Similarly, the data generated by the technology and the data which it requires to function should be in the control of the people who are affected by the technology. Cooperative software that uses cameras should not be controlled solely by the people who own the cameras, but also the people who are observed by the cameras. Cooperative electronic medical record systems should not be designed for the interests of insurance companies or hospital administrators, but for the interests of patients and the clinicians who directly use it. We aim for a world in which all technology is cooperative technology and recognize that any amount of proprietary technology is in conflict with this goal. As an anticapitalist movement, we recognize that any institution which motivates people to put money, power, or self-interest above the welfare of humans is in conflict with our goals. Corporations are beholden to their shareholders who can hold the corporation legally liable for spending money in a way that is not intended to further enrich the shareholders. Other capitalist forms of enterprise have similar problems, incentivizing the profit of an elite few over the impact their activities have on others. We are not opposed to exchanges of money being involved in the creation or distribution of software or hardware. However, we should carefully consider the motivational structures of the institutions which fund technology development. Who benefits from the technology and who determines the priorities of its development and design? These are questions we ask about technology whether money is involved or not. It is in our interest to use safeguards to ensure that technology always remains controlled by the community which develops and uses it. Copyleft is one such safeguard, but it is insufficient on its own to prevent cooptation of our movement. Any cooperative technology project that receives funding from a for-profit enterprise must institute governance structures which prioritize community interests over profit in case there is a conflict between the two. We oppose business models which are in conflict with community interests such as "open core"/proprietary relicensing. Similarly, we are opposed to authoritarian and hierarchical governance structures of technology projects such as "benevolent dictators for life". Cooperative technology is developed democratically; no single individual should have ultimate authority in cooperative projects. While we recognize the need for leadership and private communication, discussions regarding cooperative technology should take place in public unless there is a specific reason for communications to be private. Organizations which advocate for cooperative technology should likewise operate democratically and transparently. We recognize that creating high quality technology requires much more than engineering skills. Cooperative technology is not only for people who have the skills of writing code (unless the software is for writing code such as a compiler) nor the skills to design hardware. Cooperative technology strives to be easy to use, including for people with disabilities, and acknowledges that this is best accomplished by continual dialog between engineers and users. Providing such feedback is a valuable way to contribute to the construction of cooperative technology without needing engineering skills. Ideally, the engineers of the technology should also be using it themselves. Moreover, there are many ways to contribute to cooperative technology without programming skills such as imagining ideas for new features, reporting bugs, writing documentation, graphic design, translation, promotion, and financial support. The free software movement has failed to create a world in which humans in technological societies can live without using proprietary software unless one chooses to live the ascetic lifestyle of Richard Stallman.

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