Defending User Freedom Online: Why the FSF Stands Against Anti-Bot Measures Like Anubis
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is currently facing sustained Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. While we’re actively defending our core websites – gnu.org, ftp.gnu.org, and savannah.gnu.org – and maintaining normal service, these attacks highlight a growing trend that threatens user freedom: forcing users to prove they are human through computationally expensive tasks. We want to explain why we fundamentally oppose these practices, and how you can help us continue to champion a free and open internet.
The Problem with “Proof-of-Work” Schemes
Recently, some websites have begun implementing systems like Anubis. This requires visitors to perform a meaningful, and often deliberately useless, computation on their computers before gaining access. This process can take anywhere from a fraction of a second to over a minute, depending on your hardware.
The website then verifies the completed calculation before granting access. While intended to deter bots,this approach has serious implications for user freedom.
Why This Feels Familiar – And Why it’s concerning
At the FSF, we recognize Anubis’ calculations are strikingly similar to those performed in cryptocurrency mining.Essentially, it asks you to donate your computer’s processing power to solve a problem that benefits the website owner, not you.
This is a form of what’s known as “cryptojacking” - running unwanted calculations on a user’s device. Even if the software is free, it’s part of a system that mirrors the restrictive practices often found in proprietary software. We believe forcing users to run unwanted code, even under the guise of security, is unacceptable.
Your Autonomy Matters
We believe you should control your own computing experience. You should have the autonomy to decide what your computer does with its resources. Forcing you to perform calculations you didn’t request violates this principle.
The FSF is committed to ensuring users maintain independence and freedom online. We want to empower you, not pressure you into running possibly resource-intensive and unwanted software.
Our Ongoing defense & The Need for Support
Despite the ongoing attacks, our dedicated team – just two full-time systems administrators, along with invaluable help from volunteers like Bob, Corwin, and Luke – have successfully shielded our core sites for nearly a year. We’re committed to continuing this fight.
However, maintaining this level of defense requires resources.We urgently need to expand our technical staff to proactively address these evolving threats.
How You can definitely help: Join the Movement
we understand manny of you already support the free software movement in various ways, and we deeply appreciate it. But to strengthen our defenses and continue our work, we need your help to grow our associate membership.
Here’s how you can contribute:
Become an Associate Member: A membership of $140 USD or more directly supports our technical team and helps us reach our goal of 200 new members.Become an associate member and help us defy the dystopia Big Tech is trying to create. Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a difference.Thank you for standing with the FSF and supporting a free and open internet.
Image Attribution: “DDoS keyboard button” © 2025 by Arielinson. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)