• bassomitron@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    7 months ago

    This makes me curious in the US on whether or not government app source code would be provided via a FOIA request.

    • catloaf@lemm.eeEnglish
      0·
      7 months ago

      Generally, works of the US government are public domain.

      However, most apps are produced on contract with development companies, and I expect the contract specifies that the rights remain with the developer.

        • bamboo@lemm.eeEnglish
          0·
          7 months ago

          As someone who works with and knows several military contractors, I’ve never heard of the US taking ownership of any code written. In fact, most of what they’re paying for is for companies to extend software they’ve already written to better fit the governments use case, such that even if the government owned the new improvements, that code wouldn’t function without the base application that pre-dates a government contract.

    • John Richard@lemmy.worldEnglish
      01·
      7 months ago

      You’d think so, but the answer is no. They’ve employed companies like Microsoft, Oracle, etc. to write up the security handbooks that says proprietary software is more secure. Heck, even electronic voting systems in the US is closed-source.

        • John Richard@lemmy.worldEnglish
          01·
          7 months ago

          Simply, you can’t. I’m personally all for an open source alternative for electronic voting. I can bank online, but not vote online. I’d trust an open source online voting platform more than I’d trust poll workers to not skew some votes. I’d also like to be able to track my vote and ensure it was cast for the person I voted for.