Arduino’s updated terms of service introduce restrictions and monitoring policies that the open source community fears will undermine the brand’s hackable origins as Qualcomm prepares to take over.
Arduino is under pressure from the maker and open source community after introducing controversial updates to its Terms of Service (ToS) and privacy policy, just one month after Qualcomm announced that it is acquiring the company. Makers argue that the new rules threaten Arduino’s open source DNA and future hackability.
The most disputed change is a new clause banning users from “translate, decompile or reverse-engineer the Platform, or engage in any other activity designed to identify the algorithms and logic of the Platform’s operation, unless expressly allowed by Arduino or by applicable license agreements …”.
Arduino responded through a blog post insisting that the restrictions apply only to Software-as-a-Service cloud products, not to the Arduino IDE, open hardware designs, or other tools released under open-source licences. “Anything that was open, stays open,” it said. Both Arduino and Qualcomm declined further comment.
However, Adafruit’s leadership remains concerned. Founder and engineer Limor Fried and managing editor Phillip Torrone said in a shared statement: “Why is reverse-engineering prohibited at all for a company built on openly hackable systems?” They also questioned “what data from these AI systems is retained, who has access, and why is this collection opt-out only by not using the features.”
Another change blocks users from identifying or supporting patent infringement claims against Arduino or its affiliates. Torrone warned: “The new language is still broad enough to republish, monetize, and route user content into any future Qualcomm pipeline forever.”
While Arduino stresses its open source commitments, including keeping the Arduino IDE under AGPL-3.0 on GitHub, many fear a shift away from the freedoms that built its community.
