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China is attempting to mirror the entire GitHub over to their own servers, users report (infosec.exchange)

submitted 4 days ago by [email protected] to c/technology

279 comments fedilink hide all child comments

GitCode, a git-hosting website operated Chongqing Open-Source Co-Creation Technology Co Ltd and with technical support from CSDN and Huawei Cloud.

It is being reported that many users' repository are being cloned and re-hosted on GitCode without explicit authorization.

There is also a thread on Ycombinator (archived link)

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[–] raspberriesareyummy 81 points 3 days ago (27 children)

With the obligatory "fuck everyone who disregards open source licenses", I am still slightly amused at this raising eyebrows while nearly no one is complaining about MS using github to train their copilot LLM, which will help circumvent licenses & copyrights by the bazillion.

[–] Cosmicomical 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Came here to say this. As much as I don't like china, there is really nothing to see (apart from the source, that's for everybody to see).

[–] mightyfoolish 11 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

This could be illegal for git repos that do not have a open source license that allows mirroring or copying (BSD, Apache, Mit, GPL, etc.) Sometimes these repos are more "source available" and the source is only allowed to be read, not redistributed or modified. I would say that this is more of a matter for each individual copyright holder, not Microsoft.

But ultimately I agree, this really isn't as big of a deal as people are making.

edit: changed some wording to be clearer

[–] Maggoty -4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

China is a sovereign entity. I'm pretty sure they can decide foreign licensing laws don't apply there.

[–] mightyfoolish 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

China is a soverign state and they should make their own laws. However, China has promised repeatably that they will take IP concerns more strictly (trade deal with Trump in 2020 is one example of this promise). It seems of this moment they still use the World Intellectual Property Organization for inspiration for their IP laws. At one point, China did not acknowledge IP rights at all but chose to acknowledge them in order to secure foreign business trade. Being consistent is good for business; especially when it comes to international business.

In 1980, China became a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). As of at least 2023, China's view is that WIPO should be the primary international forum for IP rule-making. - Wikipedia

[–] Maggoty 1 points 2 days ago

China has never been consistent. Doing business there is all about relations with the CCP. This is a perfect example of how an authoritarian regime differs from a liberal regime. One is bound by it's promises and rules and the other binds it's rules to it's needs.

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