SFSCON +++ Apple v EU +++ YH4F winners
From facing Apple’s lawyer at the EU court defending interoperability
to celebrating the unveiling of the 2025 YH4F winners, and finally
walking through the autumn streets of Bolzano filled with Free Software
enthusiasts, the past few weeks have been quite a roller coaster.

Table of contents
Quote of the Month
“I am extremely honoured to receive the European SFS Award. The Free
Software multimedia community is quite niche and unknown, but we work
hard so that video content can be free, can be played and processed. The
work done around the VideoLAN community has been tremendous, despite its
little resources. I want to thank the whole VideoLAN and FFmpeg teams,
who spend their time on those projects, often with little
recognition", Jean-Baptiste Kemp, winner of the European SFS Award
2025
SFSCON 25: Jean-Baptiste Kempf receives the European SFS
Award
The FSFE and LUGBZ have
recognized VLC president and core developer
with this European award for his long-term dedication to the project.
What began as a student initiative has, through his continuous effort,
evolved into one of the most widely used media players, with billion of
users worldwide.
Moreover, we joined Free Software enthusiasts from all over Europe in
this Italian city to spend a whole weekend deepening our knowledge about
Free Software and engaging in fruitful discussions.

The FSFE defends Interoperability from Apple at the
EU’s highest court
On 21 October, the Free
Software Foundation Europe participated as an intervener in the landmark
Apple v. European Commission (T-1080/23) hearing before the Court of
Justice of the European Union. The case will determine whether the
Digital Markets Act can effectively guarantee interoperability, software
freedom, and user choice.
While we wait to know the Court’s decision, you can read our recap
about the Digital Markets Act (DMA), in which the main arguments of this
litigation are explained as well as why interoperability is vital for an
open European digital ecosystem. DMA
litigation against Apple: a quick recap
Legal Corner: Apple’s “notarisation” –
blocking software freedom of developers and users
Our latest Legal Corner article focuses on how Apple’s
“notarisation” of mobile apps contradicts the aims of the DMA to give
developers and users more choice. But Apple is trying to continue
blocking the unfettered installation of software (sideloading),
prohibiting alternative app stores, and hindering interoperability. Find
out more about it and the implications of Apple’s notarisation for
software freedom.
2025 Youth Hacking 4 Freedom: winners
unveiled!
Once again, young Europeans had the chance to tackle their own
projects, making their ideas a reality with Youth Hacking 4 Freedom, the
programming competition for Europeans between 14 and 18 year old. A
couple of weeks ago, we had the chance to meet them in Brussels for the
2025
awards ceremony.
The six winning projects, created by participants aged 14 to 18 and
presented at the 2025 awards ceremony in Brussels, are: a language
learning platform, a
custom ROM page, a scroll wheel,
a
smart watering robot,
a hyperbolic rendering engine, and a version control system.
Software Freedom Podcast: Openwashing and CRA
Leaving our cozy homes is getting harder and harder as winter
approaches. Why not enjoy the long evenings by listening to the newest
two episodes of the Software Freedom Podcast?
In the first episode, Alex and Bonnie bring you the latest updates on
EU policy, including the relevant Cyber Resilience
Act. You’ll also hear about the results of
the questionnaire we ran a few months ago and the key insights
gathered.
After that, join our colleague Johannes as he sheds light
on the concept of openwashing, the misleading practice of presenting software as Free Software when it
actually isn’t. He’ll explain the basics of this issue and how we can
counteract it.
Ilovefs: “They are not alone in their work for
software freedom”
Every year on 14 February we celebrate “I Love Free Software Day”,
thanking all who contribute to Free Software. Without all of you we
would not have such a great ecosystem today! Our Polish group joined our
celebrations on 2025 for the first time, and we wanted to know more
about them. So, we talked
with Damian, our Poland group coordinator, about the Polish groups’
commitment to Free Software.
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Your editor,
Ana
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