Arduino’s new terms of service worries hobbyists ahead of Qualcomm acquisition

Members of the maker community are expressing their unease regarding Arduino's recently updated terms of service (ToS), fearing that these changes threaten the company's commitment to open-source principles. This update comes just a month after Qualcomm announced its acquisition of the open-source hardware and software company. One of the most contentious additions is the new reverse-engineering policy. In a blog post last Friday, Arduino addressed concerns raised by community members, including those from the open-source hardware distributor and manufacturer, Adafruit. The blog clarified that hardware, software, and services released under open-source licenses would remain accessible as before, with the restrictions on reverse-engineering applying specifically to their Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) cloud applications. However, Adafruit’s founder, Limor Fried, and managing editor, Phillip Torrone, remain skeptical. They have voiced their concerns in a statement to Ars Technica, questioning why reverse-engineering would be restricted for a company built on the principles of hackability. They also noted that their inquiries to Arduino have gone unanswered. Additionally, Arduino's updated ToS introduces a new “AI Policy” section, which states that the company reserves the right to monitor user accounts and interactions with its AI products, including tracking usage metrics. Fried and Torrone have criticized Arduino for not providing clarity on what data from these AI systems is collected, who has access to it, and why opting out is only possible by avoiding the features altogether. They also worry about how user data might be shared with Qualcomm, heightening their concerns regarding privacy and data security.