YH4F 2026 wraps up, Android interoperability, and the Teufel Mynd speaker to test
The past few weeks have been busy for YH4F 2026 participants: the
programming period wrapped up on 30 June with project submissions for
evaluation. We also submitted our position on the EC's Android
interoperability consultation, and published an in-depth study by an
FSFE volunteer examining whether the Teufel Mynd speaker truly qualifies
as Free Software and Open Hardware.
Summer is properly here, and we cannot wait to see you in a few weeks
in Kraków! Preparations for our 25th anniversary weekend celebrations
are keeping us busy, but that's not all that's been going on.
A couple of days ago, Youth Hacking 4 Freedom 2026 wrapped up its
programming phase. The participants are now taking a well-earned rest,
while our jury gets to work choosing this year's winners. We cannot wait
to discover what amazing projects the participants of this 5th edition
have built, and to celebrate them at the YH4F awards ceremony. You can
find all the details, and revisit past winners on yh4f.org. Registration
for the next edition is already open.
Meanwhile, the rest of our work has not slowed down either: the FSFE
has submitted its position to the European Commission's Android
interoperability consultation under the Digital Markets Act. Among our
key demands: the right to fully uninstall AI-based features from Android
devices, and access to interoperability functions for developers, free
from Google's verification requirements.
A study by Lucas Lasota and Jithendra Palepu on Apple, Free Software,
and vertical interoperability under the Digital Markets Act has now been
published on Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin's open access repository,
edoc. The paper analyses Apple's compliance approach under Article 6(7)
DMA and explains why effective interoperability is crucial for Free
Software developers, user freedom, and fairer digital markets.
The FSFE's volunteer and open hardware enthusiast, Nicole Faeber,
read about the Teufel Mynd speaker announced as an "Open Source
Project," so she decided to put it to the test — we bought one, and she
dug in. Curious what she found? Read it here!.
Do you care about sustainability, repairability and Free Software?
Did you do research about which products work best with Free Software?
Have you ever tried to tinker with them? We would love to hear your
experiences. We want to know which products work better when you want to
be in control of your devices! Please, share your
knowledge with us.
The FSFE is also now one of the organisations part of the to
Cradle Electronics Initiative, a platform for business, academia and
civil society to put Cradle to Cradle electronics into practice. To
achieve it, we believe that all our electronics should be under the open
hardware and Free Software principles: giving users the freedom to
inspect, modify, and truly understand the technology they rely on every
day.
The FSFE's timeline
Our timeline is officially
live! It maps 25 years of the FSFE's work promoting and defending
software freedom across Europe, from our founding in 2001 to today.
Along the way, the FSFE has helped shape the conversation around Free
Software, built lasting communities of volunteers and supporters, and
started initiatives about device neutrality, legal education, and public
code. Take a look!
From the stages
While we wait for the weekend that some of us marked long time ago in
our calendar, the celebration of our 25 years, we've had a busy few
weeks!
Our volunteer and coordinator of the Dutch team attended the 2026
T-DOSE conference. You can listen to him talking about
the conference in
our Software Freedom podcast episode 52.
Speaking of podcasts, we have two
recommendations for you. We were invited onto a radio show hosted by
our Slovenian volunteers
to analyze the Open Source Strategy (the
interview is in English, starting at 16:50). Our German-speaking
audience might also enjoy this episode of the Engineering Kiosk
podcast, where
we were invited to talk about openwashing.
We headed to OpenSouthCode 2026 in Málaga with two talks and two Ada
& Zangemann activities at their Kids Space. Speaking of Ada &
Zangemann, we also hosted a reading of the book in Brussels, joining
together at Bibliotheek Sans Souci in Ixelles.
We also travelled to Brno for DevConf.CZ, where we had a booth and
gave two talks.
In Berlin, our local group has also been busy: with a booth at the
Umwelt Festival, they explained not only sustainable computing with Free
Software but also Upcycling Android, Public Money Public Code, and the
Fediverse. Two of our volunteers also gave talks at the Bits und Bäume
Community Summit.
Join us at DWeb Camp from 8 to 12 July in
Alte Hölle! DWeb Camp is coming to Europe and the FSFE is attending
it.
We will be present with an Ada & Zangemann reading and several talks
about this illustrated book, how to fight for interoperability under the
DMA, and Device Neutrality.
Your support helps us move our work forward
We may be behind the wheel, but you’re the ones keeping us moving
forward. You can also support us, contribute to our work, and join our community. Are you using social
media? If so, do not forget to follow us there! You can also follow the
FSFE news in your RSS Reader.
Your editor,
Ana
Support FSFE
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