A quarter-century of Software Freedom: the FSFE turns 25
The FSFE was founded in 2001 by a group of European Free
Software advocates. 25 years later, this European charity has grown into
one of the most respected organisations defending Software Freedom in
Europe.
“Software already transcends daily life in an increasing manner and
becomes a deciding factor. Just as other developments in the past of
mankind, software developed from being an economic to a cultural
property with increasing presence in everyday life. […] It is essential
for the future of mankind that software as a cultural property will
remain accessible for everyone and is preserved in libraries like other
knowledge.” Founders of the FSFE, 2001
In 2001, a group of European Free Software advocates put their heads
together to come up with ways to protect Free Software in Europe.
Together they founded the Free Software Foundation Europe… and the rest
is history.
The FSFE's 25-year story is the story not only of the staff, but
also that of our volunteers and supporters, who contribute to our daily
work. For a quarter-century, we have been educating current and future
generations about the
importance of the Four Freedoms. We have been helping developers understand licensing
and legal terminology so they can keep doing what they do best. As FSFE
we have been standing up to those who want to take control away from the
people.
This July, at EuropPython 2026 in Kraków, our
community came together to celebrate its 25th anniversary! FSFE staff, volunteers, donors, and
founders gathered for a full weekend of talks, a booth, long evenings of
networking, and ice-cream! All capped off with a proper birthday
celebration: cake, a photo booth, and 25 years of stories swapped
between old supporters and newcomers alike.
These 25 years have been possible thanks to our donors and
supporters! At the FSFE25 we heard first hand why some of our donors
support us. It was inspiring to see how much trust is placed into our
work. For this we want to say thank you: to all of you!
Looking ahead: our Vision 2048
Turning 25 is also a moment to look forward. As the
FSFE looks to the next chapter, we are guided by our vision for 2048, a
world where Software Freedom is no longer a niche concern, but the norm:
- Everyone has the right to remove and install any software on any of
their devices.
- All public funding for software goes exclusively to Free Software.
- Regulatory frameworks actively encourage the use and development of
Free Software.
- Licensing and legal decisions are grounded in facts, not fear,
uncertainty, and doubt.
- Young people grow up with the freedom to tinker, experiment, and
code, with Free Software as the default.
If the first 25 years were about proving that Software Freedom
matters, the next 25 are about making it the norm.
Participants of the FSFE25 celebrations, who at some point, have been FSFE interns
What started as a small organisation in 2001 is now a Europe-wide
charity with active volunteers across European countries, legal experts,
a podcast, a children's book turned movie, a programming competition for
teenagers, and court victories against some of the world's largest tech
companies to its name. The Four Freedoms (to use, study, share, and
improve software) are, if anything, more urgent today than they were
back then.
Kudos to all of you who have been there supporting us and Software
Freedom! Here's to the next 25 years!
25 years of milestones
To mark this milestone, the FSFE has published a timeline, tracing 25
years of policy wins, legal work, campaigns, and community milestones
across its core focus areas.
Over 25 years, the FSFE has chalked up wins that reshaped how Europe
thinks about software:
- 2005 - After an intense
continent-wide campaign, the European Parliament rejected the Software
Patents directive, and thus keeping Europe's software ecosystem open for
small developers.
- 2007 - Years of legal pressure
alongside the Samba team forced Microsoft to publish interoperability
information following its antitrust case — a landmark moment for
interoperability rights.
- 2010 – Establishment of the "I
Love Free Software Day": every 14
February the FSFE asks Free Software users to thank the developers of
the software they use every day.
- 2012 – Launch of the “Free
Your Android” campaign to help users free their phones and use Free
Software apps.
- 2016 - Germany enshrined Router
Freedom into telecom law, allowing citizens choose their own routers
instead of being locked into their ISP's hardware, after three years of
FSFE advocacy.
- 2017 - Launch of “Public Money?
Public Code!” initiative, which advocates for publicly funded
software to be made publicly available. One of the FSFE's flagship
initiatives across
European parliaments.
- 2018 - The FSFE joined its first NGI0 consortium, providing support
on legal and licensing questions and promoting the use of its REUSE
specification. This set of recommendations make licensing Free Software
projects easy, comprehensive, unambiguous, and machine-readable.
- 2021 - FSFE president Matthias
Kirschner published “Ada
& Zangemann”, a children's book on Software Freedom. It was
later adapted into an animated film in 2025.
- 2024/2025 - FSFE intervened in
Apple's
Digital Markets Act litigation before the Court of Justice of
the EU. In July 2026, the Court dismissed Apple's challenge outright,
confirming that the company remains bound by the DMA's interoperability
obligations
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