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FSF requires signing of a CLA. A CLA would let them change the license to whatever they want, just like these companies. Some people were not happy with GPL3 yet that didn't stop the FSF from changing the licenses on their software.

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They explain that without it, they can't effectively enforce the copyrights on their projects: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/why-assign.html.en

I highly doubt that the FSF, who developed the GPL licenses and values free software above anything else, would change the licensing of their projects like "these companies" do.

The FSF does not require a CLA.

If they don't that is something new. Do you know when that started (or rather, stopped)?

This stopped a long time ago. Many older GNU projects still have them, but newer ones are not required to have them. Some have even made their usage optional.

An example of a project making it optional is GCC itself: https://gcc.gnu.org/pipermail/gcc/2021-June/236182.html

That's great news! I've always been a big supporter of the FSF and that they stopped this toxic practice it awesome!

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