missing] [?][?] Demain. Peut-etre. * [e9b82550] [?][?] tomo * [83014acc] [?][?] Anne-Marie Scott * [b97970b7] [?][?] Victor R. Ruiz * [missing] [?][?] Lorenzo @ FOSDEM * [a308823e] [?][?] Kushal Das :python: :tor: * [b5843c6b] [?][?] Bjorn Stenberg * [missing] [?][?] Atsushi Eno * [98c58952] [?][?] bluemilla * [1b70c8de] [?][?] Nicolas Fressengeas * [a502a783] [?][?] Xebulun EnEssEitch * [1690acbb] [?][?] Henk ze Broer * [1b70c8de] [?][?] Nicolas Fressengeas * [missing] [?][?] MaryMarasKittenBakery * [missing] [?][?] Rodrigo Moya * [3d318d20] [?][?] Jordan Open Source Association * [80eb2dc6] [?][?] Daniel P. Berrange * [missing] [?][?] RT bot :blobcheer: * [missing] [?][?] lostdoco@aus.social * [8bf98a3e] [?][?] Merlijn Sebrechts * [e18abf96] [?][?] Mathias Schindler * [ee6b88ea] [?][?] FineFindus * [db334864] [?][?] Thierry Carrez * [missing] [?][?] Jmbmkn * [missing] [?][?] Henri Sivonen * [missing] [?][?] Adam Trickett * [fc5ddbc9] [?][?] Richard Fontana * [f4554cbc] [?][?] Backendzeit * [missing] [?][?] binaryphile :clippy: * [7d88fe52] [?][?] Thoralf Will * [3d613f4f] [?][?] mashbooq * [missing] [?][?] Anselm Schuler * [d488b265] [?][?] DVS * [70753ef9] [?][?] PublicLewdness * [missing] [?][?] thegx.ca/forum * [missing] [?][?] Vitor * [246ea94c] [?][?] sc :agorism_heart: * [177a442a] [?][?] Ivan Tsenov * [920a2807] [?][?] genehack * [2f9081a3] [?][?] kotatsuyaki * [64fe8994] [?][?] bedast :diabetes: * [94b6a7bd] [?][?] evasb@c.im * [missing] [?][?] Grumpy Gramp * [bed19ecc] [?][?] Paris B-A * [missing] [?][?] Xerophile * [adc88909] [?][?] Eugene Alvin Villar * [0ac28eaf] [?][?] Filipo * [0a94d4dc] [?][?] VeilleOff * [bc3dc6df] [?][?] Tyng-Ruey Chuang * [dbd6ddf7] [?][?] pchestek * [8cdfe1fb] [?][?] Dylan Roskams-Edris * [c916b8d3] [?][?] houfu * [847d4a79] [?][?] Paul Allen * [649f70b6] [?][?] Esther Plomp * [missing] [?][?] David Eccles (gringer) * [64f28619] [?][?] Larry Garfield * [684f4ab6] [?][?] Zef Hemel * [4241e783] [?][?] Rachel Lawson * [02aab2f3] [?][?] Matt "msw" Wilson * [30b10a57] [?][?] daniel (taco) * [7bf4d85c] [?][?] Jeff Geerling * [missing] [?][?] Dek * [missing] [?][?] sudo brakhukukloma :kafeneio: * [f13399e7] [?][?] Tassoman * [missing] [?][?] Ian Kluft [?] * [6b6c874f] [?][?] Jan Ainali * [missing] [?][?] nizarus@mastodon.tn * [missing] [?][?] Take It EV Podcast [?] * [e55cd056] [?][?] Eric Schultz * [64fe8994] [?][?] bedast :diabetes: * [d4248e28] [?][?] Nil Kraunis (Read as Crownis) * [53cb6e99] [?][?] Berkubernetus * [83bca91c] [?][?] Michael Stanclift * [missing] [?][?] avlap * [bf055007] [?][?] Guto Carvalho * [669f9a27] [?][?] Simon Phipps * [da00f569] [?][?] compilation-error * [missing] [?][?] Ryan the hepcat * [8cdfe1fb] [?][?] Dylan Roskams-Edris Keep up with Open Source [Your email ][Send me the newsletter] Please leave this field empty. 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