This is Open Channels News. On today’s episode, Robert Jacobi brings you two stories shaping the open source and digital landscape:
- NVIDIA announces the formation of the Open Source Secure AI Alliance, a coalition of over 40 companies working together to make artificial intelligence safer and more secure with open, transparent tools. Some major AI players including Google and OpenAI are notably not part of this alliance.
- A federal judge has ruled that a class action lawsuit against Automattic and CEO Matt Mullenweg can move forward. The case centers on alleged misuse of WordPress Engine Tracker data and ongoing disputes over trademarks and the governance of the WordPress ecosystem, drawing close attention from the entire community.
Stay tuned for more headlines and essential updates from the open source world.
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Episode Transcript
Robert Jacobi:
Welcome everyone. Today is July 28th, 2026, and this is OCN, the Open Channels News broadcast. I’m Robert Jacobi, Chief Experience Officer at Blackwall. We lead today with artificial intelligence. NVIDIA launches Open Source Secure Alliance. NVIDIA, one of the largest companies, is embracing principles long championed by the open source community. NVIDIA announced today the formation of the Open Source Secure AI Alliance, a coalition of more than 40 committed companies building tools and research to improve the safety and security of artificial intelligence. Is it tended to increase transparency and become more powerful, more deeply integrated into everyday computing. The alliance includes a mix of cybersecurity companies and some of the technology industry’s most recognizable open source advocates, including— among them are Red Hat, the Linux Foundation, IBM, Microsoft, Cloudflare, Elastic, Microsoft, Cloudera, Hugging Face, and other companies and organizations with long histories of developing, supporting, and contributing to open source software. For decades, the open source movement has argued that transparency leads to stronger, more secure software because vulnerabilities can be identified and fixed by a global community of developers. NVIDIA says that same philosophy should apply to AI security by allowing researchers and organizations to share defensive tools, testing frameworks, datasets, and best practices to help protect AI systems from cyberattacks and misuse. Rather than relying solely on proprietary security solutions, NVIDIA believes openly developed security tools can help the entire industry respond more quickly to emerging threats. Notably absent from the founding members are several of the world’s largest AI developers, including OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. Their absence reflects an ongoing debate within the industry over whether the future of AI should be built on open collaboration or tightly controlled proprietary systems. For the traditional open source community, however, the announcement represents something familiar, a belief that shared development, peer review, and community collaboration produce stronger and more trustworthy tech. As AI becomes the next major computing platform, NVIDIA and its partners are betting that the same principles that helped build Linux, Kubernetes, and countless other open source projects can also help secure the future of AI. The Open Secure AI Alliance says it expects additional organizations to join in the coming months as work begins on the first open source projects.
The WordPress legal battle expands according to reporting by The Repository. One of the most closely watched ecosystems took another significant step forward this week as a federal judge ruled that a proposed class action lawsuit against Automattic and its CEO Matt Mullenweg may proceed. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of customers of WP Engine who allege that Automattic improperly tracked websites hosted on WP Engine through a publicly available website known as the WordPress Engine Tracker. According to court filings cited by the repository, the tracker identified domains believed to be using WP Engine’s hosting platform, exposing information that plaintiffs argue should not have been compiled or published in that manner. The judge’s latest ruling does not determine that Automattic or Mr. Mullenweg violated the law. Instead, the court concluded that the plaintiffs had alleged sufficient facts for several claims to continue into discovery, where both sides will have the opportunity to gather evidence, conduct depositions, and further develop their cases. The proposed class action is separate from the high-profile lawsuit already underway between WP Engine and Automattic. Both cases stem from the same dispute that erupted in late 2024 that centered on agreements over trademarks, commercial use of the WordPress name, access to WordPress.org services, and the broader governance of the WordPress ecosystem. WordPress. The plaintiffs argue that Automattic used its influence over key WordPress infrastructure to interfere, interfere with WP Engine customers and their businesses. Automattic has consistently denied those allegations and continues to defend its actions in court. One issue receiving renewed attention is the WordPress Engine tracker itself. Earlier in litigation, the court ordered the tracker website associated data to be removed while the broader legal issues are resolved. That order reflected the court’s determination that preserving the status quo was appropriate while the underlying claims continue through the judicial process. For members of the WordPress community, the legal battle has become about much more than 2 companies. Developers, hosting providers, agencies, and open source advocates are closely watching the proceedings because the outcome could influence how open source projects are governed, how trademarks are enforced, and what responsibilities organizations have when they control critical community infrastructure. The case remains in its early stages, And no final determination has been made regarding liability or damages. Additional motions, discovery, and potentially a trial remain ahead before the courts resolve the dispute.
That’s today’s edition of OCN Open Channels News. Thank you for joining us. For continuing coverage of open source content management, hosting, cybersecurity, AI, and domain name industries, join us again tomorrow. I’m Robert Jacobi. Be open and stay secure.
