Software Freedom in Europe 2025
In 2025 we remained engaged in
enforcing the DMA, intervening in the Apple vs EC legal case; we
participated in the debates around the CRA
and public procurement to ensure that Free Software is
embedded in Europe’s digital future. Also, we continued providing legal
support and improved REUSE, while involving teenagers with YH4F, and we
reached new audiences with the new Ada & Zangemann
movies.
As we look towards the year 2048, we know the kind of world we are
aiming for. Our vision for 2048 is clear: a world where
everyone has the
right to remove and install any software on any device, where public
funding for software is exclusively allocated to Free Software, and
where regulatory frameworks actively encourage the development and use
of Free Software. A
world in which young people have the opportunity to tinker, experiment
and code
with Free Software as the default and Free Software contributors should be able
to focus on contributing to society without constantly worrying about
legal issues. In 2025, we took significant strides toward this vision.
In the realm of Device Neutrality, we advanced our case against Apple
at the European Court of Justice, challenging restrictive practices that
hinder user choice. Simultaneously, we celebrated Germany's confirmation
of Router Freedom, a victory that empowers users to choose their own
router hardware. In Italy, our coalition work influenced fiber
network regulations, ensuring they protect end-user rights.
Legal support and education remained at the forefront of our
initiatives. We updated the REUSE specification and tools, launched the
Legal Corner column, continued helping with legal questions and achieved another
edition of the Free Software Legal and Licensing Workshop (LLW), while continue being active in the NGI
consortium.
Engaging the next generations, we hosted the fourth edition of Youth
Hacking 4 Freedom, programming contest and inspired teenagers across
Europe to
create innovative Free Software projects. With "Ada & Zangemann - A
Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream" we continued to
captivate young minds, with the animated movie
reaching audiences worldwide, while adding more translations and
reaching to more and more children through readings and events.
We were actively participating in discussions around
the AI Act, Cyber Resilience Act, and public procurement, emphasizing
the importance of integrating Free Software principles into legislative
frameworks shaping markets that benefit Free Software users and
developers. We continued working on our "Public Money? Public Code!"
framework, including an event for local governments.
Community engagement flourished through various events and outreach
activities. We celebrated the "I Love Free Software Day" with events in
multiple countries, highlighting the often-overlooked Free Software
projects that power our daily lives. Our presence at conferences such as
FOSDEM, SFSCON, DevConf.CZ, etc. facilitated meaningful discussions and
strengthened our network.
Behind the scenes, our technical team enhanced infrastructure
resilience, optimized website performance, and improved accessibility,
ensuring that our digital infrastructure effectively serve our growing
community. This year, we bid farewell to our office space at
Schönhauser Allee after many years of having it as our home base. The
generous donation of the Software Freedom Flat (SFF) by Reinhard
Wiesemann and our move there, marks a pivotal
moment, as it provides dedicated spaces for the FSFE's team and
volunteers for living there and collaborating with each other.
Reflecting on these accomplishments, we are reminded that the journey
toward our 2048 vision is a collective effort. It is through the
dedication of our supporters, volunteers, and partners that we continue
to make meaningful progress. Together, we are shaping a future where
software freedom is a reality for all.
Our Software Freedom in Europe 2025 report covers the FSFE's activities
from October 2024 to August 2025. We hope it gives
you a better understanding of our daily work and that you enjoy reading
it!
Table of contents
- Device Neutrality
- Free Software Markets and PMPC
- Young Generation
- Legal Education
- Volunteer Engagement
- Core Infrastructure
- Join the movement
Device Neutrality
The FSFE’s work on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) has been twofold.
Since the beginning of 2024, we have intervened in a key case before the
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) involving Apple and the
European Commission. At the same time, we have actively contributed to
the implementation of the DMA, working to ensure it is applied in a
developer-friendly way that empowers Free Software developers and
strengthens Free Software in general.
The FSFE remains the only civil society organisation engaged in
private enforcement of the DMA, intervening
for Free
Software in a key court case involving Apple and the European
Commission. Apple is trying to avoid obligations derived from the
Digital Markets Act (DMA). The FSFE seeks to hold Apple accountable
under the DMA in a developer-friendly way.
In summer 2024, the CJEU granted the FSFE the right to intervene in
the proceedings. By September 2024, we had submitted our legal arguments
to the Court, and we now await its decision.
Regulatory Intervention to protect Free Software and Interoperability
Alongside litigation, the FSFE has engaged proactively with the DMA’s
regulatory processes. By the end of 2024, we had begun a comprehensive
study
on how Apple’s restrictive interoperability policies harm Free
Software. The findings were first presented in November 2024 during a
conference on DMA implementation in Brussels, and later in the DMA and
Beyond Conference
organised by the Knight-Georgetown Institute and Yale University in
Washington, D.C., in February 2025.
In January 2025, the FSFE joined civil society
organisations,
developers, and researchers in submitting a position to the European
Commission’s public consultation on Apple’s compliance with the DMA’s
interoperability requirements. We stressed the urgent need for Apple to
provide effective and free-of-charge interoperability. Following nearly
a year of regulatory dialogue, the Commission concluded its
specification procedure on Apple’s compliance with Article 6(7),
covering both software and hardware interoperability. Throughout this
process, the FSFE provided technical
analyses, academic research, and
active contributions to consultations, while also building a coalition
of Free Software projects directly affected by Apple’s policies.
Although the Commission stopped short of requiring interoperability
by design, its final decision reflects many of our arguments. Developers
now benefit from greater clarity, including a timeline for Apple’s
responses to interoperability requests and an appeal mechanism to
challenge Apple’s decisions. Apple must compete on innovation rather
than imposing unilateral security standards.
"The FSFE has ensured that the voices of Free Software developers,
particularly smaller projects, are heard. We welcome the European
Commission’s steps toward demanding effective and transparent measures
from Apple, but a fundamental shift towards "interoperability by design"
would be the most impactful improvement. DMA is not only about
regulating competition among gatekeepers but also levelling the playing
field to SMEs and smaller software developers. Therefore, it is crucial
to keep Apple’s approach to interoperability under strict scrutiny from
the Commission and civil society." Lucas Lasota, FSFE Legal
Programme Manager
To continue monitoring how gatekeepers implement their
interoperability obligations and to ensure that Free Software is not
harmed, the FSFE launched the Interoperability Survey. This
initiative
collects structured feedback from Free Software developers, referred to
as “access seekers”, about their experiences when requesting
interoperability under Article 6(7) DMA. The survey aims to foster
innovation and support alternative solutions developed by the Free
Software community. Developers who have submitted, or plan to submit, an
interoperability request are encouraged to participate.
In addition to legal and regulatory engagement, the FSFE has worked
to raise awareness about the importance of the DMA and its
implementation. Over the past year, we have contributed to conferences
and events across Europe, produced an episode of the Software
Freedom Podcast, and organised two workshops. One of these
workshops was dedicated to Free Software organisations,
while the other
was hosted by the German Open Source Business Alliance, where we
highlighted the DMA’s
potential for Free Software companies.
Successes for Router Freedom
2025 has been a successful year for Router Freedom. Our work in this
field collected victories in Germany and extended interventions in
regulatory processes in Italy. More and more users can enjoy the freedom
to use their own equipment to connect to the internet, run Free Software
on their devices and get rid of internet providers’ lock-ins!
In Germany, after 10 years the regulator Bundesnetzagentur has
finally confirmed
Router Freedom in the country. After a failed attempt by internet
providers to exclude Router Freedom from fiber networks, the Bundesnetzagentur rejected all
the arguments brought forward by the telecom operators, explaining in
detail why freedom of terminal equipment is crucial for end-users. The
FSFE has been pushing for this since 2013, submitted a detailed
position paper debunking the arguments of the fiber operators. We
have demonstrated that Router Freedom represents freedom of choice,
security, consumer welfare, fair competition and sustainability.
Want to learn the history of Router
Freedom in Europe? Check our
SFP#32
podcast to learn how the FSFE has been defending your right to use
your router for more than a decade in the EU!
In Italy, the situation remains challenging, but we work hard to achive
the best outcome for end users. Although the country was among
the first to introduce Router Freedom for DSL connections in 2018, the
national regulator AGCOM later introduced exceptions that weakened this
right for fiber networks. In 2024, we worked with a coalition of
organizations and volunteers to demand a formal regulatory process.
This effort brought a considerable victory in February 2025, when
AGCOM’s consumer division launched a regulatory process to decide
whether consumers can freely choose their own routers and modems for
fiber connections. During the public consultation, the FSFE
mobilized a broad coalition of stakeholders (including civil
society, industry representatives, hacker spaces, and Linux User Groups)
and submitted a
comprehensive study defending users’ rights. While a final decision
is still pending, we continue to monitor developments closely.
FSFE's booth at T-DOSE 2025 with the Router Freedom QR code
On the European level, Router Freedom continues to be a priority for
the telecom sector. Several topics are still unclear and will require
further analysis and commitment to public awareness and education
towards decision makers. For instance, Router Freedom is not currently
guaranteed in satellite
networks, and the diverse cross EU legislation for cybersecurity
in radio equipment will led to further restrictions imposed on
end-users.
Refund4Freedom - reclaim the costs of unwanted Windows licenses
In 2025, consumers still face the widespread practice of being forced
to purchase computers bundled with Microsoft Windows, without the option
to refuse the license or obtain a refund. This situation obliges users
to pay for software they may not wish to use, restricting their freedom
of choice. The FSFE said
Basta!
Together with the Italian Linux Society (ILS), we launched the Refund4Freedom initiative. The
project supports consumers in reclaiming the cost of
unwanted Windows licenses, documents manufacturers’ refund practices,
and raises awareness about unlawful software bundling. It also advocates
for fairer policies from hardware vendors, ensuring that users can
freely choose their preferred operating system.
With Microsoft ending support for Windows 10 in 2025, the initiative
also underscores the opportunity for users to adopt a GNU/Linux
distribution. In this context, the FSFE supports the End of
10 campaign. For example, since spring 2025, the
FSFE’s Berlin group has been organizing regular “End of 10 Install
Parties,” in cooperation with other local actors. These events provide
users with guidance on migrating to GNU/Linux distributions and offer
support in addressing their questions. Other FSFE groups are also active
on this issue, and a dedicated FSFE Matrix room provides further
information and coordination.
Free Your Android
Since 2012, we have been running the Free Your Android
initiative to
help Android users reclaim control over their devices and data,
encouraging the use of Free Software apps and operating systems, and
highlighting how people can switch to or support alternatives that
respect user freedom. As an long running activity, we have been
monitoring the situation there, and talked about it at our booths or at workshops, such as the one
that took place last spring in a library in Berlin or at Devconf.cz.
In the last months Free Software on Android phones is facing serious
challenges. With current
versions of Android, Google delays publication of the source code and
completely withholds crucial components like hardware specific code for
their own devices. This significantly complicates ROM development for
anyone who does not directly partner with Google, so especially Free
Software ROM developers. At the same time, Google is trying to restrict
developer access in general by requiring registration, further worsening
the situation for software freedom on phones. At the same time, CalyxOS
has announced that they cannot provide software updates until further
notice and it's still unclear how this situation will resolve.
The FSFE is responding proactively by closely engaging with
developers and other stakeholders to safeguard freedom and privacy on
phones. We are also in the process of updating our Free Your Android
pages to reflect the changed landscape. This will make sure we provide
clear, up to date advice to help users choose software that ensures
long-term freedom.
We also hope that EU regulations such as the DMA will help in this
respect.
REUSE - make licensing easy for humans and machines alike
We end up 2024 with the release of the REUSE
Specification 3.3 and REUSE tool 5.0.0, making it even easier to
license your code as Free Software. REUSE provides all the tools and
documentation that developers need to apply standards-compliant and
comprehensive licensing information to their projects, without needing
to be a legal expert.
REUSE continues to evolve thanks to steady input from a vibrant
global community, both in the form of issues, code contributions, and
general feedback. This year presented an unexpected challenge when the
primary maintainer had to temporarily step down due to illness. Although
these kinds of transitions are never easy, we did our best to make it as
smooth as possible and the software remains in capable hands.
A major success this year was the move of Arch to adopt REUSE. In RFC
52, the developers propose using REUSE for license annotation in
their packaging. This step by a major distribution is a great example of
how REUSE helps by providing machine-readable licensing information and
simplifying processes.
The REUSE tool plays a crucial
role in ensuring that NGI (Next Generation Internet)
projects comply with Free Software licensing best
practices. REUSE provides a simple, standardized method to embed
machine-readable licensing information directly into project files,
making it easy for both humans and automated systems to verify
compliance. This clarity fosters trust among collaborators, funders, and
end users, and it significantly lowers the barriers to adoption and
reuse of NGI results.
In the last months, we have actively continue supporting NGI projects
in adopting REUSE by offering direct advice, training materials, and
guidance on implementation. Through workshops, documentation, and
consultations, we help project teams understand the importance of
licensing clarity and how to apply the REUSE standard to their own work.
Free Software Markets and
PMPC
In Software
Freedom in Europe 2024, we warned about the European Commission’s plans to cut funding for NGI
projects. As we
highlighted in a statement in November 2024, the European
Commission’s recurring uncertainty around budget allocations underscores
how fragile essential Free Software support remains. Without
predictable, long-term public investment, projects that underpin
Europe’s digital autonomy risk being left dependent on fragmented or
short-lived sources of funding. The future of our digital independence
requires stable and sustainable financial backing, not on short-term
funding that can vanish with the next budget draft. For years, the FSFE
has highlighted how Free Software is key for the backbone of Europe’s
digital infrastructure, and through our Public Money? Public Code! initiative
we have shown how making publicly funded software available as Free
Software strengthens that backbone by ensuring transparency,
reusability, and independence. The past year has shown that ensuring its
resilience requires long-term, structural funding
commitments.
Over the past year, we have been advocating for this. At SFSCON
2024 in Bolzano and at the OpenSouth
Code in Málaga in 2025, we had underlined that
Free Software requires permanent funding structures. In collaboration
with other stakeholders, FSFE co-organized the FOSS
Funding devroom at FOSDEM 2025, where developers,
funders, and policymakers discussed the future of financial support for
Free Software projects.
Beyond conferences, we has also worked to broaden the conversation
through our communication channels. In episode 26 of
the Software Freedom Podcast, we explored the systemic funding
challenges Free Software faces, offering insights into why public
institutions and governments must guarantee stable support rather than
relying solely on voluntary or market-driven contributions. This
perspective was further reinforced by the FSFE’s official contribution
to the EU’s long-term budget consultation, where the organization
called for a dedicated, structural funding line for Free Software at the
European level.
Sustainable funding must also be accompanied by better public procurement practices.
Currently, many EU institutions and national administrations still
default to proprietary vendors, locking themselves into costly and
inflexible contracts. By prioritising Free Software, Europe could ensure
that public money is invested in solutions that remain reusable,
transparent, and accessible to all.
“Gaining control over technology is one of the pressing topics
for the European Union. Reducing dependencies and removing vendor
lock-ins is key to achieving this, and only the four freedoms of Free
Software to use, study, share, and improve the code allow it. A Free
Software first policy must facilitate easy procurement of Free Software
solutions while fostering collaboration between Member States.
Implementation also needs to be well-executed. Furthermore, reliable
long-term funding for Free Software core infrastructure and security is
needed to ensure digital and technological sovereignty. Unfortunately
the report lacks concrete measures and requirements that need to be
improved before the plenary vote.” states Alexander Sander, FSFE Senior
Policy Consultant.
In June 2025 the Industry Committee voted on procurement to focus on
interoperable solutions, and pointing to the benefits of Free Software
in fostering competitiveness and innovation thanks to its global
character, although its report lacked of concrete measures. Further
insights into this issue were discussed in Software Freedom
Podcast episode 34 and in the episode
35, where we provided an in-depth analysis of the EU's Tech
Sovereignty vote, highlighting the critical role of Free Software in
achieving technological independence. On the other hand, we contributed
with a statement
to the EC consultation on this topic.
This is precisely the vision behind Public Money? Public Code!: software
paid for by the public should serve the public. Combining structural
funding with Free Software–friendly procurement would provide not only
the financial security but also the political framework needed for
Europe to fully reclaim control over its digital infrastructure.
During these months, we have also continued our engagement with key
European regulations, particularly the Cyber Resilience
Act (CRA) and the AI Act. As part of the Dialogue on
Cybersecurity project, the FSFE and the Federal Office for
Information Security (BSI) are working are working together with
representatives from civil society, academia, industry and public
authorities in a project on the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and its
implication for Free Software. through expert talks, a questionnaire to call
for CRA stewards for their active input, and talks at FrOSCon 2025
and another at Datenspuren
2025.
On the AI Act, we were advocating for strong
safeguards and transparent governance of AI systems in Europe. The episode 36 of
the Software Freedom Podcast discusses our call on
the European Commission to implement the AI Act in ways that respect
Free Software.
Our Software Freedom Podcast started a new series of episodes about
"Policy and EU", in which we discuss the current topics affecting
Free Software in the European Union
While these examples show up our ongoing commitment to ensuring that
emerging EU regulations both protect digital rights and empower the Free
Software ecosystem, reinforcing Europe’s technological independence and
resilience, we are also working to help people and organisations
understand how Free Software fosters freedom, transparency, and
self-determination, and to encourage its use and development. To this
end, we organised the
symposium “Public Money? Public Code! in practice” in Essen
in April 2025, with a focus on public administrations – especially
municipalities. Experts from politics, public administration, business,
academia, and civil society discussed why Free Software is indispensable
for digital sovereignty, how effective procurement can work, what
resources are needed, and how administrations can proactively move
forward.
Building on this success, we piloted and launched a new Public
Money? Public Code! activity for volunteers across Europe. With a
blueprint now in place, the next edition is planned for Denmark in 2026.
We invite volunteers in other countries to bring the symposium to their
local context – and we are ready to support with project planning, topic
selection, speakers, implementation, and communication.
"Public Money? Public Code!" in Germany
At the end of 2024, Germany’s coalition collapsed without fulfilling
promises to advance Free Software in public administration. A Bundestag
hearing shortly before the elections gave us the opportunity to
contribute strong
arguments for Free Software to the parliamentary record and to warn
against openwashing. Our #SFP27
podcast looks more closely at the hearing and explains our
position.
The FSFE monitored the election period and the formation of the new
CDU/CSU–SPD government: We called on
parties to commit to “Public Money? Public Code!”, secure long-term
funding for Free Software, deepen administrative Free Software
knowledge, and monitor progress.Consequently, the coalition agreement announced
ambitious goals for Free Software, but failed to offer details
or measures.
To this day, it remains unclear what these goals are and what role Free Software
will play for Germany’s technological sovereignty. Despite promises to
make Free Software the guiding principle of
digital infrastructure, the current federal budget and the procurement
reform missed key opportunities to advance Free Software. Whether the planned stack will consistently rely
on Free Software and ensure European interoperability also remains
uncertain. After the government’s first 100 days,
we pointed out these shortcomings in
a detailed analysis and made clear: Germany and Europe need Free Software –
the time to act is now!
MP Explore to reach representatives
In order to streamline part of our policy work and to support other
small organisations in such work, this year we
developed MP Explore, a tool designed to retrieve official and publicly
available up-to-date contact information about parliamentarians. This
information help us to to reach representatives from several
parliaments, when doing our policy activities.
MP
Explore relies on well-maintained data sources that collect
up-to-date, official, and accurate information of MPs across Europe.
Such data sources are based on official and publicly accessible sources
from parliaments. Currently, we have developed data sources for the
European Parliament, the German Parliament (Bundestag), and the North
Rhine-Westphalia State Parliament (Germany).
Thanks to the contribution of our volunteers, we are currently
coordinating the creation of MP Explore Sources for parliaments in
Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Norway.
Young Generation
Ada & Zangemann the movie
Since its first publication at the end of 2021, the illustrated book
Ada & Zangemann – A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry
Ice Cream has found its way into homes, schools, and libraries
around the world.
But in October 2024 a new milestone was reached: Ada & Zangemann came to
life on the big screen! On Ada Lovelace Day, the movie premiered
worldwide. This achievement was only possible thanks
to the support of our community. The first English screening featured
special guests Vint Cerf, one of the
“fathers of the Internet,” and Franziska
Heine, Executive Director of Wikimedia Germany.
The celebration continued in Germany: on 27
November, the film premiered in Essen, in the
country’s largest cinema, where over 800 guests, most of
them children, enjoyed the fairy tale on the big
screen.
Check out
pictures from the premiere.In 2025, the movie reached even more audiences, with new releases
in:
You can explore all versions of the movie here: ada.fsfe.org/movie. The movie is
in our YouTube
and Peertube
channels, where some versions are already
more than 2100 single viewers. As it is
distributed under a Creative Commons license, anyone is able to download and
share the movie, embed it on websites, use it in schools, display it
at events including cinemas (for which we provide special movie files),
and integrate it with other educational material, making a
difference to the quality of tech education that is so vital for young
people in our digital society.
Meanwhile, the book itself continues its global journey, having distributed over 15.000. Originally
published in German and English, it is now published in 11 languages, most recently Danish,
through the incredible efforts of our local group there, who
not only translated the story but also created a publishing company to
bring it to life.
Altogether, more than 25,000 children worldwide have discovered Ada’s
story through books, readings, screenings, discussions, and workshops.
And there’s even more: thanks to our Italian volunteers, Ada
& Zangemann can now be enjoyed as as an
audio
book in Italian. Other Italian volunteers created an Ada & Zangemnann themed
mini-game on the Luanti gaming platform .Try it
out!
Readings have also taken place in Italy, Spain,
rural
Germany, and as far away as Sri
Lanka! And thanks mainly to the amazing work of our volunteers, this year the improvements to the Ada
& Zangemann git repository
continued. The docbook source format was merged and expanded to support
more output formats, including the previous source format for backwards
compatibility. Online translations on Weblate are now possible because
of this, resulting in 28 languages in some state of progress. The
automation is being improved with the community, with plans for better
documentation and more formats like the online digibook by C&F Editions
and the Kamishibai format by Squeeek.
Thanks to our Italian volunteers, there is an
Ada & Zangemann themed mini
game on the Luanti gaming platform!
Interesting fact: on 10 November 2024 Ada was featured as Media
of the Day on Wikimedia Commons.
They are young + they need the
code
The FSFE's pilot project “They are young + they need the code” is also
using by the book "Ada & Zangemann". This educational format,
designed by the FSFE, helps the children to understand the importance of
controlling their own technology, through reading the book and manual
activities. Currently the project is being tested in Italy, and we are
waiting to hear back from our volunteers, who are bringing the format to
the schools and libraries.
This educational format can take place in schools or libraries, where volunteers
read the book or play the audiobook and then guide the children in an
activity such as a treasure hunt, robotics lab, or drawing session.
Through this mix of storytelling and hands-on learning, children
discover the importance of controlling their own technology"
Youth Hacking 4 Freedom
One more year, one more round of Youth Hacking 4 Freedom. And another
one on the way! In October 2024, we went to Brussels for the 3rd YH4F
Awards Ceremony. Once again, we were impressed by the quality and
creativity of the projects submitted. This round was also the first time
we had some team projects among the winners.
2024 winners
- Ultimate Hacker Award: Gaspard with
‘Versia’, a federated social network
based on the Versia protocol.
- Elite Hacker Award: Sofía with ‘Identity’, an app
that helps people in palliative care or suffering from dementia to save
their most meaningful memories.
- Awesome Award: ‘Eventfully’, a team
project by Konrad, Luis, Benedikt, Dorothea, Leonie and Jona: a software
to find and explore events in your area, connect with others, and learn
more about culture, technology and other topics from one website.
- Creative Hacker Award: Manuel with ‘YLLM4F (Youth Large
Language Models 4 Freedom)’, a platform, that combining three
advanced language tools, ensures that chatbots interact in a
youth-friendly way.
- Epic Game Award: Corentin, Edmond and
Tipragot with ‘Beats into
shapes’, a rhythm game where you forge items with the sound of
music.
- Community Support Award: Tobias with ‘PraiseLink’,
a WebApp for sharing sheets and lyrics of music. It can be used for
singing choirs or live performance groups.
Over the past few months, we spoke with some of the participants as
they shared their experiences: Sofía, one of
the winners; and with Aya, Vinícius and
Simon, three contestants. As news, this year we also started
publishing interviews with the jury members, so current and future
participants get a better glimpse about what it is expected from them.
In 2025, we talked with Alexios
and with Brie.
Soon, in October, the winners of the 2025 edition will be announced.
They will also be welcomed at the 2025 YH4F Awards Ceremony: a weekend
in Brussels featuring various activities, networking opportunities, and
the presence of several jury members.
Their journey began last January with the start of the programming
period, which included optional monthly online meetings that ran until
June. Afterwards, a broad group of experts evaluated the projects and
faced the difficult task of selecting six winners.
Moreover, this initiative is made possible thanks to the generous
financial support of our donor, Reinhard
Wiesemann, as well as several sponsors. In 2024, OpenSSF joined the competition, and this
year we are also proud to have Proxmox and SUSE OSCC on board.
Legal Education
In the past twelve months, the FSFE has increased our efforts to
spread awareness and education about the legal concepts and issues that
affect Free Software. We feel that this is a particularly important area
to work on, as having a basic understanding of the legal principles
behind Free Software can help developers better navigate essential
aspects of Free Software, such as copyright and licensing.
To that end, the FSFE has developed a training curriculum for basic
legal topics. This year, we have provided our training to many
vocational students in computer science in Italy, through the Italian
based Edulife
project.
Additionally, this year saw the launch of our Legal Corner, a regular
column that seeks to explain various legal concepts that Free Software
developers may encounter, as well as explore current events in the legal
realm that impact Free Software.Up to know we have deal with the following topics:
As explained in one of the Legal Corner articles, one of our
volunteers, and team member, discovered that SumUp’s “Solo” payment
terminal incorporated multiple Free Software components without
providing the required disclosures, license texts, copyright
attribution, or access to source code. She contacted SumUp and
demanded compliance under the applicable Free
Software licenses; after almost a year of back-and-forth, SumUp
finally delivered a USB stick containing the required disclosures and the CCS. Additionally, SumUp
also updated their Solo device software to now show the relevant FOSS
disclosures, and also to indicate where users will be able to access
the CCS.
The FSFE also concluded our direct work in the EU funded ZOOOM Initiative early this
year. This was a project that sought to raise awareness on the
importance of Free Software, Open Hardware, and Open Data, as key
pillars of a sustainable, trustworthy, and sovereign industrial
ecosystem in Europe. While the project
has come to an end, we are nevertheless still involved in spreading
awareness of the ZOOOM Toolkit,
a resource produced during the project for SMEs to learn how to
integrate the open principles of software, hardware, and data into their
business models.
NGI projects
Since 2018, the FSFE has been involved in the Next Generation
Internet Zero (NGI0) initiative as a consortium member. Funded
by the European Commission, the NGI0
initiative hopes to support the development of the internet
into a platform, which is also referred to as the Next Generation
Internet, that is accessible and diverse, and that respects fundamental
rights, including values such as privacy. At the FSFE, we believe that
Free Software is key to accomplish this goal, so that all users are able
to use the internet as an effective tool to achieve their full
potential.
NGI0 projects provide financial grants and technical support to
researchers and developers who are working on Free Software solutions
that contribute to the establishment of the vision of the Next
Generation Internet.
We have for the past year been working on our current NGI0 projects:
NGI0 Entrust, NGI0 Core, NGI0 Commons Fund, and
NGI0 Review.
As we’ve always done with our previous NGI0 projects, we have been
assisting the software projects receiving grants from these various NGI0
projects with their legal and licensing needs, as well as helping them
in their transitions when adopting our REUSE specification.
We continued our work with NGI0 this year by helping many developers
working on Free Software solutions solve a diverse range of problems, as
well as helping them have a better understanding of Free Software
licenses, compliance issues, and how they can avoid some of these
pitfalls by adopting our REUSE specification.
As part of our work in NGI0, we have also attended several
conferences, giving talks about it and Free Software.
LLW and Legal Network
The FSFE’s Free
Software Legal & Licensing Workshop (LLW), is a a two and a half
day conference for members of the Legal
Network community to meet face-to-face and share legal expertise. In
2025, the conference was held in the Unperfekthaus in Essen, bringing
together over 100 legal and compliance professionals, technologists, and
policy experts from across the globe. The 2025 edition delved into the
evolving legal landscapes impacting Free Software, with a particular
focus on Artificial Intelligence and cybersecurity.
Part of
the FSFE crew that made LLW 2025 possible
Volunteer Engagement
Since September 2024, we have published around 60 news items in
English, our official outreach language, with some of
these also translated into other European languages thanks to our awesome team of
translators. Kudos to all of them!
To make their work even easier, this year we simplified
the FSFE translation process by integrating LibreTranslate into our
translator tool, Webpreview. We also updated our
translators
page. to make the process clearer and more
accessible.
We made some small but meaningful updates to our
website as well. For example the
donors page to improve transparency and recognition for our supporters.
The donors page now shows donation amounts more clearly and includes a
visual marker
indicating how long each donor has been supporting the FSFE. You can
check out the updated page here. Our
supporters quotes at the main page are also changed regularly and we are
finishing moving all our pages in the wiki into docs.fsfe.org.
But that’s not all. We released 12 new episodes of our Software Freedom Podcast,
including a brand-new series explaining European policy topics related
to Free Software. We continued featuring inspiring guests, such as Marc
Prud’hommeaux discussing his App Fair Project, and explored
initiatives like South Tyrol’s
steps toward software freedom. Thanks to our volunteers, who not
only help with editing but also contribute technically, our podcasts are
gradually adopting Podcast 2.0v features! And we continued with our monthly newsletter and our mailings!
Our presence in the Fediverse is growing, so in followers in Mastodon and in our Peertube channel. In the later you
can also find out all our videos, from our well known "What is Free
Software" video to our presence in the latest conferences.
In 2024, the FSFE were also part of the organization of the 1st Berlin
Fediverse Day. You can find out all
the talks from that event on our Peertube Channel. Currently, we are
involved in the organization of the 2nd Berlin Fediverse Day, which will
take place at the beginning of October.
In 2025, the FSFE announce it suport to the the Dutch call to adopt social
media platforms that respect public values.
One last news related to the Fediverse: since the beginning of the year
we are using the Fediverse as discussion room for our publications,
pointing the discussion link of the articles to the Fediverse posting
about that publication. This result on the turning off the Discourse
forums at community.fsfe.org by the end of March 2025.
IloveFS
Each year on the 14 February we celebrate the “I Love Free Software
Day”. On this day, we thank all the people behind Free Software
projects or programs and let them know that their work does not go
unnoticed.
One more year we asked our community to join us organizing different
local events to celebrate this occasion. A lot of you followed our call
for action! In 2025 the FSFE and its local groups focused on hidden Free
Software projects for the "I Love Free Software Day". Together we wanted
to raise awareness of all the hidden Free Software Projects that power
our daily infrastructure. Free Software is everywhere and often it is
the small projects that become a vital part of our lives - therefore we
dedicated this "I Love Free Software Day" to all those projects that are
not that prominent, so to shed some light on them. ❤️
We had 19 amazing events in 11 different European countries. Each
event was unique and every group came up with a different idea on how to
mark this special occasion.
It was and is inspiring to see how many of you participated in the “I
Love Free Software Day”. Without you this would not have been possible.
Find out more about the “I Love Free Software Day 2025” and the
different events and thanks you! in our ilovefs
2025 report.
Our community and conferences
As always, raising public awareness remains a key part of our mission, with active participation
in SFSCON, 38c3, FOSDEM... This important presence would not have been possible without
the dedication of our outstanding volunteers, who not only supported us
at these major gatherings but also took the initiative to organize
booths at various local events. Their commitment and hard work play a
vital role in bringing our message to a wider audience.
Map showing the different cities which the FSFE and its volunteers
visited to took part at conferences or events there in the last months
Our local groups have also been active with different initiatives
beyond their regular meetings. For example, the Berlin and Zurich
groups contributed to the End of 10 initiative, organizing local events
to help users transition to Linux; the Polish group joined the FSF’s
40th anniversary celebrations in Warsaw; and the Netherlands group has
been working on translating Ada & Zangemann into Dutch; a
story that, as mentioned earlier, is now also available in Danish
thanks to our community there.
Alongside these local efforts, we also came together twice as a
wider community to spend time with our community and supporters. In November,
we enjoyed a beautiful hike near Bolzano, followed by lively
conversations over lunch. During the summer, we gathered in Berlin for
our Summer Meeting at the Software Freedom Flat to share inspiring
talks, delicious food, and even home-made ice cream! All while working on
Free Software topics for the upcoming monhts.
In recent years, the FSFE has partnered with LUGBZ (Linux User
Group Bolzano-Bozen) to honor individuals who have made exceptional
contributions to the promotion and dissemination of Free Software
across Europe. The 2024 European SFS Award, presented at last year’s
SFSCON, was awarded posthumously to Vim developer Bram
Moolenaar.
Merchandising and Info Material
At the end of 2024, we reintroduced hoodies to our merchandise
catalogue! Available in blue or black, these zipped hoodies were
primarily offered through pre-order and could be picked up at various
conferences. Since they are too bulky for regular online shipping, we
reserved them for in-person distribution. Featuring a redesigned
illustration of the Free Software Four Freedoms on the back, we also
ordered a few extra, so you can still find them at our booth at several
upcoming events.
In 2025, we expanded our merchandise with two new temporary tattoo
sheets:
Our information materials have also grown: from the Device Neutrality
campaign, we now have a poster and a round sticker, as well as a new
poster presenting our Vision for 2048.
This summer, we’ve made some updates to our “Spread
the Word” page to make it easier for you to order
exactly the materials you need. You can now choose from four different
package sizes: "My laptop", "I want postcards", "Stickers for me and my friend", and
Standard.There is
an extra option, Custom, for you to
detailed your needs so you only get what you
need/want.
But the news are not over! We’re starting some collaborations to create
some new designs that we hope you will enjoy while we continue to
improve our website to make your orders, merchandising or promo
material, easier! One of them is https://www.hellotux.com/fsfe: you can order now at this
online shop some cool clothes with our logo! >
Core Infrastructure
During this last year our System Hackers & Administrators have
been hard at work ensuring that the technical infrastructure that
supports the FSFE’s work remains healthy and aligned with our needs and
those of our community. Aside from the never ending maintenance work in
our servers and services, this year has seen the release and development
of widespread improvements that have optimized our work. It has also
seen our infrastructure struggling under the pressure that malicious
LLM bots induce.
Our custom website build process, which takes care of rendering the
more than 5500 pages of our website, has seen major improvements thanks
to one of our System Hackers who took on the challenge of
revamping it with a focus on speed and maintainability. Thanks to the
improvements brought by this change, we have been considering the
introduction of many features, such as native Markdown support, that
will further streamline our work.
The improvement of the website build process goes hand in hand with
the changes made to Webpreview, our one-stop tool
for publishers,
translators, and proofreaders, which has been used as the testing ground
for upcoming features like Markdown support.
Besides, the FSFE infrastructure is targeted by LLM harvesting bots,
like many other communities alike. The services suffered the most were
the mailing list archives and the git server. The mailing lists
operation was disrupted due to a problem that happened in the database of
the list archive server and access to many files and functionality on
the git service had to be closed for supporters only. While the mailing
list archives remain closed at the moment to prevent them from the LLM
bots, access to the git service could be lifted again after deploying
Anubis as additional layer and tighten up the existing firewall
rules.
In the last few months, we have been organizing monthly calls with
our System Hackers to ensure that, even though we are spread all over
Europe, we can coordinate and easily discuss improvements and next steps
to our infrastructure.
Join the
movement
Become a supporter: Your support and
contribution for the promotion of Free Software are important for
securing our continuous work, ensuring our independence,
strengthening our democratic society, promoting and implementing
concrete steps towards software freedom, and making it easier to
use and develop Free Software.
Advocating for freedom costs
money and we depend on people like you to support us.Thanks also to all our
supporters and our donors
for their generous financial contributions. In the last twelve
months, we want to especially thank our donors who contributed
18,000 € or more per year: Vodafone, Internet Archive Europe,
Proton Pass, and Linuxhotel. We also warmly thank those who
donated 3,600 € or more per year, such as AVM, FastBill, GitHub,
Heinlein, Intevation, OpenProject, Reinhard Wiesemann, Siemens, and
Y Combinator.
At the same time, we want to express our
heartfelt gratitude to everyone making smaller contributions. Even
if the amount looks modest, we know it can be a real effort, and
together these donations make a big difference in sustaining our
work.
We guarantee that all support is used to foster software freedom in Europe a little more each day, step by step, bit by bit, for the next decades.
With your help we can keep on defending software freedom. Thank you
for your trust, your support, and your ideas to continue bringing Free
Software to our society!
Support FSFE
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