Software Freedom in Europe 2024

In 2024, we continued to promote software freedom through our presence at conferences and events across Europe, as well as through our various activities and initiatives. Despite our ongoing financial challenges, we have actively raised our voice in defence of Device Neutrality and are advocating for a dedicated Free Software budget in Europe.

After more than 20 years of promoting software freedom, we have reached a critical point, having faced significant financial challenges in recent years. Our ability to continue our vital work was severely compromised, as our work was threatened by a decline in supporters, compounded by economic pressures such as rising inflation. For the first time, we were forced to send out an urgent appeal via email - a heartfelt and unprecedented ask for help to our community, emphasising that without immediate and substantial support, the FSFE's long-standing mission to protect and promote software freedom across Europe would be in jeopardy. Fortunately, the response from the community was overwhelmingly positive. Many supporters stepped forward and helped to stabilise our immediate situation.

Our work is far from complete, and continuous financial support is crucial to sustaining our mission. Software freedom is a long-term struggle that demands persistent effort, dedication, and resources. The importance of this ongoing fight is underscored by recent events, such as Apple's litigation with the European Commission to avoid complying with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The FSFE is the only non- profit that is intervening, with the aim to to leverage the voice of the Free Software community against the company’s unfair practices This endeavour can take decades and it is a complex, time-consuming, and resource-intensive endeavour but we strongly believe that we need to be there to defend Device Neutrality and the interests of the Free Software community.

Unfortunately, the broader landscape for Free Software is facing more additional challenges. Recently, the European Union decided to cut its funding to the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative, highlighting a critical issue: the lack of secure, long-term financial support for Free Software. Software freedom requires not only nice words but also proper public funding. Free Software is essential for ensuring transparency, security, and innovation in the digital age, and without steady support, these values are at risk. It's crucial that policymakers recognize the importance of Free Software and advocate for its continued growth and protection to ensure that technology remains a tool for empowerment.

We have continued initiatives such as the Router Freedom wiki and our "Public Money? Public Code!" initiative, where we have started to focus more on watchdog activities, monitoring real progress towards Free Software in public administrations and speaking out when we see steps in the wrong direction. We continued to raise awareness of Free Software and its importance for a democratic society through active participation in conferences, celebrating the "I Love Free Software" day, and through the work of our local groups across Europe.

In the last months we have continued focusing also in the younger generations. In this regard, the third edition of "Youth Hacking for Freedom" (YH4F) is underway, with preparations for the fourth edition already in progress. The Ada & Zangemann book, is becoming a well-known open educational resource, being translated into 10 languages, while its readings continue to inspire and educate. Additionally, we are working on producing a film about Ada’s story to further amplify its impact and reach a broader audience.

As we navigate these challenges, it is clear that our mission to promote software freedom and empower users to control technology requires a sustained, long-term support commitment. The recent outpouring of community support is a beacon of hope, but the road ahead is long and fraught with obstacles. We must continue to advocate for the public funding and political support necessary to safeguard the Free Software community. By continuing to focus on education and public outreach, especially to younger generations, we are laying the groundwork for a future where software freedom could thrive. With your continued support, we can continue our work and ensure that we get closer to our vision of software freedom for the decades to come.

Our Software Freedom in Europe 2024 report covers the FSFE's activities from October 2023 to August 2024. We hope it gives you a better understanding of our daily work and that you enjoy reading it!

Table of contents

1. Device Neutrality: the Free Software community “shows its teeth”
2. Next Generation Internet and the lack of long-term sustainable funding for Free Software
3. Reaching Generation Alpha: Youth Hacking 4 Freedom and Ada & Zangemann
4. Policy work: Advocating for Free Sotware
5. Legal Support: giving advise to projects and individuals
6. Our work on public awareness
7. Join the movement

Device Neutrality: the Free Software community “shows its teeth”

Device Neutrality empowers users to take control of their devices, allowing them to choose how and what software they run, free from restrictions imposed by manufacturers or software vendors. This control is essential to ensure that users are not locked into a particular operating system or forced to use pre-installed applications. Device Neutrality promotes innovation, competition and consumer rights by preventing monopolistic practices and enabling a diverse software landscape.

Free Software is key for Device Neutrality, and this issue has become increasingly important as large technology companies tighten their grip on the devices and operating systems they control, raising concerns about privacy, digital rights and market dominance. In 2024, the FSFE has faced monopolistic power over devices heads on. Notwithstanding the dangers of giant corporations over the entire digital markets, the FSFE performed key contributions to safeguard software freedom: we got involved in strategic litigation against Apple, coordinated key interventions with different civil-society stakeholders, and have been closely working with the Commission on the implementation of the Digital Markets Act. In all these processes, we leveraged the voice of the Free Software community, focusing on the benefits of smaller Free Software projects for digital markets.

Strategic litigation against Apple’s monopolistic control over devices

The Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into effect in early March, introduces significant provisions that directly impact Free Software. This law requires "gatekeepers" to permit the direct installation of software from any source, commonly known as (sideloading). Additionally, it mandates that gatekeepers must support alternative app stores and repositories, giving users more choices in how they access and manage software. The DMA also imposes interoperability obligations, ensuring that third-party developers have access to the same hardware and software functions as the "gatekeepers." These measures collectively aim to enhance competition and innovation in the digital marketplace.

Apple was designated as “gatekeeper” in September 2023, but started litigation against the Commission in December, 2023. The company has pushed an aggressive approach against the DMA, proposing new terms and conditions that harm Free Software. In February 2024, the FSFE decided to intervene, pairing up with the Commission to protect Free Software against Apple’s strike against DMA. In August 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union authorized the FSFE to intervene in the case. This is a far-reaching case with deep consequences not only for Software Freedom, but for fairness of digital markets, open internet and digital democracy.

Cutting out the rot in Apple, the FSFE intervenes to safeguard Software Freedom. CC-BY-SA 4.0 by Rahak for the FSFE

Implementing the DMA: leveraging the voice of the Free Software community

As the Apple’s example demonstrates, abusive gatekeepers’ behaviour requires constant monitoring. Implementation of the DMA has been technically and legally challenging, as “malicious compliance” from gatekeepers has posed real risks to Software Freedom. The FSFE has been working with a large spectrum of community actors. For instance, the FSFE worked with F-Droid, The App Fair Project and other interoperability experts to investigate Apple's DMA compliance and it's impact on Free Software. During the past months, we coordinated several expert workshops with stakeholders, discussed with regulators in FOSDEM, had official meetings with the EU Commission's DMA team, and submitted a comprehensive position to the European Commission detailing several problematic elements in Apple's compliance that will harm Free Software. FSFE also submitted a joint position to the Commission highlighting the main problematic aspects of Apple's behaviour towards Free Software. Furthermore, FSFE submitted its feedback to the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority on the regime guidance, emphasizing the importance of Free Software for fair digital markets, as envisioned in the newly enacted Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA). In collaboration with F-Droid, the FSFE also prepared a study for Japan's competition authority, the HDMC, on how Apple's compliance with the DMA poses a risk to Free Software and Device Neutrality.

We are calling for volunteers and civil society organisations to help us resonating the message against monopolization of digital markets. We need robust support from policy makers for Free Software, so alternative to gatekeepers can flourish in a fair and safe environments.

In addition to this, at the beginning of August we have announced that we are intervening in the case of Apple vs Commission to uphold the DMA. It is a litigation brought by Apple against the European commission in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Following the FSFE’s application for intervention, the court recognized the FSFE’s interests in the case as a stakeholder and allowed the intervention. We will submit our arguments to the court by mid-September.

Router Freedom: several victories notwithstanding the outbreak from telcos

Although we should be free to choose the technical devices we use in our private lives, some Internet Service Providers (ISP) still unduly limit how customers have to use to connect to the Internet, or discriminating against owners of alternative devices. This undermines Router Freedom.

In the last year, we have accomplished a lot! We participated and monitored regulatory processes in Germany, Austria, Italy and Belgium. Fiber operators have pushed against Router Freedom, bringing regulators to court and asking for regulatory exceptions. The FSFE has coordinated efforts with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including volunteers, business representatives, digital right groups and consumer protection organisations to repel these reactionary initiatives from telcos.

• Germany: Fiber operators required the national regulator BnetzAg to create an exception against Router Freedom, asking to take end-users’ freedom over equipment by imposing their own fiber terminals. The FSFE intervened in the process, claiming that Router Freedom is key for open internet and net neutrality, so the regulator should confirm its own 2016’s decision to safeguard Router Freedom for all network topologies.
• Belgium: As a decisive victory, the Belgian regulator BIPT has introduced Router Freedom for all types of network in the country. The FSFE has participated as a key stakeholder in the process, contributing to BIPT’s work, presenting the views of the community and end-users. Later in 2024, the telecom operator Orange has started litigation against the regulator, asking for a exception for fiber, claiming the regulator was not diligent in the decision making. The court ruled against the operator, confirming the diligent work of BIPT in analysing all the benefits of Router Freedom for end-users and digital markets, stating all the allegations undue. This decision represented a decisive victory for Router Freedom, as for the first time, a court confirmed a regulatory procedure involving fiber networks. The FSFE demanded that other regulators take this as an good example.
Lucas Lasota, Legal Programme Manager, speaking at the DORS/CLUC 2024 conference on "When our routers are not free: the challenges for an Open and Neutral Internet".
• Austria: Despite of the outcry of a broad spectrum of stakeholders demonstrating to the Austrian regulator RTR the necessity of regulating Router Freedom, the authority dismissed the case with no further consideration. The FSFE has been very active in the country, coordinating efforts with civil-society, industry representatives and policy makers, but nonetheless the regulator decided to follow the telecom operators’ interests in not attending civil-society demands.

Making Router Freedom easier for users: the tech wiki

Aside our policy and legal efforts ito conduct a European-wide initiative to defend the rights and interests of end-users regarding Router Freedom, the FSFE has launched an initiative exclusively dedicated to end-users: practical guide for interested technical people desiring to change their router provided by the ISP, helping them on the path (sometimes not so trivial) of installing their own private router at home. We introduce the new Router Freedom tech wiki, prepared by our Netherlands team of volunteers!🎉

The Router Freedom tech wiki helps you with basic information on how to start using your own router

This wiki helps you to replace the ISP’s router/modem with your own. Most modems of the internet service provider allow you to set them in 'bridge' mode, so you can use your own router for the internal networking. Although this allows you to separate your internal networking from the ISP, you would end up with two devices where you could just have one.

Device Neutrality website

This year we launched a new landing page about Device Neutrality to ensure that everyone, regardless of their technical background, can grasp the basics of this crucial concept. The landing page is designed to, in a simple and easy way, explain the essential. By making it simple, we aim to raise awareness and foster a broader understanding, helping users recognize the importance of supporting and advocating for Device Neutrality in their own digital lives.

Also, following the page design, we created a poster with the basics which you can order from us to promote Device Neutrality in your office, university, or at events.

Device Neutrality Poster

Next Generation Internet and the lack of long-term sustainable funding for Free Software

Although it had proven its success, a couple of months ago we found out that the European Commission is cutting its funding in the current draft for the Horizon Europe 2025 Work Programme. This decision highlights the larger problem of the lack of motivated and sustainable public funding for Free Software projects.

For years, we have been advocating for the need for public funding for Free Software, as software freedom guarantees that software remains a tool for empowerment, fostering independent development and innovation. Through our 'Public Money? Public Code!' initiative, which continues to gain support from organizations signing the Open Letter, we are raising awareness at conferences, events, and in explaining it to politicians.

'Public Money? Public Code!' demands that software developed for public sector must be made publicly available under a Free Software licence. Free Software in public bodies guarantees freedom of choice, access, and competition. This allows our public administrations to regain full control of their digital infrastructure and therefore become and remain independent from a handful of companies.

Looking to the future, particularly in light of potential funding cuts for Free Software projects under the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative, it’s clear that sustainable funding for Free Software must be addressed at the European level. Establishing a long-term funding scheme is crucial. In the coming years, our policy efforts will focus on raising this issue across Europe, ensuring that fragmented, limited, and uncoordinated funding for Free Software becomes a thing of the past.

The recent cut of €27 million from the NGI initiative has exposed the vulnerability of financial support for software freedom, highlighting a critical problem: Europe needs sustainable, secure, and dedicated funding to maintain control over its technology through Free Software. Much of Europe's digital infrastructure depends on these projects to ensure technological independence and resilience. Reducing or cutting this funding endangers Europe’s autonomy in the digital realm. In response to the European Commission’s ambiguous stance on future funding, the FSFE has participated in the latest public consultation, advocating for the long-term financial backing Free Software solutions need to drive Europe’s digital transformation.

Since November 2018, the FSFE has been a partner organisation of Next Generation Internet Zero (NGI0), which is a coalition of non-profit organizations from all over Europe coordinated by the NLnet Foundation. Coming under the overall NGI umbrella, the purpose of NGI0 is to provide financial grants and technical support to researchers and developers who are working on Free Software solutions that contribute to the establishment of the Next Generation Internet. As a part of the NGI0 consortium, the FSFE is providing support to Free Software projects with their legal and licensing issues, as well as introducing them into the REUSE specification, a tool that can simplier the license process.

Currently, the FSFE is working on four NGI0 programs: NGI Entrust, NGI Core, NGI Review, and NGI Commons Fund programs.

REUSE, make licensing easy

REUSE helps make a project's licensing and copyright status more transparent, ensure that third-party code is properly attributed, and make the project's code easily reusable. This tool is currently used worldwide and its specification has been adopted by several corporate and institutional projects.

REUSE is constantly evolving and improving. Last June the alpha version v3.1.0a1 of the REUSE tool was released containing the new REUSE.toml functionality, and after the publication of the REUSE Specification v3.2, soon v.3.3 will be released. Currently, the tool is in its version v4.0.3.

"Free Software is an important basis for DLR’s software development efforts. There is likely no software project which does not rely on at least one Free Software library or uses a Free Software tool to aid in the process of software development" -Tobias Schlauch, research software engineer at the DLR, talking about the use of REUSE specification in some of their projects

More and more organisations, companies, and individuals are using REUSE and benefiting from the growing ecosystem of its specification, its helper tool, its API and all the documentation. As using REUSE does not require registration, there are not precise numbers about its users but we know that it is being adopted by:

• All 2000+ compliant projects of the REUSE API
• Many projects of the EU-funded Next Generation Internet project we help to become REUSE compliant from the start.
• DLR, the KDE community, and Software Heritage made REUSE the standard for their licensing policy.
• Corporate licensing policies of Siemens, SAP, Huawei, Liferay, and many more.
• Large parts of the Linux Kernel with ~70% by now.

Liferay is one of the projects that have implemented REUSE. We talked with them

Reaching Generation Alpha: Youth Hacking 4 Freedom and Ada & Zangemann

Educating and supporting the young generation in the learning and use of Free Software is crucial to the mission of the FSFE. Through our activities in this field we are fostering innovation, collaboration, and digital literacy in the future. We are supporting a generation that can control their technology and empowering themselves. The children's illustrated book Ada & Zangemann introduces the concepts of Free Software to young readers, making these complex ideas accessible and sparking curiosity. Our Youth Hacking 4 Freedom contest is aimed at teenagers, who want to create, share and improve software.

With these two activities, the FSFE encourages the next generations to become active contributors to the digital world, shaping technology, rather than mere consumers.

Youth Hacking 4 Freedom: teenagers coding great ideas

Young people, from all over Europe, compete in Youth Hacking 4 Freedom to win cash prizes by creating programs of their choice licensed as Free Software. The six winners are invited to the Award ceremony weekend.

Second edition: In October 2023 we had the Awards Ceremony weekend in Brussels with the winners and members of the jury from that edition. 2023 winners were:

• Ultimate Hacker Award: Davide Rorato for ArduPlot
• Elite Hacker Award: Marlon Wolff for ClassQuiz
• Awesome Award: Simon Sommer for OpenRadio
• Best Maker Award: Oriol Villegas Martin for DogBag4City
• Best Freedom Project Award: Marius Angermann for Artix Engine
• Best Power User Tool Award: Matthias Kaak for hashfindutils

During this year we also learnt a bit more about some of the projects and their developers thanks to our YH4F interviews to participants.

Third edition: In October 2024, we will announce the names of the 2024 YH4F winners, marking the end of a journey that began at the end of 2023 when they registered to take part in this edition. From January to the end of June, the participants worked on their projects. During this time, they had the opportunity to meet online once a month and get advice from experts while networking with their peers. A broad group of technology experts, the YH4F Jury, then evaluated the projects submitted at the end of June.

Also during this year we presented this contest in different conferences such as FOSDEM, Chemnitz Linux Days and esLibre.

For the new edition, starting in January 2025, YH4F got a new sponsor on board.

Ada & Zangemann: Italian, French and Spanish version

The illustrated book Ada & Zangemann - A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream" by the FSFE, tells the story of the famous inventor Zangemann and the girl Ada, a curious tinkerer. Ada begins to experiment with hardware and software, and in the process realises how crucial it is for her and others to control technology.

During this last months, we got a lot of amazing and interesting news about Ada, from book readings to new translations to the project of making a film of this story.

The first reading of the story of Ada in Italian took place during Software Freedom Day and to make it even more special, everyone enjoyed home-made ice cream thanks to one of our volunteers!

The story of "Ada & Zangemann" was also published in French and, thanks to the French Ministry of Education, you can download the ebook free of charge or read the mobile friendly online version. The book was translated into French by more than a hundred students, aged 13 to 19, from four different schools in France, over the course of the 2022-2023 school year, sharing the work and coordinating it using online tools.

The book was covered in a radio interview by "Radio France", in several articles, including Le Monde, ZDnet, or blogs, as well as TV coverage at Sqool TV with Alexis Kauffmann, from the French Ministry of Education and the person who started with the idea of the French translation.

Last December the, at that time, French Minister of Education, Gabriel Attal, presented the book "Ada & Zangemann" to the French German parliamentarians meeting (APFA) in the old Bonn parliament. Afterwards he gifted the book to Anke Rehlinger, Minister President of the Saarland (Germany).

And even more! The book was awarded the 2024 Youth Book Prize of the InCyber Forum Europe. This is the first time this prize has been awarded to a children's book. And 300 copies of Ada & Zangemann were distributed to teachers at the Journée du Libre Éducatif 2024. The book was presented at this fair, that this year was held in Paris, by two of the students who translated it.

David Revoy painted this great version of Ada

Thanks to the Volkswagen Group in Spain, the story of Ada & Zangemann is now being printed in Spanish! The company has distributed 500 copies to its employees and, from September, its STEM team will be embarking on a 'STEM tour', visiting schools in several Spanish cities around the country to share the story encouraging children, and especially girls to get into STEM.

To reach even more children, we are currently working to have an "Ada & Zangemann" movie produced by a professional 2D animation studio. We plan to release the movie in four languages by the end of this year as an Open Educational Resource under a Creative Commons Licence, the same one that Wikipedia has. Everyone will be able to download and share it, use it in schools, and integrate it with other educational material, making a difference to the quality of IT education that is so vital for young people in our digital society.

They are young + they need the code", FSFE's Format to bring Free Software in the schools (online)

The FSFE's pilot project “They are young + they need the code” is inspired from 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 taking place in Italy and we are waiting to hear back from our volunteers, which are bringing the format to the schools and or libraries.

Free Software Knowledge IT Project, partnership with Edulife

At the end of last year, during SFSCON 2023, the FSFE and the Edulife Foundation kicked off a collaboration project to raise awareness about the benefits of Free Software to the next generation of innovators.

The project consists in a two-year agreement to deliver educational content to students from the ITS Academy LAST about Free Software legal aspects, policy and public awareness. Last January, and as part of this studies academic program, the FSFE delivered educational content about Free Software, with a focus on Free Software legal issues, policy aspects and public awareness in the form of lectures. Besides, again this year the students will attend SFSCON.

Policy work: Advocating for Free Software

Political decisions and policies within the European Union significantly impact Free Software, its ecosystems, and its communities. Since 20 years the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) engages with policymakers to ensure that the Free Software community voice is heard. Advocating at the European level for software freedom is essential to make decision-makers all over Europe understand the importance of Free Software in our society.

This past year has seen the adoption of important pieces of legislation which the FSFE has been active on, such as the Interoperable Europe Act, the Artificial Intelligence Act, the Product Liability Directive and the upcoming adoption of the Cyber Resilience Act.

Looking at the future, especially in light of the recent developments around the possible cuts of funding directed to Free Software projects with the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative, Free Software funding urges to be addressed at the European Level with the institution of a long-term sustainable funding scheme. In the next year(s), our policy efforts will be also focused to raise this issue at the European level, and we will make sure that uncoordinated, scattered and small funding for Free Software will not be the norm any more.

Liability in the AI, PLD and CRA

During the past year, the EU has been debating the introduction of liability rules for software, including Free Software, in different legislation, namely the AI Act, Product Liability Directive and the Cyber Resilience Act. The way they were first proposed, all proposals would have harmed the Free Software ecosystem and thus the society and the economy.

The main debate around this proposal focused on liability. With different wording, the three proposals initially excluded liability of Free Software only outside the course of a commercial activity. This would have failed to address a large part of software that is deployed and at the same time smaller and non-profit projects would have been harmed as they would have to bear major costs and face legal risks even if there was any kind of commercial activity, like in the case of voluntary contributions to code.

Already at an early stage, the FSFE argued in a hearing in the EU Parliament, for the inclusion of clear and precise exemptions for Free Software development in the legislation and for liability to be transferred to those who significantly financially benefit from it on the market.

The co-legislators have largely complied with our demands and following intensive debates, have significantly improved the Commission’s proposal, by introducing an exemption for Free Software and including it in the articles of the regulations.

Even if with different wordings, this position has been voted in the PLD and the AI Act, but still needs to be finally voted in the CRA.

Interoperable Europe Act

The EU's Interoperable Europe Act aims to improve cross-border digital public services. The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) has called on policymakers to recognize the importance of Free Software in achieving this goal. Following the "Public Money? Public Code!" initiative, we have been emphasizing the need for public administrations to have control over the software they use while ensuring efficient use of public funds.

Despite efforts to include the Free Software community in the decision-making process through the soon to be implemented Interoperable Europe Board foreseen by the regulation, the Free Software community will only be involved in the Interoperable Europe Community. However, this involvement allows our Community to offer expertise, highlighting the need to closely monitor the regulation's implementation to identify opportunities for effective contributions from civil society.

While acknowledging some shortcomings and ambiguities in the wording of the Act, we welcome certain victories. For instance, the European Commission is now required to provide an annual report on Free Software interoperability solutions and support actions that promote these solutions. These measures will help assess the Act's success in prioritizing Free Software and allow us to continue our oversight role.

Cyber Solidarity Act

The Cyber Solidarity act aims at strengthening collaboration among EU member states around Cyber Security, in order to strengthen solidarity and capacities in the Union to detect, prepare for and respond to cybersecurity threats and incidents.

Already in a hearing at the Committee of the Regions, we highlighted that in order to establish trustworthy and resilient systems, public bodies must ensure they have full control over the software and the computer systems at the core of their state digital infrastructure, and this is only possible prioritizing the use of Free Software.

Furthermore we advocated for the inclusion of civil society in the implementation of the act, and we welcomed that legislators agreed on including different stakeholders in the legislation.

However, in the recent framework of EU regulations aimed at enhancing digital infrastructure security, in the Cyber Solidarity Act, legislators failed to recognise the importance of Software Freedom when it comes to developing ad-hoc tools.

Political decisions and directions have big impact on Free Software, its ecosystems and its communities.It is impossible to achieve Device Neutrality, and a free and open internet without the commitment of the public sector to maintain a vigorous and sustainable ecosystem through policies and funding.That is why it is important that we are keep educating decision/makers in the importance of software freedom.

Liability, Cybersecurity and Free Software

The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), along with NLnet Labs and the Open Source Security Foundation, submitted feedback on the Network and Information Security (NIS) implementation act, emphasizing the need to protect the European Free Software ecosystem. The NIS2 implementation act, which focuses on cybersecurity regulations, also impacts the Free Software ecosystem in Europe. It's essential that these measures enhance cybersecurity without hindering Free Software development, as Free Software is a vital component in this field.

In their joint feedback to the European Commission’s draft NIS2 Implementing Act on "Cybersecurity risk management & reporting obligations for digital infrastructure, providers, and ICT service managers," the FSFE and its partners expressed concerns about the focus on business-to-business (B2B) relationships. They pointed out that many complex software products, central to the digital infrastructure sector, are often developed by independent individuals, non-profit organizations, or academic institutions. In these cases, beyond the freedoms provided by Free Software licenses, there is no formal relationship between the developer and the entities covered by NIS2.

Public Money?, Public Code! demands at the European Union

The FSFE has also taken part in crucial consultations at the European level. For the FSFE is important to give input in this kind of processes as it makes the free Software community’s voice heard, and we can make sure the the community demands reach the European Institution in crucial phases of the legislative process.

• Software Freedom Funding

In the wake of the recent €27 million cut in the NGI funding, the Free Software Foundation Europe has responded to the growing concern by asking the community to take part to a public consultation of the European Commission, which asked for feedback on their Digital Europe funding programme.

The community stressed the /news/2024/news-20240911-01.htmlurgent need for sustainable, long-term financial support for Free Software to ensure Europe's technological independence. Europe needs sustainable, secure, and dedicated funding to ensure its control over technology through Free Software. Much of Europe's digital infrastructure relies on Free Software projects to ensure independence and resilience. Reducing or cutting funding threatens Europe's technological autonomy. With the participation of our community in the public consultation, we ensured that Free Software solutions receive the long-term funding they need.

We will keep you up to date on this issue, as the consultation will be at the end of the process at the time of publication of this report..

• European digital infrastructure needs a Free Software first approach

In its response to the European Commission's consultation on the white paper "How to Master Europe’s Digital Infrastructure Needs?", the FSFE highlighted the vital role Free Software plays in creating robust digital infrastructure across Europe. We argued that embracing software freedom can address challenges at various levels—global, regional, and local—by fostering collaboration, openness, and the ability to quickly resolve issues. The FSFE suggested redirecting IT investments towards Free Software instead of relying on closed-source, proprietary options. This shift would enhance Europe's IT landscape, create jobs, and save costs over time by reducing the need for redundant solutions.

Consultancy for public administrations

The FSFE not only demands Free Software friendly policies but also helps administrations across Europe to take concrete steps towards "Public Money? Public Code!". Since December 2023, the German Centre for Digital Sovereignty of Public Administration (ZenDiS) has contracted the services of the FSFE to advise them on Free Software and related issues. The scope of our consultancy includes strategies around ZenDiS’ products openDesk (the former Sovereign Workplace, a workplace solution for the public sector) and OpenCoDE (the code-sharing platform for public administrations in Germany), international cooperation and community engagement, criteria for Free Software procurement, stakeholder analysis, and providing input on topics such as Free Software supply chains, Free Software maintenance and fraudulent market behaviour.

Monitoring and watchdog activities as part of "Public Money? Public Code!"

Since the FSFE launched the "Public Money? Public Code!" initiative, we have welcomed every step towards more Free Software in public administrations. But in the last few years it has become clear that this is not enough. That is why FSFE decided to act more like a watchdog: While on the one hand we continue to call for Free Software friendly policies and point out best practices, on the other hand we closely monitor the implementation of Free Software policies and raise our voice when we see things going in the wrong direction.

A recent example of this stronger watchdog role is the situation around the German IT service provider Dataport and its openwashing software dPhoenix for public administrations, which FSFE continued to observe and comment on last year. As a result of our communication, Dataport stopped promoting dPhoenix as “Open Source” and admitted that it is proprietary. A more detailed explanation of the FSFE’s watchdog activities can be found in our Software Freedom Podcast Episode #22 on “Public Money? Public Code!”.

Openwashing is a topic the FSFE has been working on intensively over the past year. In the context of "Public Money? Public Code!", openwashing is not just a case of fraudulent labelling, but also leads to taxpayers being misled about how their tax money is being used. As we repeatedly receive reports of openwashing among bidders for public sector free software tenders, we have conducted a public community survey on the topic. We have gathered information, opinions and examples about openwashing to better understand the strategies and methods behind it, and to be able to come up with suggestions on how to tackle it. First results were presented at FrOSCon, together with ideas for better Free Software procurement, aiming to avoid pitfalls like openwashing, but also other kinds of problematic market behaviour.

When it comes to monitoring the implementation of Free Software policies, our tool TEDective can be of great help to analyse, understand and visualise the money flows in public tenders.

TEDective

During the past months, we have continued working on developing TEDective. This is a free software solution that makes European public procurement data explorable for non-experts.

This year we got the help of some students that improved the took and added some results.

Some of the improvements:

• eForms the EC standard, has been introduced and implemented.
• Improvement of the currency conversion.
• New deduplication model, based on clustering algorithm for organizations.
• Improved API endpoints & graph queries.
• New search filters for end-users.

We will continue working on this initiative, as well as spreading the news about it in different events and conferences, and we are looking for contributors who would like to get involved or fund the project. Get in touch via tedective@fsfe.org if you are interested!

Legal Support: giving advise to projects and individuals

At the Free Software Foundation Europe we help answer licensing questions, provide technical support to make licensing easier (among others, with REUSE), provide legal education materials on Free Software, nd organise an annual conference for the FSFE's legal network, the Free Software Legal and Licensing Workshop (LLW). We are also part of several EU-funded projects, helping with legal concepts and issues.

ZOOOM project

This year, the FSFE completed its work on the European Commission funded ZOOOM Initiative. The aim of this project was to raise awareness of the importance of managing rights and obligations related to Free Software, Open Data, and Open Hardware, especially when doing so in relation to innovation in digital industries.

As part of our work with ZOOOM, the FSFE produced research and educational materials on Free Software legal issues, which contributed to a larger toolkit on Open Software, Data, and Hardware. In addition to the usual discussions regarding Free Software licensing, this material also includes analyses on developing trends in digital innovation, which primarily focused on Free Software's role in developments in large language models, and artificial intelligence. This work, along with the work produced by our ZOOOM consortium partners on Open Data and Open Hardware, is to be included in education, business creation, and innovation programs across the EU that aim to build expertise in European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Another part of our work with the ZOOOM initiative was to promote and to disseminate the research that we've conducted on these topics.

Another part of our work with the ZOOOM initiative was to promote and to disseminate the research that we've conducted on these topics. You may have over the past 12 months seen FSFE staffers at various conferences across Europe, connecting with local communities and raising awareness on the importance of understanding our rights and obligations when working with Free Software, as well as with Open Data and Open Hardware. Although the project has officially come to a close, the ZOOOM toolkit and training materials are a useful tool to promote a healthier ecosystem where Free Software legal and licensing obligations are understood and followed across various digital industries, and where the ideals of Free Software are upheld.

Legal Network and LLW 2024

The FSFE continued to support the Free Software legal community with our continued coordination of the Legal Network this year. The Legal Network is a global community of legal professionals from diverse fields, all working on legal and licensing issues related to Free Software. The Legal Licensing Workshop (LLW) provides a neutral and safe space for participants to engage in discussions, even on controversial topics, fostering mutual learning and collaboration.

This year, our facilitation of the Legal Network has led to the discussion and proliferation of legal understanding in the international legal community of a number of trending topics, including the relevance of Free Software licenses to the development of large language models, developments in litigation efforts to enforce copyleft in various jurisdictions, as well as the ever constant detailed dissection of the effects of various licenses.

As part of our support for the legal community, we also organized our annual Free Software Legal and Licensing Workshop (LLW) in April for the legal professionals on our Legal Network to meet in person to present their work, and to discuss legal issues and best practices surrounding Free Software legal and licensing issues. As in 2023, this year’s event was once again held in Gothenburg, Sweden, at the Chalmers Conference Center, over 3 days.

While the LLW conference is always a great opportunity for Legal Network members to share their projects and research findings, or to engage in thought provoking discussions on both the practical and philosophical aspects of Free Software legal practice, this year’s conference was also a great opportunity for participants to catch up with one another in person, and to meet new Legal Network members. It is the aim of the FSFE that building such professional relationships helps to build shared consensus in the practice of law related to Free Software across jurisdictions, and to reduce friction in the famously prickly legal sphere. We are happy to say that with the extremely smooth running of the 2024 edition of the LLW, we have been successful in this aim this year.

We look forward to organizing the 2025 edition of the LLW in Essen, Germany, at the Unperfekthaus.

Our work on public awareness

We are deeply committed to raising public awareness of Free Software, and our website plays a central role in this effort. It serves as a comprehensive resource, providing information about the basics of Free Software, our ongoing activities, and our vibrant community. In recent months, we have focused on improving the attractiveness and usability of the site. In particular, we've redesigned the front page and introduced a new categorisation system for our publications to make them more accessible to readers. We've also revised the structure of our activities page. Our press site has also been redesigned to help journalists find the information they need more easily and quickly.

Since September 2023, we have published 55 news items in English, our official outreach language, but some of these publications have also been translated into other European languages, mainly thanks to our awesome team of translators. Besides, we publish monthly email updates in which our experts inform our subscribers about current news, events, activities, and how you can contribute.

FSFE Press Page

From a technical standpoint, we have the overhauled the translation status page. It now displays the files that need translation for each language, prioritized by the importance of the files—essentially based on how many clicks it takes to reach the page from the front page. The status page also links directly to the source files in Git and the Webpreview tool, which shows the current translated version. This should make it easier to resume translation work. Additionally, for some time now, translated pages with a newer English version have shown a warning indicating that the translation is outdated. Also, currently if a translation is too outdated, instead the EN original will be displayed again.

Another technical improvement that we have done these past months was in the event registration. An event can now be linked to a local or topic group and will automatically be added to the group's calendar, which is accessible from the group overview page and can be integrated into calendar apps via CalDAV, just like other calendars in Nextcloud. For proper integration, events now include start and end times. The existing ICS file also correctly uses these dates, allowing subscribers to see the event times in their feeds. Additionally, events can be automatically sent to the group’s mailing list, though this feature hasn't been used by any group yet. The process for adding events to our events page has also been partially automated—a pull request is automatically generated for new events, collecting all language versions, and the event filename is adjusted accordingly. This version improves clarity, reduces redundancy, and streamlines the explanation. Let me know if you'd like any adjustments!

We also have made some progress in the migration from wiki.fsfe.org to docs.fsfe.org made progress, but still we need to continue working on it during the next months. Last but not least, over the past year we switched from the old ticket system to the new one.

We have also continued with our Software Freedom Podcast. We published this year 4 episodes, which might be a bit less that previous years but the person in charge was during several months in 2024 in maternity leave.

This year, in the podcast we talked about PMPC, the current status of Free Software in our society, in US and Europe, and we had a special episode in Christmas about What is Free Software and we learned about MirageOS.

We also have a number of social media channels, the main ones being Mastodon and Peertube, where we post more frequently, using the ones that are not part of the Fediverse to promote topics and issues related with the main audience of those networks.

Starting with fundraising actions with the Italy mailing campaigns (but this might only be an internal info to share) where we gifted all supporters and ex-supporters a copy of the book and informed them about the activities happening in Italy.

Map showing the different events that we have around Europe

I Love Free Software Day:

I Love Free Software Day" 2024 focused on the younger generations and how to introduce them to the Free Software community. Therefore, several of our local groups celebrated this day with a meeting focused on younger people.

The FSFE planned a special gift for several organisations and long-term volunteers to prepare them for I Love Free Software Day. We gave them an acrylic glass heart and an LED strip, and a microcontroller and some jumper cables. The challenge? To tinker with these things and upload a picture of the heart on 14 February. It turned out to be quite a challenge, but a lot of fun!

For the 2024 celebrations, over a hundred people came together in 13 local meetings - either online or in person - organised by FSFE chapters or other Free Software groups in seven different countries.

Merchandising and Info Material

This year we worked on adding new stickers to our -already- great collection some new merchandising and stickers.

At the end of last year, we focused on expanding our already impressive sticker collection. With our team's creativity, we developed new slogans and illustrations, resulting in fresh stickers in a variety of colours and formats.

In the months that followed, we attended various conferences and events, where we gathered valuable feedback on these new stickers.

We also took the opportunity to refresh our merchandise. By the end of 2023, we introduced two new T-shirts: a new colour for our classic “There’s No Cloud” design and a striking new graphic for the "Hacking for Freedom" slogan. Both T-shirts have been well-received, alongside another exciting addition to our web shop and event displays—the vibrant red “I Love Free Software” socks.

At the start of summer, we ran a successful sale offering free shipping for two weeks, resulting in over 100 orders, including several large ones.

As an e.V. association, the General Assembly of the FSFE met for its annual meeting last October at Linux Hotel in Essen.

Our community

While our local groups have continued with their activity in their local and regional levels, this year we have continued with the online coordinators’ meetings. Besides organizing booths and being at events -even in Asia- our volunteers have also been involved in several activities such as PMPC, Ada & Zangemann….

This year we also activated a new local group, that is going to focus on Poland

EU election: FSFE Netherlands Coordinator joins Amsterdam's Digital City Debate

This year we also spent a nice day with members of the Italian community in Bolzano, going on a hike with them the day after SFSCON. And in the summer we were back at the LinuxHotel for our now traditional summer meeting! During a long weekend we spent time with volunteers, learning about current work topics and getting feedback. We even had time to get to know each other a bit better with some networking games and in the evenings.

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 to all our supporters and special kudos to our donors. 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

Die FSFE fordert von der EU-Kommission eine nachhaltige Finanzierung Freier Software

Nach der aktuellen Kürzung der NGI-Finanzierung um 27 Millionen Euro reagiert die Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) auf die wachsende Besorgnis und nimmt an einer öffentlichen Konsultation der Europäischen Kommission teil. Die FSFE betont die dringende Notwendigkeit einer nachhaltigen und langfristigen finanziellen Unterstützung für Freie Software, um die technologische Unabhängigkeit Europas zu gewährleisten.

Die jüngste Kürzung der Mittel für die Initiative "Next Generation Internet" um 27 Mio. € hat die Fragilität der finanziellen Unterstützung für die Softwarefreiheit insgesamt aufgezeigt und ein kritisches Problem deutlich gemacht: Europa braucht eine nachhaltige, sichere und zweckgebundene Finanzierung, um seine Kontrolle über die Technologie durch Freie Software zu gewährleisten. Ein Großteil der digitalen Infrastruktur Europas ist auf diese Projekte angewiesen, um technologisch unabhängig und widerstandsfähig zu werden. Die Kürzung oder Streichung von Mitteln gefährdet die technologische Autonomie Europas.

Als Reaktion auf die unklare Haltung der Europäischen Kommission zur zukünftigen Finanzierung hat die FSFE an der öffentlichen Konsultation teilgenommen und sich dafür eingesetzt, dass Freie Software-Lösungen die notwendige langfristige Finanzierung erhalten. Dies ist der einzige Weg, um die Digitalisierung Europas erfolgreich voranzutreiben.

"Die digitale Strategie der EU kann nur dann ihr volles Potential erreichen, wenn sie sich systematisch auf Freie Software konzentriert", betont Alexander Sander, leitender Politikberater der FSFE. "Wir fordern, dass die öffentlichen Gelder effizient eingesetzt werden. Software-Freiheit muss konsequent mit nachhaltigen und langfristigen Mitteln unterstützt werden. Denn wenn es öffentliches Geld ist, muss es auch öffentlicher Code sein!".

Support FSFE

Bring Back Free Software Funding: Give Your Feedback to the European Commission

The European Commission has cut important funds for Free Software. The non-transparent decision shows the need for sustainable long-term funding to allow the EU to control its own technology. Raise your voice and take part in an ongoing consultation to ask for sustainable long-term funds for software freedom. We explain why and how.

Why should we care?

A few weeks ago the European Commission made the decision to stop funding the Next Generation Internet initiative (NGI) in its then current draft for the Horizon Europe 2025 Work Programme. This decision results in a loss of €27 million for software freedom. Since 2018, the European Commission has supported the Free Software ecosystem through NGI, that provided funding and technical assistance to Free Software projects. This decision unfortunately exposes a larger issue: that software freedom in the EU needs more stable, long-term financial support. The ease with which this funding was excluded from the Work Programme underlines this need.

Now you can ask for these funds and criticise the Commission's decision, by taking part in the ongoing consultation on the Digital Europe Programme. As the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative proved, public funding enables projects to innovate and promote a more open, independent, and accessible internet. Cutting funding for Free Software threatens to undermine this progress and push Europe away from policies that ensure people’s control over their own technology. That is why we demand that the €27 million for 2025 be brought back as well as demanding secured, sustainable long-term funding for Free Software.

By participating in this consultation, which closes on 20 September (midnight Brussels time) you can help to advocate for a digital future that puts users in control of technology. Your input makes a difference.

How to Take Action

1. Participating is simple and it doesn’t take too long . Just visit the consultation page and create an account. You only need a valid e-mail address. This step is quick and easy.
2. Complete the survey: After signing up, you’ll be redirected to the survey. The process is relatively quick (~20 minutes) depending on which questions you consider most important and the level of detail. If you're unsure how to answer certain questions, you can skip those that aren't mandatory or draw inspiration from our answers. The key is to ensure that some of the arguments outlined below are included in the blank spaces.

And that’s all :)

Ideas and key points to consider while submitting the consultation:

• Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our lives, and it is important that this technology empowers rather than restricts us. It gives everybody the rights to use, understand, adapt, and share software. In order to establish trustworthy systems, users must ensure they have full control over the software and the computer systems they are using. However, among the biggest challenges we still face today are vendor lock in and a lack of interoperability. This issue is particularly prevalent in public bodies, which often heavily rely on proprietary, closed source software.
• We strongly advise prioritising the use and distribution of Free Software as well as providing financial support to relevant projects and the Free Software ecosystem. This support should be a sustainable long term fund for Software Freedom, focusing on independence, resilience, control, security, and sovereignty. A dedicated fund for Free Software would not only help governments to have better and more secure software, tailored to their needs, but also support the European IT market and the overall digital Europe.
• The Digital Europe Programme can only unfold its full potential if it is systematically focusing on the support of Free Software solutions. Otherwise, it risks continuing creating new dependencies and future lock-ins. By going in the direction of Free Software first, the EU can assure that taxpayers' money is spent in the most efficient way, while fostering the collaborative ecosystem needed to achieve true interoperability in Europe. An open and interoperable digital public sector is critical for addressing the social, economic, and political challenges faced by democratic governments.

We’ve already participated. Now it’s your turn. Participating in the consultation with your own wording can be very valuable as it allows the European Commission to hear a diverse range of voices and perspectives, which strengthens our common argument for sustainable funding for Free Software while demonstrating that this demand comes from an engaged community. While you can use our answers as a reference, your own words will significantly bolster the case for why Free Software is essential for Europe’s digital future.

Let’s make sure the European Commission hears us loud and clear. Together, we can bring back the funds for Free Software and safeguard the future of an open, transparent, and democratic internet. If you successfully submit a response to the consultation, please let us know via email: contact@fsfe.org.

Support FSFE

Apple litigation +++ EU funding for Free Software +++ YH4F +++ ZOOOM project

September is here, along with our newsletter. We have continued advocating for a Free Software budget in Europe, following the European Commission's decision to stop NGI funding, and we are intervening in Apple's lawsuit against the European Commission. YH4F got a new sponsor and its 2024 edition is in the final stage, and the ZOOOM project ended.

Table of contents

• Quote of the Month
• Apple vs EU Commission: the FSFE intervenes to safeguard Free Software
• European Commission needs to come up with dedicated budget for Free Software solutions
• Spread your concern about Free Software funding in your local newspaper
• YH4F countdown: Time for jury evaluation and new sponsor on board
• ZOOOM project: Toolkit and training materials
• Get involved: Why do you support Free Software? Send us your quote
• Conferences: check out the recordings from our talks
• Contribute to our Newsletter

Quote of the Month

“The lack of public funding for these important technologies has a negative impact not only on free software, but on the entire future of the internet."

FSFE statement about EC plans to cut funding on Free Software projects in Heise.de

Apple vs EU Commission: the FSFE intervenes to safeguard Free Software

The Free Software Foundation Europe is intervening in litigation brought by Apple against the European Commission before the Court of Justice of the European Union. Apple is seeking to avoid DMA obligations related to its App Store and the interoperability of its operating system. The FSFE aims to protect Free Software against monopolistic corporate control.

European Commission needs to come up with dedicated budget for Free Software solutions

After the recent news that funding for the Next Generation Internet initiative would be cut for the next phase of Horizon Europe, the European Commission has expressed vague support for Free Software. Unfortunately it is failing to provide concrete examples on how to do so. This has highlighted the fragility of funding for Software Freedom and the need for change in the long-term.

Spread your concern about Free Software funding

Are you also worried and concerned about the European Commission decision to cut the funding for Free Software projects?

Besides contacting European representatives, you can also write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper to make their readers aware of the importance of funding Free Software solutions with long term sustainable funding.

Donate now

YH4F countdown: Time for jury evaluation and new sponsor on board

The FSFE’s hacking competition for young Europeans successfully concluded its six-month programming period on 30 June, with the submission of the participants’ projects. Now, it's the jury's turn to evaluate the work of the participants. We are also happy to announce a new sponsor for the contest, OpenSSF.

Read more

Do you also want to contribute to this contest? We are looking for more sponsors! For more information get in contact with us via email.

ZOOOM project: Toolkit and training materials

The FSFE finished its work with the European Commission funded ZOOOM Initiative. The FSFE produced research and educational materials on Free Software legal issues, which contributed to a larger toolkit on Open Software, Data, and Hardware.

Although the project has officially ended, the ZOOOM toolkit and training materials can contribute to promote a healthier ecosystem where Free Software legal and licensing obligations are understood and followed in various digital industries.

Get involved: Why do you support Free Software? Send us your quote

We are updating our testimonials from our diverse community about why they support the FSFE and our mission. We would also love to hear from you! Send us, by the end of September, a short quote and a picture. Find all the testimonies here.

Conferences: check out the recordings from our talks

Did you miss #FrOSCon? Check out Johannes Näder's talk explaining approaches for better Free Software procurement. [DE]

Our volunteer Berharnd Reiter gave his own personal views in a talk encouraging voluntary payments for Free Software. [DE]

Last May Lucas Lasota and Niharika Singhal participated in DORS/CLUC in Zagreb. Their talks were live-streamed and we have uploaded them in our Peertube instance:

• When our routers are not free: the challenges for an Open and Neutral Internet
• Making AI Really Open: The Current Landscape of Free Software and AI Licensing

Contribute to our Newsletter

We would love to hear from you. If you have any thoughts, pictures, or news to share, please send them to us at newsletter@fsfe.org. You can also support us, contribute to our work, and join our community. We would like to thank our community and all the volunteers, supporters, and donors who make our work possible, with a special mention to our translators who make it possible for you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.

Your editor, Ana

Support FSFE

Spread your concern about Free Software funding in your local newspaper

Are you also worried and concerned about the European Commission decision to cut the funding for Free Software projects? Besides contacting European representatives you can also write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper to make their readers aware of the importance of funding Free Software solutions with a long term sustainable funding.

As stated in our recent news, the European Commission has decided to cut the funding for Free Software in the Next Generation Internet Initiative (NGI) 2025 Horizon draft work programme. Since then, we have raised our voice about this issue. But we need your help to continue put pressure on the European Commission. Your pressure already helped! Let’s continue the efforts!

Budget cut in contrast to digital strategy

Since 2018, the European Commission has been supporting the Free Software ecosystem through the NGI initiative as part of Horizon Europe, the framework research program of the EU. This funding provided support and technical assistance to Free Software projects, that have turned out to be useful and a way to provide alternatives to proprietary applications. Funding is an important component in nurturing new Free Software technologies, and often makes the difference for whether a Free Software project is able to survive, succeed, or fall into abandonware. This is a particular problem because large parts of our infrastructure are based on these projects, as they guarantee the necessary independence and resilience. Cancelling funding means curtailing our own autonomy.

This decision to cut the funds has been taken from the European Commission in a non transparent and unclear way. This budget cut for Free Software Freedom by the European Commission is in explicit contrast to their digital strategy. A true open and digital independent Europe is possible only with a long term sustainable funding scheme for software freedom.

Your pressure helped – let’s continue

In a committed and community-driven reaction, the FSFE community reached out to the EU institutions and the Head of Unit of Next Generation Internet (DG CNECT) answered. However, the EC’s answer we received is vague and with no clear information on how Software Freedom will be supported by the European Union in the future. That is why we still ned your help!

It is important to keep the pressure high and your support is crucial in doing that. In order to make even more people aware of this situation, you can send a letter to your local newspaper explaining them what has happened until now and why the European Commission needs to come up with sustainable long-term funding for Software Freedom.

Here you can find a template to modify and to send to your preferred newspaper.

Dear [name],

I would like to draw attention to the recent news that the European Commission is stopping its funding for Free Software (also known as Open Source).

Although we do not notice, our daily devices are running using Free Software, guarantees the freedoms to use, study, share and improve the software by everyone. Thanks to these freedoms, it ensures that citizens, businesses and governments are not dependent on proprietary software solutions, which often come with significant costs and limitations. Free Software is at the core of our digital infrastructure and it strengthen local economies and foster innovation.

Despite its proven success, the European Commission has decided to stop supporting Free Software by cutting its funding for the Next Generation Internet initiative (NGI) for the next period of Horizon Europe. This goes against its own strategy to achieve a digital future that is open, fair and sustainable. So, being Free Software essential to reach this goal, why are our politicians only supporting it through nice wording and not with a proper budget? Hundreds of Free Software projects will struggle if the funding is not resumed and the internet of the future will look less open and accessible to everyone.

The European Commission should come up with a dedicated funding programme for Software Freedom, so that the Next Generation Internet the the European digital infrastructure is independent, sustainable and accessible to everyone.

Your name

If you should receive an answer or if you know that your letter has been published, please share it with us via email contact@fsfe.org.

Support FSFE

YH4F Countdown: Time for Jury evaluation and new sponsor on board

The FSFE’s hacking competition for young Europeans successfully concluded its six-month programming period on 30 June, with the submission of the participants’ projects. Now, it's the jury's turn to evaluate the work of the participants. We are also happy to announce a new sponsor for the contest, OpenSSF.

The third programming period of Youth Hacking 4 Freedom has ended. During the past six months, teenagers from all over Europe worked on their Free Software projects, and eventually submitted their work for evaluation to the jury. To give you a teaser, 2024 submissions include Free Software research and scientific projects, projects that tackle social problems, and some fun games. As with previous editions, it is stunning to see the great ideas the teenagers come up with. And the best thing is to see how they manage to stick to a project idea for six months.

Now it is the jury’s turn to evaluate all the amazing projects and decide on the six winners, who will join us in October for the award ceremony in Brussels.

Why your company or organisation should sponsor YH4F

Youth Hacking 4 Freedom is possible thanks to it's financial contributors. Just recently OpenSSF joined as sponsor. With their support, the FSFE can keep organising this programming competition for young Europeans and help to spread knowledge about Free Software, helping the participants to develop programming and project management skills while having fun and meeting new people from all over Europe.

As an organisation or company, you can sponsor Youth Hacking 4 Freedom or even better, become a donor. By supporting Youth Hacking 4 Freedom, you contribute to strengthening young people's skills, enhancing their understanding about Free Software, and helping them to develop crucial competencies like time management.

Watch Reinhard Wisesmann, founder of the Linuxhotel and the Vielrespekt Stiftung, an inspiring donor, who explains why YH4F is so rewarding for him. Winning a similar contest in his youth helped him to found his first company.

Forty years ago, Reinhard Wiesemann won a hacking competition for young people. He used the money from his cash prize to advance his professional development. Youth Hacking 4 Freedom has been financially supported with donations by Reinhard Wiesemann, Linuxhotel, and Vielrespektzentrum.

Youth Hacking 4 Freedom is more than just your average programming competition. Young people get in contact with other like-minded teenagers from all over Europe while also learning more about licensing, Free Software, and programming. There are different sponsorship levels available with various benefits for your company or organisation. For more information get in contact with us via email – we are happy to hear from you!

Support FSFE

Apple gegen EU-Kommission: Die FSFE interveniert zum Schutz von Freier Software

Die Free Software Foundation Europe beteiligt sich an einem Rechtsstreit zwischen Apple und der Europäischen Kommission vor dem Europäischen Gerichtshof. Apple versucht, DMA-Verpflichtungen in Bezug auf seinen App Store und die Interoperabilität seines Betriebssystems zu umgehen. Ziel der FSFE ist es, Freie Software vor monopolistischer Unternehmenskontrolle zu schützen.

" Bei Apple ist der Wurm drin: Die FSFE interveniert, um die Softwarefreiheit zu schützen. CC-BY-SA 4.0 von Rahak für die FSFE

Der Europäische Gerichtshof (CJEU) hat der FSFE offiziell erlaubt, dem Rechtsstreit zwischen Apple und der Europäischen Kommission beizutreten. Apple möchte mit dem Verfahren verhindern, dass das Unternehmen als "Gatekeeper" unter dem Digital Markets Act (DMA) bezeichnet wird. Das Unternehmen hat eine aggressive Politik gegen Software-Freiheit und Interoperabilität verfolgt und versucht, die Durchsetzung des DMA zu verhindern. Der DMA ist ein Gesetz, das die Fairness und die Anfechtbarkeit auf den digitalen Märkten erhöhen soll, indem es das wirtschaftliche Verhalten sehr großer Technologiekonzerne reguliert.

"Die FSFE vertritt in diesem Fall die Perspektive der Zivilgesellschaft, was das Gerichtsverfahren bereichert. Dies ermöglicht es dem Gericht, fundierte Entscheidungen zu treffen", sagt Dr. Martin Husovec, der Anwalt, der die FSFE vor Gericht vertritt.

Die Intervention der FSFE zielt darauf ab, die Anwendung des DMA auf Apple aufrechtzuerhalten und die Stimme der Freie-Software-Gemeinschaft gegen die unfairen Praktiken des Unternehmens zu erheben. Freie Software-Projekte sind unverhältnismäßig stark von den monopolistischen Praktiken des Unternehmens betroffen. Apples Gebührenpolitik, die strikte Anbieterbindung, das Verbot von Side-Loading und die Beschränkung alternativer App-Stores stellen unüberwindbare Hindernisse für die Softwarefreiheit dar.

“Sich gegen einen Konzerngiganten wie Apple zu stellen, der über Milliarden von Euro verfügt, um die Softwarefreiheit zu behindern, spiegelt das Engagement der FSFE wider, offene und wettbewerbsfähige digitale Umgebungen zu bewahren. Die Intervention der FSFE ist von grundlegender Bedeutung für die Geräteneutralität, da sie sicherstellt, dass Nutzer und Entwickler nicht an proprietäre Systeme gebunden sind und Software frei wählen und frei nutzen können. Die Annahme des Antrags der FSFE durch das Gericht unterstreicht die Bedeutung von Freier Software und Interoperabilität nicht nur für digitale Märkte, sondern auch für die Freiheit der Nutzer, ein offenes Internet und die digitale Demokratie", so Lucas Lasota, Leiter des Rechtsprogramms der FSFE.

Im Zuge der Aufnahme der FSFE in das Verfahren stellte das Gericht fest, dass "der Fall wahrscheinlich eine erhebliche Auswirkung auf [...] das Angebot von Freier Software, den freien Informationsaustausch und die Chancengleichheit beim Zugang zu Software haben wird". Außerdem erkannte das Gericht an, dass für den Fall, dass die Einstufung als "Gatekeeper" durch die Kommission für nichtig erklärt würde, [...] "ein solches Ergebnis Auswirkungen auf die Möglichkeit für Entwickler von Anwendungsprogrammen oder Freier Software hätte, ihre Anwendungen kostenlos mit Apples Betriebssystem iOS zu verbinden, was wiederum die Fähigkeit der FSFE beeinträchtigen würde, solche Software weiterzuentwickeln und an eine möglichst breite Öffentlichkeit zu verbreiten".

Im nächsten Schritt des Verfahrens wird die FSFE nun bis Mitte September ihre Stellungnahme einreichen. Weitere Updates werden auf fsfe.org veröffentlicht.

Support FSFE

Apple vs EU Commission: the FSFE intervenes to safeguard Free Software

The Free Software Foundation Europe is intervening in a litigation brought by Apple against the European Commission before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The case relates to Digital Markets Act, with Apple seeking to avoid obligations related to its App Store and the interoperability of its operating systems. The FSFE aims to hold Apple accountable under the DMA to protect Free Software against monopolistic corporate control.

More detailed information will follow beginning next week

Support FSFE

European Commission needs to come up with dedicated budget for Free Software solutions

After the recent news that funding for the Next Generation Internet initiative would be cut for the next phase of Horizon Europe, the European Commission has expressed vague support for Free Software. Unfortunately it is failing to provide concrete examples on how to do so. This has highlighted the fragility of funding for Software Freedom and the need for change in the long-term.

A couple of weeks ago, we shared the news that the European Commission has made the decision to stop funding the Next Generation Internet initiative (NGI) in its then current draft for the Horizon Europe 2025 Work Programme. Since 2018, the European Commission has supported the Free Software ecosystem s through NGI, that provided funding and technical assistance to Free Software projects. The FSFE has always been a part of this initiative as a consortium member in the NGI Zero (NGI0) sub-group, where we provide legal and licensing support to hundreds of Free Software projects funded by the initiative.

Update from the European Commission: nice words but not long-term plan

The FSFE community has reached to the EU institutions and the Head of Unit of Next Generation Internet (DG CNECT), answered. In this letter, it is stated that the European Commission intends to support Free Software solutions, but it is not clear how and if there will be a budget for it:

“The Commission will continue to support Open-Source solutions and the community supported in the NGI programme, in various initiatives notably to harness its potential to contribute to the transition of digital networks to a Connected and collaborative computing and the evolution towards Web 4.0. Both topics are present in the draft 2025 work programme to be approved by relevant Committee of Member States and Associated Countries.”

While this is not a confirmation of renewed funding support for the NGI initiative, it does indicate a vague level of intent to continue supporting Software Freedom and Free Software development in the EU. Nevertheless, without any concrete programmes where this funding can go, and how it will be disbursed to grass-roots organizations that support Software Freedom, the future of financial support for Free Software in the EU remains sadly uncertain.

Sustainable funding needed

This development unfortunately exposes a larger issue: that software freedom in the EU needs more secure, long-term financial support. That this funding could so easily be left out of the Work Programme discussions demonstrates how precarious its position has been all along. Software Freedom needs to be consistently supported with public funds, and such support should not be easily displaced by decision-making that favours popular trends in technological development.

Pressure helps – continue your efforts

This statement from the European Commission is a sign that our persistence as well as from our community and various organizations about the lack of proposed funding for NGI’s future has effect. Following the news of the proposed cut in funding last month, there was an outcry by us and from other Free Software organizations about how this would negatively impact Free Software development in the EU.

Nevertheless, more work is definitely needed to continue to push for funding support for NGI and Free Software. This is why the FSFE is already in touch with various EU officials and decision-makers to make sure this funding is secured for the future, and we call for you to do the same to keep the pressure on the EC high on this topic.

Reach the European Commission to ask for a sustainable funding

The reply from the European Commission shows that individual actions are helpful: since our last news item on this subject, as we’ve already seen how contacting officials has been helpful to shift opinions. As the allocation of funds for Horizon EU 2025 is still going on, there is still a chance to get funds available for NGI:

• Continue to contact Ursula von der Leyen (President EU Commission), and/or DG Connect, to ask them to make the funds available.
• Help us make member states aware of and understand this issue. Contact your National Contact Point (NCP) and persuade them to also advocate for the NGI funds to be made available.

Did you receive a response?If so, we kindly ask you to also share these responses with us at contact@fsfe.org.

Support FSFE

EU cuts funding for FS +++ Router Freedom +++ SFP

The EC is planning to cut its funding to NGI projects, while in Belgium a court has supported end-users’ Router Freedom rights. We also submitted feedback on the NIS2 implementation; learnt about Linqa, a Free Software platform developed with public money; and gathered with volunteers at the Summer Meeting. Listen to our new SFP episode.

Table of contents

• Quote of the Month
• EC cuts funding support for Free Software projects
• Take action! Ask EU representatives to fund Free Software
• NIS2: Protecting the Free Software ecosystem in implementation
• Belgian court’s decision impacts the future of Router Freedom
• Linqa: a Free Software bilingual collaboration platform developed with public money
• SFP#25: MirageOS and OCaml with Hannes Mehnert and Matthias Kirschner
• Join us at FrOSCon
• Contribute to our Newsletter

Quote of the Month

“We therefore call for these funds to be made available again immediately and for funding to be secured in the medium to long term. This is the only way to successfully drive the digitalisation of Europe forward."

FSFE statement about EC plans to cut NGI funding

EC cuts funding support for Free Software projects

The Next Generation Internet initiative has supported Free Software projects with funding and technical assistance since 2018. Despite its proven success, the European Commission made the decision to cut this funding in the current draft for the Horizon Europe 2025 Work Programme. This decision highlights the larger problem of the lack of motivated and sustainable public funding for Free Software projects.

We therefore call for these funds to be made available again immediately and for funding to be secured in the medium to long term. This is the only way to successfully drive the digitalisation of Europe forward.

Take action! Ask EU representatives to fund Free Software

We need sustainable, secure, and dedicated funding for NGI and Free Software solutions that help Europe to control its technology!

Help us to make our EU representatives aware of it! The budget decision is not yet official - so there is still a chance to allocate funds for NGI. It is therefore very important to contact Ursula von der Leyen (President of the EU Commission) and DG Connect to ask them to make the funds available. You can also contact your National Contact Point (NCP) and persuade them to also advocate for the NGI funds to be made available.

Another way is by supporting us with a donation so we can continue advocating for software freedom.

Donate now

NIS2: Protecting the Free Software ecosystem in implementation

Together with NLnet Labs and the Open Source Security Foundation, the FSFE submitted feedback on the NIS2 Implementation Act, pointing to the need to protect the European Free Software ecosystem.

Belgian court’s decision impacts the future of Router Freedom

A Belgian court has upheld the decision of the country’s regulator to introduce Router Freedom for fiber networks. The objections, raised by a local internet service provider, were deemed unfounded. This landmark decision represents a significant victory for consumer rights, and we urge other national regulators to follow this example.

More about this

During the 2024 FSFE Summer Meeting, attendees had the chance to discuss together about the current status of EU policy in regards with Free Software. Volunteers had also the chance to solve their doubts as well as provide ideas about how to take part in it.

Linqa: a Free Software bilingual collaboration platform developed with public money

Linqa is a bilingual collaboration platform whose code is Free Software and was developed using public money. It helps the daily work of the Franco-German Forum for the Future, a public institution that fosters collaboration among actors in France and Germany. We dive into the roots of Linqa with the people behind it.

SFP#25: MirageOS and OCaml with Hannes Mehnert and Matthias Kirschner

For our 25th episode of the Software Freedom Podcast we are happy to welcome Hannes Mehnert, one of the MirageOS core developers. Matthias Kirschner, president of the FSFE, and Hannes talk about MirageOS. This episode gives an overview of everything from the basics to the future of MirageOS.

FSFE Summer Meeting 2024! As in 2023, staff and volunteers gathered at the LinuxHotel for a weekend full of surprises, talks, and workshops, and of course a lot of fun. For the second year in a row, the FSFE organised this meeting to inform our volunteers first-hand about our activities and initiatives as well as to gather their feedback and ideas.

Join us at FrOSCon

Once again, this August we will be attending FrOSCon in Sankt Augustin. During 17 and 18 August our team and volunteers will be present with a booth and several talks.

Also, the local FSFE group in Bonn is hosting a community get-together the evening before! So even if you cannot make it to FrOSCon, join them on 16 August!

Contribute to our Newsletter

We would love to hear from you. If you have any thoughts, pictures, or news to share, please send them to us at newsletter@fsfe.org. You can also support us, contribute to our work, and join our community. We would like to thank our community and all the volunteers, supporters, and donors who make our work possible, with a special mention to our translators who make it possible for you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.

Your editor, Ana

Support FSFE

Linqa: a Free Software bilingual collaboration platform developed with public money

Linqa is a bilingual collaboration platform whose code is Free Software and developed using public money. It helps the daily work of the Franco-German Forum for the Future, a public institution that fosters collaboration among actors in France and Germany. We dive into the roots of Linqa with the people behind it.

To learn how Linqa started and how it works we talked with the CEO of the organization that commissioned this platform, Lale Eckardt, the co-founder of the company that developed it, Juergen Neumann, and Linqa Project Lead, Robin Denz.

FSFE: First of all, can you explain what is Linqa?

Juergen Neumann (DMX co-founder*): Linqa is a simple web-based whiteboard application with automatic translation between two languages. Editors can create and upload bilingual content, e.g. notes or PDFs, and arrange it within workspaces. Each workspace has dedicated members, who can discuss and comment on these contents in their native language in a chat panel. All content is visible in both languages and can be re-edited to manually improve the automatic translation.

*DMX develops dmx – the context machine, a Free Software semantic data platform. DMX developed Linqa for the Franco-German Forum for the Future.

FSFE: What brought you to develop a platform like Linqa?

Robin Denz (Linqa Project Lead): The development of Linqa was spurred by the necessity to enhance collaboration steered by the Franco-German Forum for the Future. With the aim of strengthening bilateral relations and promoting sustainable transformation, we facilitate dialogues among local initiatives, public administrators, civil society, and academia. In co-creative processes with a wide array of experts, we elaborate actionable policy recommendations for both governments. For this, we needed a platform that could transcend language barriers and streamline our complex work processes. Partnering with DMX to create Linqa allowed us to tailor a solution that meets our specific needs.

FSFE: Compared to fully proprietary solutions, which is the main benefit of this tool?

Juergen Neumann: Linqa provides an easy-to-use solution to communicate and collaborate across language barriers in bilingual teams. While many other platforms are cloud-based services that tend to make money out of the users’ data, Linqa is Free Software and can be self-hosted. The automatic translations in Linqa are currently done using DeepL’s EU-based translation service (which is proprietary, ndr).

FSFE: DeepL is proprietary. Do you have any plans to change this dependency? Which option do you see to address this?

Juergen Neumann: The fact that Linqa depends on DeepL was driven by the client's requirements for very accurate automatic translations in alignment with data protection requirements, as we found them in their public tendering back in 2021. Unfortunately, by that time we did not know of any comparable and suitable Free Software based option to replace their service. Luckily we can find promising candidates these days. We are in the process of evaluating LibreTranslate as an alternative service.

FSFE: Why did you decide to develop a platform whose code is Free Software?

Juergen Neumann: Since the founders of DMX Systems have been Free Software advocates early on, we have chosen a Free Software license from the very beginning. When you start to develop code, you immediately understand that writing software is all about sharing knowledge. That’s why we think that the resulting code should be licensed as Free Software as well. In addition to that, we think that Free Software, Open Standards and open interfaces are the only way to effectively avoid a vendor lock-in. They can be seen as catalysts to encourage people to join efforts. We think this is especially relevant for public administrations spending public money. That’s why we always try to convince our clients to stay the course and join the Free Software environment with their requirements and investments.

The transparency of the code and algorithms allows to investigate how the software was made and how it works. The code is no black box: improvements by others are not only possible, but explicitly welcome.

FSFE: What is the main benefit of LInqa being developed as Free Software for the Franco-German Forum for the Future?

Robin Denz: The main benefit of developing Linqa as Free Software lies in its potential for widespread adoption and adaptation. The Franco-German Forum for the Future has a very specific use of the Linqa platform, which follows from our particular methodology and the people we work with. We get exactly what we need with Linqa but still its potential goes beyond our specific use case. So, I am excited and curious to see how other organisations can make use of its different functions in other fields than the one of Franco-German sustainable governance. For instance, in the humanitarian sector. By making the platform Free Software, we empower other non-profit actors and organizations to leverage its capabilities for their specific domains and requirements. This not only enhances its utility beyond our immediate use case but also encourages a community of users to contribute improvements and innovations, enriching the platform for all users.

FSFE: Which role do you think Free Software has in developing this kind of projects, commissioned with public money?

Robin Denz: Free Software plays a crucial role in projects like Linqa by fostering transparency, accessibility, and community-driven innovation. Knowing that a software like Linqa can benefit a wide array of other non-profit actors can act as a strong legitimization for putting public money in this kind of projects. For us, it meant to be able to customize and extend the platform according to our evolving needs without being constrained by proprietary limitations. Moreover, the ethos of Free Software aligns with our mission of promoting collaboration and knowledge sharing across borders, ensuring that our tools remain inclusive and adaptable to diverse contexts.

FSFE: What challenges did you have to face when developing Linqa?

Juergen Neumann: The first challenge is about licensing: Since there are very many different software licenses, it can be difficult to find out if you can actually publish your code - including the external libraries – under the terms and conditions of your desired license.

The second challenge is about money: Still too few individuals and organizations understand the challenges of the Free Software ecosystem. To develop and maintain good code, you need skilled people who all need to make a living. If individuals and especially organizations were willing to spend more money on Free Software instead of proprietary software, it would be beneficial to all.

Also, for us as a company, finding investors often feels much harder, because our business model does not include intellectual property but is free and open to all.

FSFE: What would you say to other companies that are not aware of the benefits of Free Software?

Robin Denz: I would emphasize that choosing Free Software for your project not only aligns with principles of openness and collaboration but also offers practical advantages. It can foster innovation through collective intelligence and enable rapid customization to meet specific needs. Moreover, Free Software encourages ethical considerations such as data privacy and security, which are increasingly critical in today's digital landscape. All in all, Free Software helps empowering organizations to build robust, community-supported solutions that can benefit society as a whole.

FSFE: Some years ago, the FSFE launched the “Public Money? Public Code!” initiative. With it we ask that software paid by taxpayers’ money should be released as Free Software. What is the role of Free Software in an organisation like the Franco-German Forum for the Future?

Lale Eckardt (Franco-German Forum for the Future CEO): The Franco-German Forum for the Future is rooted in the Treaty of Aachen signed by the two governments in 2019. We are thankful that the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF), which finances our work on the German side, was supportive of an experimental approach. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided against jumping to conclusions and developing a run-of-the-mill platform just to tick off digital engagement. Instead, we took our time trying to understand where in our specific work and dialogue process a digital tool can offer significant value and how. With Linqa we have a tailored tool whose strength lies in its specificity and simplicity. And I think that is why Linqa is gathering interest from other organisations as well.

FSFE: How was the procurement process regarding Linqa? Was there a public tender or direct contact with DMX? Was it easy to procure Free Software? Do you think is there a way to make it simpler to help the procurement of Free Software tools in public administration?

Lale Eckardt: Of course, we put the development of our platform out to public tender, with DMX submitting the most competitive offer. Free Software development was not specified in the tender but emerged as an idea through our cooperation with DMX. The main challenge for procurement processes of this complexity is finding a middle ground between specificity and openness. On the one hand, as the contracting authority, we need to be as specific as possible about our needs. This ensures fair competition and reliable offers. On the other hand, we wanted to remain open to learning from and with the service provider, as well as critically assessing our hypotheses during the development process. To balance these two aspects, we aimed to clearly define the functionalities we envisioned for the platform without fixing too many technical details.

FSFE: What would you say to other public administrations that want to develop software? Would you recommend them to follow the Public Money? Public Code! principle?

Lale Eckardt: If the money spent on developing software from within public administration or in publicly funded project like ours can not only make public administration more efficient but also, through its availability as Free Software, strengthen our digital infrastructure in the public interest, than that is good news for our democracies!

The “Public Money? Public Code! (PMPC)” initiative aims to establish Free Software as the standard for publicly funded software. Promoted by the Free Software Foundation Europe, PMPC is supported by over 200 organizations and administrations, and more than 35.000 individuals. You can also support the campaign signing the Open Letter and with a donation to support this work.

Support FSFE

EC cuts funding support for Free Software projects

The Next Generation Internet initiative has supported Free Software projects with funding and technical assistance since 2018. Despite its proven success, the European Commission made the decision to cut this funding in the current draft for the Horizon Europe 2025 Work Programme. This decision highlights the larger problem of the lack of motivated and sustainable public funding for Free Software projects.

The Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative has been a project of the European Commission’s (EC) Horizon Europe programme since 2018. It provides funding for scientific research and innovation that can improve the Internet as a platform, including for the development of Free Software. The FSFE has always been a part of this initiative as a consortium member in the NGI Zero (NGI0) sub-group, where we provide legal and licensing support to more than 400 Free Software projects funded by the initiative.

As the EC works on the future plans for Horizon Europe, the FSFE is disappointed to learn that NGI is no longer mentioned as part of the plans for the Horizon Europe funding drafts and work programmes for 2025. The lack of public funding to such crucial technologies negatively impacts not only Free Software but the whole future of the Internet.

A blow to the vast NGI ecosystem

NGI is structured to support a large number of organizations and individuals working on open digital technologies, through open calls and a cascade funding system. Through this system, the NGI allocates its budget to fund crucial open technologies of the Internet. Open assets include Free Software, Open Hardware, Open Data, Privacy Enhancing Technologies, AI, networking, and many more. Under the previous Horizon Europe Cluster 4 Work Programme, spanning from 2023-2025, €27 million have been allocated to these projects.

The FSFE has over the past years seen the wide array of Free Software projects funded by NGI, that support, in their mission, values that promote privacy, security, diversity in opinion and participation, as well as choice in the digital sphere, among others. These are values we view to support democratic participation online, and to enable users to better control their digital technology. NGI funding support was also crucial for the FSFE to develop better copyright and licensing practices for software projects, making compliance easier for everyone.

This cascade funding system is however not renewed in the current draft proposal for Horizon Europe 2025, which will have the unfortunate effect of depriving many Free Software projects (and other types of beneficial research and innovation projects) of vital funding. This has us worried about the future of many of these ongoing grassroots level Free Software (and other) projects.

Where did the funding go?

An impact study finds that NGI projects have been immensely positive in providing funding and technical support for a diverse range of open projects, and in fostering an internet ecosystem that respects digital rights, promotes sustainability, and upholds EU legislation and values. Indeed, in practical terms, the study also notes that from the over 1,000 projects that received funding, 57% offer “viable alternatives to existing market solutions”, and 74% continue to operate post-funding.

Given these positives achieved by the NGI initiative at large, it is disappointing and baffling to see the decision to discontinue funding for it. Without the Horizon Europe 2025 umbrella, NGI is now left without alternative funding, which will harm the Free Software ecosystem and therefore, EU innovation. The reasons for this shift in budget away from funding Free Software and the NGI initiative seems to be an allocation of more funds for AI, leaving internet infrastructure by the wayside. Meanwhile, the EC has thus far declined to comment to share its official reasoning for striking this funding from its budget.

The future of an open Internet needs public funding

Funding is an important component in nurturing new Free Software technologies, and often makes the difference for whether a Free Software project is able to survive, succeed, or fall into abandonware. This is a particular problem because large parts of our infrastructure are based on these projects, as they guarantee the necessary independence and resilience. Cancelling funding means curtailing our own autonomy. This debate once again demonstrates a fundamental problem: We need sustainable, secure, and dedicated funding for NGI and Free Software solutions that help Europe to control its technology.

With the EU attempting to create fairer and more competitive markets with the Digital Markets Act, boosting alternative business models that challenge large, monopolistic, and consolidated digital platforms (also known as “gatekeepers”) is essential. Free Software is key for achieving such ambitious objectives. Public money is therefore more important than ever to support Free Software alternatives in internet infrastructure. It is impossible to achieve Device Neutrality, and a free and open internet without the commitment of the public sector to maintain a vigorous and sustainable ecosystem of viable and real-life tested software alternatives that can disentrench gatekeepers.

We therefore call for these funds to be made available again immediately and for funding to be secured in the medium to long term. This is the only way to successfully drive the digitalisation of Europe forward.

What you can do to help

The budget decision is not yet official - so there is still a chance to allocate funds for NGI. It is therefore very important to contact Ursula von der Leyen (President EU Commission), DG Connect, to ask them to make the funds available.

Pressure is also needed from member states. Contact your National Contact Point (NCP) and persuade them to also advocate for the NGI funds to be made available.

Support FSFE

CRA and NIS2: Protecting Free Software ecosystem in implementation

Together with NLnet Labs and the Open Source Security Foundation, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) submitted feedback on the NIS2 implementation act, pointing to the need of protecting the European Free Software ecosystem.

The NIS2 implementation act, with its cyber security regulations and implementing decisions, is also addressing Free Software ecosystem in Europe. It is therefore crucial that these measures, while contributing to cyber security, do not hamper Free Software development, especially as Free Software is a strong component in the cyber security area.

“It is important to recognise the special nature of Free Software development and the Free Software ecosystem and its role in the software supply chain. Implementation needs to be proportionate and effective”, states Alexander Sander, FSFE.

In this sense, the FSFE, together with NLnet Labs and the Open Source Security Foundation, jointly provided feedback to the consultation on the European Commission’s draft NIS2 Implementing Act concerning "Cybersecurity risk management & reporting obligations for digital infrastructure, providers and ICT service managers" (launched on 27 June).

We raised our concerns about the focus on business to business (B2B) relationships. Complex software products, which are at the core of services of the digital infrastructure sector of NIS2, are often published by independent individuals, not-for-profit actors or academic organisations. In this case, beyond the freedoms granted by Free Software licences, no relationship exists between developer ('direct supplier') and an entity in scope for NIS2.

The FSFE actively participates in regulation processes such as consultations, attends hearings and is in close dialogue with decision-makers in the EU to make sure cyber security regulation does not hamper Free Software development. If you are negatively affected by the implementation of CRA and NIS2, please contact us.

Donate now

Support FSFE

Belgian court’s decision impacts the future of Router Freedom

In an historic ruling within the EU, a Belgian court has upheld the decision of the country’s regulator to introduce Router Freedom for fiber networks. The objections, raised by a local internet service provider, were deemed unfounded. This landmark decision represents a significant victory for consumer rights, and we urge other national regulators to follow this example.

Internet services providers (ISPs) have been pushing back in different ways to limit the ability of end-users to choose and use their own routers for internet connection. After a thorough regulatory process which officially confirmed Router Freedom in Belgium, the local ISP Orange contested the decision of the Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT) alleging lack of proportionality. Although past court cases in other countries have been decided in favour of end-users, the Orange vs the BIPT case represents an important victory for Router Freedom: this is the first time a court refers to fiber networks from the perspective of the regulatory framework established by the 2020 reform of the telecommunications law in Europe.

Orange’s allegations rebutted by the court

In September 2023, the BIPT, following the BEREC guidelines, defined the position of the “network termination point“. This means that routers, modems and optical network terminals (ONT) would not be part of the ISPs’ infrastructure, opening up the possibility for freedom of choice in the equipment market. The regulatory decision encompassed fiber networks, following by a comprehensive technical, economical and legal analysis conducted by the regulator.

Orange questioned the Belgian regulator decision’s regarding the position of the NTP, which introduced Router Freedom in the country. Source: BEREC

Soon after the publication of the decision, Orange started litigation at the Market Court in Brussels against the regulator, listing a long list of arguments against the decision:

• The BIPT was not diligent in the decision-making process;
• The BIPT insufficiently researched the market and technical situation in Belgium to decide to place the NTP at Point A;
• The decision should be reversed because it violates proportionality. The market situation in Belgium is different from other countries that decided in favour of Router Freedom. Instead, Point B should have been chosen;
• Orange was under the assumption that the BIPT would choose Point B, therefore violated its trust;
• The decision was not technology-neutral because it excluded other terminal equipment (like TV decoders) from its scope.

The court dismissed all Orange’s arguments as unfounded, confirming the BIPT’s decision to introduce Router Freedom in Belgium by defining the position of the NTP at Point A. The court ruled that:

• Although the court has the authority to check the legitimacy of the regulator’s decision, it should not regulate in its place. In any case, the BIPT has not violated the principles of proper governance and was diligent in following the regulatory framework proposed by BEREC, in particular the Guidelines for the Identification of the NTP;
• The BIPT was not unreasonable to set the NTP at Point A, as Orange stated multiple times. Instead, the regulator acted diligently and took into account the different technologies (cable, copper, fibre). The BIPT determined that there are no objective technological reasons to limit freedom of terminal equipment. The purpose of setting the NTP at point A is to create a framework that stimulates competition;
• Deciding in favour of Point A was proportionate. The regulator diligently analysed competition in the equipment market; the costs for operators and the service provision, sustainability and energy consumption aspects. Orange did not provide concrete data to demonstrate that the BIPT insufficiently researched technological necessities to limit freedom of terminal equipment. The situation in each country is indeed different. That’s why regulators are required by BEREC to assess whether there are objective criteria to limit this freedom: the BIPT’s comprehensive assessment demonstrated that there are none;
• The BIPT has not violated the trust of the operators. It is not sufficient for Orange to claim that their own concrete interest is better served with a different outcome than the one proposed by the BIPT (limiting Router Freedom at Point A). The BIPT did not arbitrarily determine the position of the NTP;
• Media boxes and TV decoders are not the same as routers and modems, so they should be treated differently.

The FSFE emphasises the importance of this ruling as the court has not only clarified the procedural aspects, but confirmed the Belgian regulator's diligence in analysing all the market, technical and sustainability aspects concerning Router Freedom. It should be highlighted that the court reaffirmed the BIPT’s conclusion that no technological necessity to limit Router Freedom in fiber networks was found. This resonates with FSFE’s demands that ISPs’ commercial interests should not prevail over consumer rights. This ruling should serve as an precedent for other EU member states who have argued the existence of such technological constraints in fiber networks.

The future of Router Freedom is under attack, help us safeguarding it

For many years ISPs have been pushing back in different manners to limit the ability of end-users to choose and use their own routers for internet connection. Their lobbying power has been intense against Router Freedom in fiber networks. Countries like Austria and Latvia have prioritized operators’ interests by not safeguarding end-users’ freedom of routers, while others like Greece and Croatia have promoted a compromise by allowing Router Freedom in DSL and coax but excluding fiber. Particularly concerning are countries, like Germany, which have positively decided in the past in favour of Router Freedom but are facing pressure from ISPs to exclude fiber networks.

The FSFE is the only civil-society organisation that systematically monitors and advocates in favour of Router Freedom across Europe. We have intervened in key regulatory processes, and articulated alliances and coalitions with local digital rights groups, industry representatives and consumer protection organisations. We have participated in dozens of conferences and events in Europe, and have been quoted by the media, think tanks and academics.

Most importantly, we are aiming at the future. Our advocacy does not expire in the short term. We are committed to Device Neutrality as we believe everyone should be able to bypass gatekeepers – these small or large corporations blocking their rights – to run Free Software on their devices. For example, while Apple is hampering software freedom on smartphones, ISPs prohibit subscribers to have their own routers running Free Software operating systems.

An open, healthy and neutral Internet needs Router Freedom, as this freedom refers to the hardware layer of Net Neutrality. Indeed, Router Freedom was considered a top priority by a study on the future of the Net Neutrality Regulation commissioned by the EC last year. The study cited the FSFE in several parts.

New challenges are appearing in the horizon. Next year the EU will assess its telecom legislation that tasked BEREC to develop the guidelines on the NTP. In parallel, as the importance of satellite networks grows, it is not clear how regulators will react to lack of freedom of choice among proprietary devices.

Router Freedom is key for an open and neutral Internet. We have achieved so much in the last five years balancing the power of ISPs to promote software freedom in routers and modems! Your support is vital for our advocacy and policy engagement in favour of your right to choose and use your own router. Please become an FSFE supporter today and help us keep our independence! Donate now

A big shout out for the FSFE Benelux Team for the amazing work in translating the lengthy and complex court decision!

Support FSFE

SFP#25: MirageOS und OCaml mit Hannes Mehnert und Matthias Kirschner

Für unsere 25te Episode des Software Freedom Podcast freuen wir uns Hannes Mehnert, einer der MirageOS Hauptentwickler, begrüßen zu dürfen. Zusammen mit Matthias Kirschner, President der FSFE, spricht Hannes über MirageOS, OCaml und Modulare Systeme. Diese Folge gibt einen Überblick von den Grundlagen bis zur Zukunft von MirageOS.

Als einer der Hauptentwickler vonMirageOS hat Hannes Mehrnert ein umfangreiches Verständnis der Funktionsweise des Programmierrahmens und seiner Module. Er und Matthias sprechen über die Verwendung von MirageOS, seine Finanzierung und wie du MirageOS als Freiwillige*r unterstützen kannst. Außerdem sprechen beide über die funktionale Programmiersprache OCaml, die Grundlage auf der alles aufgebaut ist. Höre dir eine spannende Folge mit Hannes und Matthias an, während du mehr über MirageOS, modulare Systeme, reproduzierbare Builds und funktionale Programmierung lernst.

Die perfekte Episode für alle, die gerne mehr über MirageOS und modulare Systeme lernen wollen!

Show notes

• MirageOS
• OCaml, eine funktionale Programmiersprache
• Folge Hannes auf Mastodon
• Xen Projekt
• Nächste Generation Internet Zero
• Indian cuisine Das Curry Buch und funktionales Programmieren
• robur Coop

Wenn dir diese Folge gefallen hat und du unsere kontinuierliche Arbeit für Softwarefreiheit unterstützen möchtest, hilf uns bitte mit einer Spende.

Support FSFE

DMA & Apple +++ Openwashing, EU infrastucture & more

The July issue is full of news! We continue to monitor and raise our concerns about DMA compliance. We call upon the EU to use Free Software for its digital infrastructure and are asking for your experiences with openwashing. And we also bring you updates on REUSE, YH4F, Ada & Zangemann...

Table of contents

• Quote of the Month
• Defending DMA against Apple: The FSFE signs joint position paper
• Europe needs Free Software to master its digital infrastructure
• Save time and minimise licensing headaches with REUSE
• Share your views on openwashing with us!
• YH4F: end of the programming period
• “Érase una vez…“, Ada in Spanish!
• “They are young and they need the code”, Italian pilot project
• Individual regular supporters power our work day-to-day. We need your help to continue our work!
• I ♥ Free Software Day & SUSE OSCC network
• End of the Summer Sale
• Trento Open Festival,Tübix, Offenburg’s reading and Dev.Conf.CZ
• Contribute to our Newsletter

Quote of the Month

“I have received the package, the T-shirts are great. Thank you for including the stickers in the pack, your work is amazing".

A Free Software supporter who bought merchandise in our Summer Sale

Defending DMA against Apple: The FSFE signs joint position paper

Together with seven stakeholders organisations, the FSFE has submitted a joint position paper to the European Commission, with whom we are working on the implementation of the Digital Markets Act. This paper, supported by legal and data-backed arguments, addresses Apple’s non-compliance with the law, particularly concerning software freedom, alternative Free Software app stores and interoperability obligations.

Europe needs Free Software to master its digital infrastructure

The FSFE calls upon the European Commission to use Free Software to ensure a secure and resilient digital infrastructure. Also the economy, civil society and democracy will benefit from software freedom.

Save time and minimise licensing headaches with REUSE

REUSE helps make a project's licensing and copyright status more transparent, ensure that third-party code is properly attributed and make the project's code easily reusable. This tool is currently used worldwide and its specification has been adopted by several corporate and institutional projects. We spoke to Matija Šuklje of Liferay International, one of the companies that has adopted REUSE.

Share your views on openwashing with us!

We are working on the topic of openwashing to learn more about current market practices, and we need your help! Openwashing has become a growing issue for the Free Software community. Many companies claim to be working on "Open Source" or "Free Software", while at the same time distributing proprietary software products. We have already received many valuable responses, but more input is welcome! You can still share your views and experiences on openwashing.

Please spread the word!

YH4F: end of the programming period

The 2024 edition of Youth Hacking 4 Freedom has reached its peak with the end of the programming period. After six months of working on their projects, the young participants of this third edition submitted their projects at the end of June. Now it is the turn of the YH4F jury to evaluate the submissions and choose the six projects that will be awarded prizes in Brussels in October. Keep up to date with our news! Meanwhile, take a closer look at one of our winning projects from last year, ArduPlot.

Interested in participating in the next edition? You can already register!

“Érase una vez…“, Ada in Spanish!

Thanks to the Volkswagen Group in Spain, the story of Ada & Zangemann is now being printed in Spanish! The company will be distributing 500 copies to its employees and, from September, its STEM team will be embarking on a 'STEM tour', visiting schools in several Spanish cities around the country to distribute the book. We can't wait to hear more about these readings and the children's feedback! And maybe this translation of the book will find a publisher soon, so that it can make its way into bookshops!

Besides, Ada ready-to-go slides are currently available in Spanish and Portuguese! These resources are really helpful when doing a reading.

“They are young and they need the code”, Italian pilot project

With its kick-off online meeting last month, the FSFE has started a pilot project in Italy to educate primary school kids about Free Software. This project is creating a set of tools for Italian volunteers to organize a pedagogic event with a reading of the book “Ada & Zangemann”.

If you are in Italy and you want to participate, please get in touch with the FSFE ItalyTelegram channel. Check out the recording of the kick-off session and download all the documentation and tools to kick off the project in your area!

Donate now

Individual regular supporters power our work day-to-day. We need your help to continue our work!

Our mission is in jeopardy due to lack of funding. Inflation has also hit us hard, so in order to continue to fight successfully for you and your freedom, we need individual, regular contributions.

To continue to be a thorn in the side of deep-pocketed tech giants and a watchdog for governments, it is important that individual regular donations are a cornerstone of our income so we keep our independence.

If you value our work and have the means to do so, please do not hesitate to make a donation; any amount you can contribute would really help us to continue to work consistently and tirelessly for Software Freedom.

I ♥ Free Software Day & SUSE OSCC network

We got an email, a few weeks ago, that caught our attention. It came with a donation explaining that it was made in the name of an employee network at SUSE. We decided to investigate and asked the people responsible, and we want to share this awesome story with you. (Note - this is also a great idea for an initiative to ask your company about).

End of the Summer Sale

Our summer sale is over and now is the time for us to restock! Remember that you can still order our merchandise online and also get it at our booth at several events! Also, if you are wearing our t-shirt and socks this summer, do not forget to post about it in your social media channels and tag us! We love to see our products all around the world, and it is a great way to spread the message about Free Software and Software Freedom!

Trento Open Festival,Tübix, Offenburg’s reading and Dev.Conf.CZ

The FSFE participated in the Trento Open Festival conference (Italy) giving some talks, participating in panel discussions and with reading of the book ‘Ada & Zangemann: a Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream'. Besides, the outcome of the ZOOOM project was validated with different stakeholders.

Also, the FSFE went to Tübingen (Germany) to participate in this yearly event around GNU/Linux and Free Software. We had a reading of the book ‘Ada & Zangemann: a Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream’ and a talk about banks and Free Software. And of course, a booth.

Last month, we also had an Ada & Zangemann reading, in Offenburg (Germany). The reading was opened by Offenburg's mayor and attended by more than 200 third graders in Offenburg's largest cinema. The 200 pupils had the chance to discuss the book with the author after the reading.

The illustrated book was also present at DevConf.CZ, where the FSFE shared experiences from readings, and discussed how to engage with younger audiences about Free Software https://www.offenburg.de/de/detail/nachricht-seite/id/19191-digitaltag-kommt-an/?default=true (DE)

Contribute to our Newsletter

We would love to hear from you. If you have any thoughts, pictures, or news to share, please send them to us at newsletter@fsfe.org. You can also support us, contribute to our work, and join our community. We would like to thank our community and all the volunteers, supporters, and donors who make our work possible, with a special mention to our translators who make it possible for you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.

Your editor, Ana

Support FSFE

Europe needs Free Software to master its digital infrastructure

The FSFE calls upon the European Commission to use Free Software to ensure a secure and resilient digital infrastructure. Software freedom will also benefit the economy, civil society and democracy.

The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) provided last evening its input to the European Commission's consultation on the white paper "How to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs?". As an advocate for software freedom, the FSFE underscores the crucial role of Free Software in building secure and resilient digital infrastructure for Europe while strengthening economy, democracy and civil society alike.

Challenges around digital infrastructure occur at global, regional and local levels, often revolving around control and access. Collaboration and openness are playing just as important role as the capability and skills to swiftly and effectively fix issues. Challenges addressed by the White paper could be addressed by redirecting IT investments in software freedom instead of procuring closed source, proprietary software. This approach not only boosts the European IT landscape and creates jobs but also saves costs and resources in the medium and long term by avoiding the need to repeatedly reinvent the the wheel.

“The European digital infrastructure, the European tech market, the IT skills of Europeans and civil society would greatly benefit if investments in software adhered to the principle of “Public money? Public Code!” We need software that fosters the sharing of good ideas and solutions. Like this we will be able to manage and improve IT services and digital infrastructure all over Europe. We need software that guarantees freedom of choice, access, and competition. We need software that helps public administrations regain full control of their critical digital infrastructure, allowing them to become and remain independent from a handful of companies. Therefore, laws and programs are needed, that publicly financed software developed for public sector must be made publicly available under a Free Software licence. Investment in the Free Software ecosystem will pay off quickly while strengthening Europe infrastructure, economy, democracy and civil society alike.” , demands Alexander Sander, FSFE’s Senior Policy Consultant.

The "Public Money? Public Code!" initiative aims to establish Free Software as the standard for publicly funded software. The "Public Money? Public Code!" initiative of the Free Software Foundation Europe is supported by over 200 organizations and administrations.

Support FSFE

Interview with last year's YH4F winner, Davide Rorato

After six months of programming there are only a few days left until the end of Youth Hacking 4 Freedom 2024. We are very excited to see this year's projects and to learn more about the participants and their work during the past months. Before we dive into the new projects, let us take a deeper look at last year's winner, Davide Rorato.

Davide presenting his winning project, 'ArduPlot', at the Award ceremony in Brussels, October 2023

Davide programmed the tool "ArduPlot", a real-time serial plotter that automatically adjusts itself to your use case. ArduPlot provides a nice graphical overview of the sensor data from any Arduino board. But let us hear all about ArduPlot from its developer.

FSFE: Hi Davide, thank you very much for your time. Before we learn more about "ArduPlot" we want to learn more about you and your skills. What was your first experience with programming, and how did you start learning to write code?

Davide: My first ever experience with programming was creating Automator scripts. Automator is an application that lets you create a sequence of actions such as keyboard presses and mouse movements that can be recorded and then played back without the need to write any code (it’s actually a lot more powerful but I used it in a very basic way).

The next thing I started to experiment with was coding on an Arduino UNO that I borrowed from my older brother. When it wasn't in use I would write simple programs by copying them from a book of ready-made projects and adapting them to suit my needs. This gradually evolved into me wanting to know more about programming and electronics, and a couple of years later, during summer vacation, I thought it would be fun to actually learn how to code, so I opened up YouTube and followed the first C++ tutorial I could find.

After getting accustomed to the basics, when I got an idea for a project, I would start coding until I found a problem I didn't know how to tackle. I then googled and tried every way possible to make the program work until it did.

FSFE: Can you remember when you first used Free Software?

Davide: I think my first contact with Free Software was with the OpenOffice suite, followed by the Arduino IDE. Of course at first I didn't realise what Free Software meant, and I was simply glad I could use the software for free, but as years passed I came to really appreciate the ethical principles of Free Software.

FSFE: How did you find out about this contest?

Davide: It was thanks to my IT teacher, who told my class about this contest when the first edition of YH4F started. I actually participated in the first edition of YH4F as well, but I didn’t manage to win, and seeing the quality of the projects that did it was clear why, they were amazing!

FSFE: Why did you decide to join YH4F?

Davide: The first year I decided to join because I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to do a bigger project, and in turn learn a lot of new things that I didn't have an opportunity to before. Had I not participated in the first edition, I wouldn’t have been able to create ArduPlot the following year.

For the second edition of the contest, I actually didn't have any plans to submit a project, but incidentally I had been working on ArduPlot to help with the debugging of a robot for a school project, so the day of the submission deadline I thought: “Well, I got nothing to lose so I might as well submit this!”. I can safely say I did not regret that decision!

ArduPlot graphical output of the input from an Arduino board

FSFE: And before we talk a bit more about ArduPlot, what did you enjoy the most about this contest?

Davide: The thing I enjoyed the most was the open-ended nature of the contest. Any type of Free Software can be created and submitted, with no restriction to a specific type or theme, letting everyone work on something they are passionate about at the moment.

FSFE:This is nice to hear, however we also know that this can be quite a challenge for some to find "their perfect project". Here as you said it is very important to find something you are passionate about, or a problem you want to fix. And of course, the YH4F team is there to help you to come up with an idea. Now for some more detailed questions about ArduPlot. Can you explain how ArduPlot works and how you came up with the idea?

Davide: I created ArduPlot from a need to analyse different types of data coming from a microcontroller for an autonomous robotics project one of my classmates and I were developing. The robot had all kinds of sensors on it, and we needed to split fast paced data from the sensors, that required a specific visualisation (line graph, heatmap), from the less frequent text logs. If these two things are mixed together in a single text console, it’s much harder to see what’s happening at a glance.

What ArduPlot does is split this data in two: when it recognises a data packet, it gets analysed and displayed as a visualisation. For any other case the data gets redirected to a text console.

FSFE: What was the biggest challenge or problem you faced when developing your idea?

Davide: The main challenge I faced was reading data from the microcontroller reliably, which meant reading, parsing and displaying it faster than the data coming in, which isn’t a problem with low data rates, but as they get higher issues start to appear if everything isn’t properly implemented.

FSFE:It sounds like you were already somehow familiar with microcontrollers before you started ArduPlot. Have you worked with the data from microcontrollers before?

Davide: Yes, but in past projects I didn’t need this type of detailed visual feedback. The Serial Plotter in the Arduino IDE sufficed most of the time, because I had a couple of sensors at most attached to the microcontroller.

FSFE: Are there any problems that ArduPlot has solved for you when working with this kind of data?

Davide: ArduPlot made it possible to see through the 'eyes' of the robot in real time and discover and fix bugs faster. For example, if a sensor got slightly moved and suddenly the robot started to work badly, we instantly knew what went wrong at a glance by looking at the data.

FSFE: What motivated you to keep working on ArduPlot during the programming period?

Davide: The main motivation was the fact that I actually needed the program I was developing, and without ArduPlot, debugging the code of the robot would have been much more time-consuming.

FSFE: Have you continued to work on your project in recent months?

Davide: Yes, but not as much as I wanted to. I have lots of ideas for features I want to implement (and bugs that need to be fixed) but during the past months I have been busy with other projects, and most importantly university, which I have prioritised.

Nevertheless, since the contest ended I’ve added Windows support, I fixed a couple of critical bugs, optimised heatmap rendering, added friendly USB device names alongside the serial device’s location on Linux and added serial output, which was the last thing keeping ArduPlot from reaching feature parity with the Arduino integrated serial terminal/plotter, but with the addition of other quality of life improvements, such as auto reconnect and, of course, the ability to plot graphs on demand!

FSFE: And last but not least, is there anything you would tell new participants to do or not to do?

Davide: Build something you are passionate about and that other people would find useful or cool, but most importantly have fun doing it!

FSFE:Thank you Davide for your time, it was a pleasure to meet you in the Youth Hacking 4 Freedom contest.

The 2024 edition of Youth Hacking 4 Freedom is still going on now! The coding period ends on 30 June. The next edition will start on 01.01.2025. You can already register now. Check out the YH4F website to find out all the details of this competition or feel free to reach out to the organisers via mail!

Support FSFE

Defending DMA against Apple: The FSFE signs joint position paper

Together with nine stakeholders organisations, the FSFE has submitted a joint position paper to the European Commission, with whom we are working on the implementation of the Digital Markets Act. This paper, supported by legal and data-backed arguments, addresses Apple’s non-compliance with the law, particularly concerning software freedom, alternative Free Software app stores and interoperability obligations.

CC-BY-SA 4.0. by Rahak for FSFE. Limitations to Free Software, vendor lock-in, and lack of control over personal data are current hurdles faced by end-users in digital markets

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulates large tech companies in the EU, setting the main rules for designating gatekeepers and enforcing their obligations. As a designated “gatekeeper”, Apple was required to present a strategy for complying with the DMA. Since March 2024, the European Commission (EC) has been investigating it for non-compliance.

Following a series of interventions, in order to assist the DMA enforcement procedure, the FSFE signed a joint position to the EC, highlighting the main problematic aspects of Apple in relation to Free Software.

As far as the FSFE is concerned, the main points relate to:

• Software freedom: By blocking side-loading of apps and the unfettered installation of alternative app stores, Apple is violating Art.6(4). Concretely, paragraph 4 obliges the gatekeeper to provide users with the possibility to easily install apps from other sources than the gatekeeper’s own software application store. Recital (41) clarifies that the gatekeeper is prohibited from undermining or restricting that possibility in any way.
• Vendor lock-in vs interoperability: By hampering effective interoperability with of hardware functions, the company is violating Art. 6(7). Apple has introduced an opaque and non-accountable system to grant interoperability that impedes Free Software projects to effectively access hardware and software functions of devices. The DMA prescribes the opposite: interoperability should be granted free of charge and effectively, so third parties can enjoy the same privileged access to hardware and software as the gatekeepers.

The FSFE welcomes the EC’s efforts in finding Apple to be in breach of the law. However, this is only the first step in a regulatory process aimed at reducing the company’s monopolistic control over devices.

Apple threatens Free Software – please help protecting software freedom!

The DMA includes several provisions directly impacting Free Software. It mandates “gatekeepers” to allow installing of software (sideloading), to enable alternative app stores and repositories to be used in devices, and several interoperability obligations, allowing third party developers to access the same hardware functions as the gatekeepers.

Apple’s unfair behaviour against Free Software highlights the critical need to monitor the implementation of the DMA. The FSFE collaborated with F-Droid, the AppFair project, and other interoperability experts to scrutinize Apple’s DMA compliance, and it’s impact on Free Software. Since then, we coordinated several expert workshops with stakeholders, discussed with regulators in FOSDEM, had official meetings with the EC’s DMA team, and submitted a comprehensive position to the EC detailing several problematic elements in the Apple compliance that will harm the Free Software.

Free Software is key for a democratic society and we should not allow gatekeepers to threaten our rights and freedoms. Apple has a huge revenue from blocking Free Software on iOS, and has dedicated a lot of resources to interpret the DMA as it deems fit. For instance, Apple publicly stated that iPhones and iPads are not general purpose computers, and users are not allowed to run the software they want.

Holding companies like Apple accountable under the DMA is a complicated, time-consuming and resource-intensive activity. It can even be a dangerous one as the risk of retaliation is real. We face it with courage and determination. If you are not yet an FSFE supporter, please join our cause today.

Defending Free Software against large corporations takes a long time, maybe more than a decade.Our long-term commitment includes engaging with Free Software communities across Europe, conducting research and analysis for legal and policy positions, participating in official hearings, and we are getting prepared to be involved in strategic litigation.

Inflation is hitting everyone, especially organizations like ours that rely on individual donations. Your regular support is vital to help us continue standing up to those who seek to circumvent the law and undermine our freedoms.

Donate now

Support FSFE

Save time and minimise licensing headaches with REUSE

REUSE helps make a project's licensing and copyright status more transparent, ensure that third-party code is properly attributed, and make the project's code easily reusable. This tool is currently used worldwide and its specification has been adopted by several corporate and institutional projects. We spoke to Matija Šuklje of Liferay International, one of the companies that has adopted REUSE.

REUSE is a set of best practices to simplify Free Software licensing, making licensing easy for humans and machines alike. It helps developers with simple guidelines for declaring their copyright and the conditions for reusing code, and provides help documents and low-threshold tools to get the job done.

Led by the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), this initiative seeks to solve a fundamental issue that Free Software licensing has at the very source: what license is a file licensed under, and who owns the copyright? A set of best practices and the helper tool make the task of adding this legal information in every single file of the project a simple practice.

Since its first release in 2017, the number of projects implementing REUSE in their workflows is steadily increasing. Liferay is one of the companies that use and sponsor REUSE so we talked with its Legal Director and Associate General Counsel (FOSS & Community), Matija Šuklje.

“When we switched to REUSE that kind of snowballed a lot of the internal processes to streamline our licensing documents, and to streamline some technical development, which caused us in turn to save a lot of engineering time and even shortened negotiations and sales cycles because things were much clearer”, explains Mr. Šuklje.

REUSE Software new version

REUSE is constantly evolving and improving. The alpha version v3.1.0a1 of the REUSE tool was released a couple of weeks ago containing the new REUSE.toml functionality, and soon REUSE Specification v3.2 will be released.

“The version 3.2 of the REUSE specification adds a long-awaited improvement in the form of REUSE.toml that helps projects declare their licensing with heightened flexibility and reduced ambiguity. Furthermore, the new TOML format is much easier to parse for third parties, allowing them to read and modify this file with their own tooling”, explains Carmen Bianca Bakker, coordinator of this initiative.

More and more organisations, companies, and individuals are using REUSE and benefiting from the growing ecosystem of its specification, its helper tool, its API and all the documentation. As using REUSE does not require registration, there are not precise numbers about its users but we know that it is being adopted by:

• All 2000+ compliant projects of the REUSE API
• Many projects of the EU-funded Next Generation Internet project we help to become REUSE compliant from the start.
• DLR, the KDE community, and Software Heritage made REUSE the standard for their licensing policy.
• Corporate licensing policies of Siemens, SAP, Huawei, Liferay, and many more.
• Large parts of the Linux Kernel with ~70% by now.

The REUSE project is based on its community and the people who support and adopt it! The contribution of all our FSFE supporters also allows our continuing work on REUSE as well as on our other activities. You can join them by becoming an FSFE supporter (and enabling our long-term work), you can spread the word among your friends and convince them to support our work with a small donation, and you can contribute to Software Freedom in many other ways. Your support enables our work!

Support FSFE

I ♥ Free Software Day & SUSE OSCC network

We got an email, a few weeks ago, that caught our attention. It came with a donation explaining that it was made in the name of an employee network at SUSE. We decided to investigate, asked the people responsible, and today we want to share this awesome story with you. (Note - this is also a great idea for an initiative to ask your company about).

Several weeks ago, we received a really nice message:

I'm part of a special interest group / employee network at SUSE called the SUSE Open Source Community Citizens (OSCC). In the spirit of the "I Love Free Software Day", we asked our SUSE colleagues to share why they got into and love Free Software. Every story told was being rewarded with 50 EUR that is going to be donated to the Free Software Foundation Europe, to support any of the activities that you're doing.

Of course our curiosity was piqued: we wanted to see the messages that they shared, to know a bit more about the SUSE OSCC group and this initiative and to know why they chose us. This is what we found:

On 14 February 2024, SUSE celebrated "I Love Free Software" day with its employees around the world with a variety of activities. One of the activities, organised by the SUSE employee volunteers of the Open Source Community Citizens, was simple: tell us why you got into Free/Libre/Open Source (FLOSS) Software and why you love it. Easy, right?

But that was not all! With the support of SUSE Cares, the SUSE Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, every story was worth $50! To donate to a non-profit charity. And for this occasion OSCC chose the Free Software Foundation Europe.

About 50 people participated sharing their 'I Love FS' messages, mainly internally through the internal communications wall but also externally on social media. In total, the amount of 2500EUR was reached, matching the Silver Sponsorship level!.

“The employee network / special interest group that organized this is focused on Open Source/Free Software and community activities. We like and generally endorse many of the activities from FSFE and several SUSE employees have been active in free software communities pretty much since GPLv2 was released. I personally have a connection to that as well”, explained Dirk Müller, one of the main organisers of this activity and a member of the OSCC group. Andy Fitzsimon, the sponsor of the employee network, said: “SUSE is proud to support the Free Software Foundation Europe, championing the ideals of free/libre software. Our donation reflects our commitment to fostering a collaborative community where technology and innovation benefit everyone.”

Although most of the reasons, often with personal messages that were shared by the SUSE colleagues, were shared within SUSE, some were posted on public social media. A few samples are below:

An awesome action, right? It really makes us happy to hear stories like these about I Love Free Software celebrations! And even more, when the initiative comes from the employees and the company supports them!

You can also help us by asking your employer to donate to the FSFE as part of their corporate responsibility program.

Donate now

Footnotes

1. SUSE Cares is a corporate program at SUSE that focuses on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and manages a budget for the philanthropic giving program, which empowers our colleagues to volunteer their time and direct corporate donations to non-profit organizations that support any of SUSE’s chosen philanthropic goals like Education and Digital Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunities or climate action.

Support FSFE

EU election +++ DMA & Apple +++ REUSE tool

In this issue, we explain our plans to make a movie of the story of Ada & Zangemann and we are asking for your support. A new REUSE version released; read the FSFE opinion to the European Commission on Apple’s new strategy to comply with DMA and its impact on Free Software.

Table of contents

• Quote of the Month
• Take action! Talk to your politicians, like our FSFE Netherlands coordinator
• REUSE v.3.1.0a1
• Apple's approach to DMA will harm Free Software
• Ada goes to the set: let’s make an animated movie!
• Stories from our community
• And even more: LibreItalia, DORS/CLUC 2024 and esLibre 2024 conferences
• Contribute to our Newsletter

Quote of the Month

“Socks. I want the socks. I love the FS socks. And if you have, others too”

-FOSDEM 2024 FSFE attendant-

Take action! Talk to your politicians, like our FSFE Netherlands coordinator

In a couple of days, the European citizens will choose their next representatives in the European Parliament. Get active to ensure that Software Freedom is part of the larger political debate!

The FSFE Netherlands coordinator has added his voice for Free Software to Amsterdam's digital city debate. Now it's your chance to highlight the importance of Free Software in the lead-up to the upcoming European Elections next week.

FSFE Netherlands coordinator question (in Dutch):"I think in March something beautiful happened in Amsterdam: the proposal 'Amsterdam Digital Independent' (or 'autonomous') was adopted. I was wondering: in it open source is mentioned to promote autonomy, but also to promote transparency. I would say this aligns with the points of the NSC. What will you do in Europe to bring that further and to support governments and municipalities to really make progress with free and open source software?"

REUSE v.3.1.0a1

The REUSE tool v3.1.0a1 has just been released! This is an alpha release that includes the new REUSE.toml functionality that replaces .reuse/dep5 (which is being soft-deprecated). The main purpose of REUSE.toml is to resolve .reuse/dep5 scenarios as described in https://github.com/fsfe/reuse-tool/issues/779: if a file has a header and is also covered by .reuse/dep5, and the two sources of information disagree about the licence, which licence applies?

In three steps, REUSE software addresses a fundamental problem with Free Software licensing at its source: what licence is a file licensed under, and who owns the copyright? The REUSE project consists of a set of best practices and a tool that makes it easy and simple to add this legal information to every single file in a project.

We are working on releasing version 3.2 of this tool soon, so stay tuned!

Apple's approach to DMA will harm Free Software

The FSFE continues to work on the implementation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), monitoring the strategies adopted by affected companies (gatekeepers), and their impact on Free Software. We submitted a comprehensive stakeholder position to the European Commission on how Apple cannot be compliant with DMA, and their strategy will reinforce their anti-competitive position. Our report lists that:

• Apple should not limit business and end-users in their software freedom by overstating arguments of integrity and security of devices.
• Apple should not discriminate against Free Software.
• Apple should not be allowed to impose DRM encryption for app distribution regarding Free Software.
• Apple should not be allowed to impose arbitraryinteroperability request forms, but interoperability should be granted automaticallyand effectively.

This study received substantial contributions from experts and other organizations including F-Droid, Onion Browser, and AppFair.

FSFE at the DMA compliance workshop about Apple

This report concludes that, while the DMA aims to promote contestability and fairness, Apple's proposed changes may reinforce its monopolistic behaviour by restricting software freedom, strengthening the dependency of developers and users on its own services and products, and increasing switching costs. The report also sets forth how integrity of operating systems must not be used for summarily imposing restrictions on 3rd party app stores

Ada goes to the set: let’s make an animated movie!

The illustrated book 'Ada & Zangemann: A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream' has made it into homes and libraries around the world. Now we need your help to reach even more kids! Help us make a film of this story and continue doing readings to spark more kids’ interest in coding and tinkering!

Stories from our community

On 25 and 26 May, the RoboCup France Junior took place in Bordeaux. Nursery and primary kids presented their robots while the teens and young adults competed with theirs in various competitions from soccer to rescue. On Sunday 26 May, Théo (15y) and Émilie (12y), two young French supporters, repurposed some of their local robot club (CDSR) booth into their first FSFE booth! They proudly shared FSFE stickers and presented the children's book Ada & Zangemann.

Also in France, in this case in Lyon, FSFE volunteer Vincent Lequertier participated in the Days of the Software Libre (JDLL is its acronym in French) with two readings of the illustrated book "Ada & Zangemann: Un conte sur les logiciels, le skateboard et la glace à la framboise".

And in the Netherlands, André Ockers, volunteer and deputy coordinator of the Dutch FSFE team, presented (in English) the Free Software Foundation Europe at WikiconNL 2024, the annual conference on Wikipedia, Wikimedia, digital heritage, and free access to information in a changing world.

Do not forget to check out planet.fsfe.org; our blog aggregator has several articles that you might find interesting!

And even more: LibreItalia, DORS/CLUC 2024 and esLibre 2024 conferences

At the beginning of May, we took part in the LibreItalia Conference. It was a great occasion to meet and chat with the Italian Free Software community. We had the possibility to talk about Public Money? Public Code! and engage with a younger audience thanks to the Ada and Zangemann story!

A bit later last month, we participated in DORS/CLUC, a conference in Zagreb with two talks, one about "Making AI Really Open: The Current Landscape of Free Software and AI Licensing" and another about "When our routers are not free: the challenges for an Open and Neutral Internet".

Finally, we travelled to Valencia to attend esLibre 2024. There we presented the competition YH4F, talked about CRA, PLD, and liability in Europe and explained why Free Software is important for our society!

Our talks from esLibre and DORS/CLUC were recorded so we will upload them in our usual channels as soon as they are available!

Contribute to our Newsletter

We would love to hear from you. If you have any thoughts, pictures, or news to share, please send them to us at newsletter@fsfe.org. You can also support us, contribute to our work, and join our community. We would like to thank our community and all the volunteers, supporters, and donors who make our work possible, with a special mention to our translators who make it possible for you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.

Your editor, Ana

Support FSFE

EU election: FSFE Netherlands Coordinator joins Amsterdam's Digital City Debate

EU elections debate: FSFE Netherlands coordinator adds voice for Free Software to Amsterdam's digital city debate. Now it's your chance to highlight the importance of Free Software in the lead-up to the upcoming European Elections next week.

With the European Elections approaching, the FSFE prompts a call to action, pointing out the importance of including Software Freedom in the political debate. On May 29, 2024, the city of Amsterdam organized the "Digitale Stad" debate, focusing on the online world of Amsterdammers and the impact of technology on the city and its residents in view of the European Elections, taking place between June 6 and 9 2024. The FSFE Netherlands coordinator, Nico Rikken, actively participated in this discussion, asking a question about Free Software.

FSFE Netherlands coordinator question that leads into a discussion during a Digital City Debate in Amsterdam. He asks (in Dutch):"I think in March something beautiful happened in Amsterdam: the proposal 'Amsterdam Digital Independent' (or 'autonomous') was adopted. I was wondering: in it open source is mentioned to promote autonomy, but also to promote transparency. I would say this aligns with the points of the NSC. What will you do in Europe to bring that further and to support governments and municipalities to really progress free and open source software?"

In the debate, the FSFE Netherlands coordinator emphasises the significance of Free Software in public administrations and its role in ensuring digital autonomy and a resilient digital society. This engagement highlights the importance for the Free Software community to get active and ensure its voice is heard in the upcoming elections. The FSFE empowers users to control technology and helps its community to make an impact. The experience of the Netherlands local group shows how this is possible:

“The European elections are a great opportunity to make an impact. For past elections we've contacted politicians and organized a “Freedomote” voting toolkit. That involved quite some work and had little impact. We discussed opportunities at our get-together and following the FSFE guide we looked into debates as a way to get in direct contact with candidates. Turns out there was one debate scheduled on digitization, held at DeBalie in Amsterdam, a location that frequently hosts debates. Looking at videos of past debates we concluded that it was at a small scale, and that there would be opportunity to speak to candidates before and after and that there was an opportunity for questions from the audience, as well. So in our online get-together we prepared a question to ask if we got the opportunity. To sum it up: little upfront investment, a bit of time to attend a great debate and made quite an impact”, explains Nico Rikken, FSFE Netherlands’ Coordinator.

With one week left to the elections, it is important to get involved and make your voices heard! The Netherlands local group meets regularly online and is very active. After reading the FSFE’s advice on how to get active during electoral campaign, they discussed together the opportunity to take part in a debate during one of their regular meet-ups. They elaborated possible questions to ask the candidates and took part in a debate happening in their area. This is only one example of the activities that local groups around Europe do every day. If you want to take part in one of the FSFE’s local groups, you will find one near you!

Support FSFE

Ada am Filmset: Aus ihrer Geschichte wird ein Animationsfilm!

Was haben ein Premierminister, ein MIT-Professor und ein Kind aus Rajasthan gemeinsam? Genau wie andere Persönlichkeiten des öffentlichen Lebens und Tausende von Kindern lieben sie das Buch „Ada & Zangemann – Ein Märchen über Software, Skateboards und Himbeereis“. Ada hat es bereits in Wohnungen und Bibliotheken auf der ganzen Welt geschafft, und jetzt braucht sie deine Unterstützung, um noch mehr Kinder zu erreichen! Hilf uns, ihre Geschichte als Film zu erzählen, um mehr Kinder für das Programmieren und Tüfteln zu begeistern!

„Ada & Zangemann – Ein Märchen über Software, Skateboards und Himbeereis“ erzählt die Geschichte des berühmten Erfinders Zangemann und des Mädchens Ada, einer neugierigen Tüftlerin. Ada beginnt, mit Hard- und Software zu experimentieren, und erkennt dabei, wie wichtig es für sie und andere ist, Technik zu beherrschen.

„Eine brillant illustrierte Entdeckungsreise, die junge Menschen dazu inspirieren wird, ihre Neugierde zu entfalten und die Welt mit Technik zu gestalten.“- Zach Latta, Gründer des Hack Club

Die Geschichte wurde in mehrere Sprachen übersetzt und hat durch öffentliche Lesungen Tausende von Kindern und Erwachsenen erreicht. Jetzt wollen wir einen Schritt weiter gehen und einen 30-minütigen Film über Adas Geschichte produzieren! Der Film wird als Open Educational Resource veröffentlicht. Er soll mehr Kinder, vor allem Mädchen, zum Tüfteln und Programmieren ermutigen und gleichzeitig Inklusion und Barrierefreiheit fördern. Hilf uns, dieses Ziel zu erreichen!

„Mir gefällt, dass [die Geschichte] Mädchen vor Augen führt, wie sie programmieren und Computer benutzen können.“ - Aus der Rezension eines Kindes, Purdue

Für Mädchen ist es oft abschreckend, sich mit Technik zu beschäftigen, zu tüfteln und zu programmieren. Deswegen wird Technik weitgehend von Männern für Männer entwickelt. Ada zeigt Mädchen und jungen Frauen, dass sie Technologie und damit auch die Zukunft nach ihren Vorstellungen gestalten können.

„Die verwendete Lizenz ermöglicht auch die Übersetzung des Werks, was mich auf die Idee brachte, ein kollaboratives Bildungsprojekt für die französische Übersetzung zu starten.“- Alexis Kauffmann, Projektleiter, Französisches Ministerium für Bildung und Jugend

Dank unserer FSFE-Supporter und vieler, die uns ehrenamtlich unterstützen, ist die Geschichte bereits in neun Sprachen verfügbar und wir arbeiten an weiteren Übersetzungen. Mehr als 18.000 Exemplare von Adas Geschichte haben ihren Weg in die Hände von Kindern auf der ganzen Welt gefunden, und wir konnten mehr als 1.400 Kinder mit Lesungen, Diskussionen und Workshops erreichen.

„Eine wunderbar unterhaltsame Lektüre mit einer ermutigenden Botschaft für jüngere Generationen, die unsere Welt und die Art, wie wir in ihr leben, prägen wird.“- Kaye Fogarty, Lehrerin an einer Schule in Marbella, die mit ihren Schülern eine Lesung durchgeführt hat

Deine Spende hilft uns, Adas Geschichte als Animationsfilm umzusetzen, um ein breiteres Publikum zu erreichen, damit noch mehr Kinder, insbesondere Mädchen, von dieser Geschichte zu Neugier und Tüfteln ermutigt werden. Der Film wird frei herunterzuladen und zu teilen sein. Man kann ihn in Schulen verwenden und in andere Unterrichtsmaterialien integrieren, um die Qualität der IT-Bildung zu verbessern, die für junge Menschen in unserer digitalen Gesellschaft so wichtig ist.

„Dieses moderne Märchen ist eine großartige Parabel. Es zeigt perfekt wie wichtig digitale Freiheiten für unser tägliches Leben sind. Der Tonfall ist freundlich, heiter und zuversichtlich, dass die junge Generation stärker sein wird als wir es waren“- JB Kempf, Präsident, VideoLAN

Deine Unterstützung macht einen Unterschied! Sie wird uns helfen, diesen Film zu verwirklichen, und durch sie können wir Adas Geschichte durch Lesungen in verschiedenen Sprachen verbreiten und auch andere dazu ermutigen!

„Dieses Buch ist genau das, was ich an meine Kinder weitergeben möchte!“- Canelle A., Schülerin an einem Pariser Gymnasium

Support FSFE

LLW 2024 +++ YH4F interviews +++ Ada in France

May comes with legal news such as the Legal & Licensing Workshop and the Bitcoin lawsuit regarding the liability of Free Software developers. We also talked to two 2023 YH4F participants and our Danish local group sent an Open Letter to their parliament. Did you see that Ada & Zangemann won a prize and that the French ebook version is now available?

Table of contents

• Quote of the Month
• LLW 2024: A forum for difficult legal topics of Free Software in Gothenburg
• Meet Antoni and Tobias, YH4F participants
• Free Software developers' liability and the Bitcoin lawsuit
• Ada & Zangemann: news from France
• Danish local group initiative
• Germany: Public TV broadcasters announce ‘Streaming OS’ as Free Software
• Get involved: organize an Ada & Zangemann reading!
• Contribute to our Newsletter

Quote of the Month

"As in our democracies, the distribution of power in the field of technology is essential. And we need to show that an inclusive path is possible".

-Matthias Kirschner, thanking the Forum InCyber for the prize given to Ada & Zangemann.

LLW 2024: A forum for difficult legal topics of Free Software in Gothenburg

For the second year in a row, the Swedish city of Gothenburg hosted an edition of the Free Software Legal & Licensing Workshop (LLW), the annual conference for the Legal Network members. The 2024 edition brought new faces and great discussions and presentations on current legal and licensing issues related to technological developments such as AI.

Meet Antoni and Tobias, YH4F participants

Find out more about the Youth Hacking 4 Freedom participants of the 2023 edition. We are continuing this series talking with Antoni and Tobias: Antoni developed a dictionary to preserve endangered languages, and Tobias conceived a rich featured calendar.

Free Software developers' liability and the Bitcoin lawsuit

Free Software is everywhere, with studies estimating that it is present in about 96% of the applications that we use. But what are the responsibilities and liabilities of the Free Software developers? A potential threat to Free Software developers looms in the form of an ongoing lawsuit in the UK involving Bitcoin and its core developers.

Find more about it

Ada & Zangemann: news from France

• ‘Ada & Zangemann: A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream’ has been awarded the 2024 Youth Book Prize of the InCyber Forum Europe. This is the first time this prize has been awarded to a children's book.
• 300 copies of Ada & Zangemann were distributed to teachers at the Journée du Libre Éducatif 2024. The book was presented at this fair, that this year was held in Paris, by two of the students who translated it.
• More great news! The French publisher CFE editions published an online version of "Ada & Zangemann - A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream": https://ada-lelivre.fr/.

Danish local group initiative

The FSFE Danish local group has sent an Open Letter to the IT spokespersons of all the political parties in the Danish Parliament, entitled “Digitalisation problems can be solved with Free/Open Source Software”. In this letter, the local group pointed out several examples of cases in which using proprietary software is harming citizens’ rights and privacy, for example the municipalities' strong wish to use proprietary software (Google Classroom) in schools, which is actively sharing students' private data to Google in violation of the GDPR.

The local group is currently waiting for an official answer from the parliamentarians though they have already received positive responses.

You can check the letter (in Danish) here.

Germany: Public TV broadcasters announce ‘Streaming OS’ as Free Software

The German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF have announced that they will integrate their media centres in future and publish their code as Free Software. Under the name ‘Streaming OS’, the software will be available to the general public under a Free Software licence.

In their announcement, the directors of the broadcasters emphasise that by publishing the code, they want to give something back to society that it has previously paid for. ARD and ZDF are thus addressing the core idea of our FSFE initiative ‘Public Money? Public Code!’. We are looking forward to seeing Streaming OS and its code in 2025!

The Berlin group of the FSFE participated in the 2024 edition of the Umweltsfestival (Environmental Festival) together with Bits&Bäume Berlin and KDE Eco. Our volunteers explained to festival attendees the sustainable use of computers with Free Software as well as other FSFE initiatives such as Public Money, Public Code and even answered questions about the Fediverse.

Get involved: organize an Ada & Zangemann reading!

Do you want to help spread the word about Free Software to the younger generations? You can do it with an Ada & Zangemann reading! If you like children, this is an easy and a great way to talk to them about Free Software. And everyone who has done it has found it a really rewarding and enriching experience!

If you are interested in facilitating a reading of the book in schools or libraries, write to contact@fsfe.org.

Contribute to our Newsletter

We would love to hear from you. If you have any thoughts, pictures, or news to share, please send them to us at newsletter@fsfe.org. You can also support us, contribute to our work, and join our community. We would like to thank our community and all the volunteers, supporters, and donors who make our work possible, with a special mention to our translators who make it possible for you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.

Your editor, Ana

Support FSFE