A development team is evaluating whether a new backup utility qualifies as free software under the Free Software Foundation (FSF) definition. The utility's license permits commercial and non-commercial redistribution of unchanged binaries, but it forbids sharing modified versions unless the original author grants written permission. According to the FSF's four essential software freedoms, which specific freedom does this restriction violate, causing the utility to fail the free-software test?
The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others.
The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose.
The freedom to redistribute unchanged copies of the program to anyone.
The freedom to study how the program works and modify it for private use.
The FSF states that a program is free software only when users possess all four essential freedoms. Freedom 3 is the right "to distribute copies of your modified versions to others," so the community can benefit from improvements. A license that blocks distribution of modified code denies this freedom and therefore renders the software non-free.
Freedom 0 is unaffected because the program can still be run for any purpose.
Freedom 1 remains intact if the source can be studied and altered privately.
Freedom 2 is satisfied because unmodified copies may be redistributed.
Freedom 3, however, is revoked by the license's prohibition on sharing modified versions, so the software fails to meet the FSF definition of free software.
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