# articles

feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/generated_xml/news___nl___nl-201811.en.xml
title: FSFE Newsletter - November 2018
uri: FSFE-Newsletter-November-2018
url: http://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201811.html
content:
FSFE Newsletter November 2018Software Freedom in Europe<p>For 17 years, the FSFE has been empowering people to have control over their technology, and we get better at it every year. To help you understand how we work and what we do, we have just published <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20181105-01">"Software freedom in Europe"</a>, the yearly report about the FSFE and our activities.</p><p>The report gives you a breakdown of important things the FSFE has achieved during the last 12 months in one document. In the 2018 report, you will read about several campaigns, our input on the European Union's copyright reform, and about our successful outreach in demanding publicly financed software be made publicly available under a Free Software licence. You will also get insights about the multiple events we (co-)organised, about our community and groups that helped us with these achievements. Finally, we will display some numbers showing what resources we counted on, and giving an outlook for the next year.</p><p>If you like our report, please share it on your favorite (social) media channels and mailing lists, among your colleagues, friends and families.</p>
				
				
				
				
				
				
			  <p><a href="http://fsfe.org/join/nl2018-11">Join our community of freedom fighters!</a></p>What else have we done? Inside and Outside the FSFE
		A large part of the FSFE team was present at the SFScon in Bolzano, Italy, with a booth. The FSFE's president Matthias Kirschner gave a talk about how <a href="https://www.sfscon.it/talks/be-aware-technology-shapes-democracy/">"Technology shapes democracy"</a> and our EU public policy programme manager Alexander Sander hosted a policy workshop. 

		Bits&amp;Bäume is a conference to bring together actors of different sustainability and digital right movements. The FSFE local group Berlin was present with a booth and Erik Albers gave a talk about <a href="https://fahrplan.bits-und-baeume.org/events/138.html">software as a digital resource</a>, Christian Nähle about <a href="https://fahrplan.bits-und-baeume.org/events/176.html">Free Software in municipalities</a> and Bernhard Reiter about <a href="https://fahrplan.bits-und-baeume.org/events/163.html">paying for freedom</a>.  

		In the third consecutive year, the FSFE coordinators Spain were running a booth at OSHWDem, a fair about Free Software and free hardware. On this occasion, the creation of a FSFE local group in Northern Spain was announced, as well as a translation team for the Galician language. If you are interested to join one of them, please get in contact with <a href="mailto:pd@fsfe.org">Pep Diz</a>.

		At this year's Linux Day Italy, the FSFE Local Group Sicilia <a href="https://linuxday.thefreecircle.org/2018/en/">hosted an event</a> with Giuseppe Bonocore, member of FSFE local group Milano, who gave an introduction about the FSFE and the state of the art of Free Software for "Microservices, dev-ops and silverbullet". At the same time, the FSFE local group Milano was also <a href="http://linuxdaymilano.org/2018/">hosting an event in Milano</a> about Free Software and open source culture, together with local associations where Stefano Costa gave a talk about "Libera il tuo router!" (Free your router).               

		Paul Boddie <a href="http://www.boddie.org.uk/david/www-repo/Personal/Updates/2018/2018-11-11.html">writes about</a> how he learned to publish applications through F-Droid and encourages everyone to do likewise: "The process was smooth and people were friendly and happy to help".

		Björn Schießle writes about his <a href="https://www.schiessle.org/articles/2018/11/01/keep-yourself-organized/">set-up of Zim</a>, and how that helps him keep being organised. 

		Diderik van Wingerden <a href="http://think-innovation.com/blog/reinventing-startups/">proposes an alternative entrepreneurial-based innovation model</a> that he believes has the potential to be good for people and the planet by design. 
		
		Get Active<p>Towards the end of the year, many people are open to join or support a cause they believe in or they believe to do good. If you liked our <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20181105-01">annual report</a> and the work we are doing, please spread the word about it. You can for example share our report on your favorite (social) media channels and mailing lists, amongst your colleagues, friends and families. If you are not a supporter of the Free Software Foundation Europe yet, please <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">consider doing so</a> and strengthening the European Free Software movement. Help yourself by making the process of understanding or explaining the importance of Free Software easier for yourself with <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword">our promotion material</a>. <a href="https://fsfe.org/order/">Get our latest merchandise</a> and improve your outfit for the winter season - or gift it to someone you know during the winter celebrations.</p>Contribute to our newsletter<p>If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter@fsfe.org. We're looking forward to hearing from you!</p><p>Thanks to our community, all the <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute">volunteers</a>, <a href="http://fsfe.org/join">supporters</a> and <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus">donors</a> who make our work possible. And thanks to <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/translators/translators">our translators</a>, who enable you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.</p><p>Your editor,
	Erik Albers</p><p><a href="http://fsfe.org/join/nl2018-11">Join our community of freedom fighters!</a></p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/generated_xml/news___2018___news-20181205-01.en.xml
title: The FSFE needs you to continue spreading software freedom in Europe!
uri: The-FSFE-needs-you-to-continue-spreading-software-freedom-in-Europe
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20181205-01.html
content:
The FSFE needs you to continue spreading software freedom in Europe!<p>Since 2001 the Free Software Foundation Europe empowers software users to exert control over the technology that is so deeply involved in every aspect of our lives today. As a non-profit organisation, our work is backed by the continuous and generous contributions of our supporters. From public campaigns to policy monitoring, from removing legal barriers to helping organisations in understanding how Free Software contributes to freedom, transparency, and self-determination, our supporters have helped to finance our work. </p>
				
				
				
				
				
				
			
           <p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Become a supporter of the FSFE</a></p>
    <p>On the European level, 2019 will be a particularly crucial year for software freedom and technological rights that will need your support. The EU Copyright Directive currently moving its way through formal Trilogue discussions threatens to impede the free flow of online information and enact onerous new legal barriers for Free Software developers. The looming elections for the EU Parliament in May will seat politicians with the legislative power to impact the Free Software movement in Europe for the next five years. </p><p>To help them get started, we are releasing a comprehensive policy brochure as part of our "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign, which will be used to provide candidates for the EU elections in Spring 2019 with background information about the benefits of Free Software for the public sector. We will also hand over our signatures from individuals and organisations in Europe in our "Public Money? Public Code!" open letter, and continue our movement to demand that code paid for by the people should be freely available to the people.</p><p>And of course, in 2019 the FSFE will again use public awareness campaigns and political lobbying, provide our expertise, and produce promotional material and explanatory videos, to bring our community to diverse events in Europe and let them talk about the freedom of software. To achieve our goals, we base our work and form our movement with the help of our community and friends, who ensure that our message gets out and is heard in as many diverse parts of our society as possible. </p><p>    You can directly help us to master these upcoming challenges in 2019 by <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">becoming a supporter of the FSFE</a>. Any amount that you give will be greatly appreciated. Your contribution makes a huge impact today, tomorrow, and ongoing!</p>    
				<img src="media/d3e72a45.connecting-europe-500.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/campaigns/15years/pictures/connecting-europe-500.jpg"/>
			
				<p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Help spreading software freedom in Europe</a></p>
			<p>If you would like to know more about the FSFE’s ongoing work, our <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20181105-01.html">2018 yearly report</a> gives you a better and more detailed understanding of the projects that we are presently involved in, which projects we want to realise in 2019, and what we have accomplished over the past year.</p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/generated_xml/news___nl___nl-201812.en.xml
title: FSFE Newsletter - December 2018
uri: FSFE-Newsletter-December-2018
url: http://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201812.html
content:
FSFE Newsletter December 2018Recent developments and their impact on the well-being of Free Software and its communities<p>The second half of 2018 was full of interesting developments for the Free Software community and its environment. In our December newsletter, we would like to shed light on three major developments that have the potential for long-lasting changes to the Free Software world and what these changes mean for the FSFE's work in 2019 and beyond. </p><p>One of the most controversial policy topics in the European Union 2018 was, and still is, the harmonisation of copyright with a new copyright directive. Regarding the well-being of software freedom, one of the most important debates was around Article 13 which can seriously hamper collaborative software development by imposing the use of mandatory upload filters and monitoring of their users on code-hosting platforms. As a result of this proposal, Free Software code-hosting platforms and public code repositories can be arbitrarily removed online. </p><p>After a long and intense debate that we accompanied with your help and our <a href="http://savecodeshare.eu/">Save Code Share campaign</a>, we obtained some limited exclusion for Free Software in the text of the European Parliament's directive at the beginning of September. With the adoption of amendment 143 and 150 of the current copyright reform proposal in the European Parliament, we now have at least an exclusion for “open source software developing platforms (..) within the meaning of this Directive”. However, the council proposed this exclusion to only be valid for “non-commercial open source software developing platforms”. That's why since the beginning of October, the European Parliament and the Council have been in the Trialogue to debate the final text. To keep Free Software development excluded from this harmful directive, the FSFE will closely follow the process, raising our voices for Free Software. If you like to support our role and work in this area, <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/">consider donating</a> or <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">join us as a supporter</a>.</p><p>Other developments include an update to the Code of Conduct for the Linux Kernel, as well as its main developer Linus Torvalds taking a break and sending a public mail to apologize for his past behaviour. Without reading too much into it, one thing that perhaps can be taken from this is an ever growing importance for many members inside larger Free Software communities towards a proper code of conduct. At the FSFE we have <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/codeofconduct">our own Code of Conduct</a> "to offer a friendly and peaceful environment for every participant at the FSFE's events, online and offline" and we clearly state on our event pages that "All FSFE's events are covered by our Code of Conduct that kindly asks all participants to be excellent to each other." Meanwhile, hundreds of Free Software communities have their own code of conduct or they have signed the <a href="https://www.contributor-covenant.org/version/1/4/code-of-conduct">Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct</a>. This is a development that we highly appreciate and we continue support the well-being of diverse Free Software communities.</p><p>Also in recent months, we have seen that some global players who have been grown by selling closed source products since the 20th century, now invest billions of dollars to acquire those global players who have been grown by selling services based on Free Software in the 21st century. For example Microsoft obtained the largest host of source code in the world by purchasing Github, and IBM procured the worlds largest Free-Software-affiliated company by acquiring Red Hat. Although we can only guess what effects these economic shifts will bring about in the long run, we see a growing economic interest in Free Software from third party players. While this is not necessarily a bad development, balance should be called for at the same time. With growing investment capital, it seems crucial to have non-profit organizations being heard as well, who have the potential to safeguard a neutral but prospering environment for Free Software - like the Free Software Foundation Europe. It is the first statement of <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/mission">our mission</a> to ensure that the interests of the individual users are protected by empowering users to control technology. And by doing so, hopefully facilitating access to our road into a free society. </p><p>If you like to support our role and work in ensuring users freedom, <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/">consider donating</a> or <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">join us as a supporter</a>. </p>
				
				
				
				
				
				
			  
           <p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Become a supporter of the FSFE</a></p>
    What else have we done? Inside and Outside the FSFE
			During the weekend of 24. and 25. of November, we hosted the first <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/2018/1124-fsfe-hackathon">FSFE Hackathon</a>. A handful of hackers were gathering at the Onion Space in Berlin to improve the FSFE's web presence - with one participant even coming all the way from Linz, Austria. In preparation. we used the FSFE's git-issue-tracker and created a <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/FSFE/fsfe-website/issues?milestone=9">milestone</a> for the Hackathon 2018. Thanks to the assembled expertise brought in by the participants, we were able to achieve major improvements in the front-end and the back-end of the FSFE's web presence. The most obvious front-end changes include, but are not limited to, updating the info-frame on the right side of FSFE's <a href="https://fsfe.org/index.en.html">front-page</a>, a re-work of our <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/news.en.html">news-page</a>, as well as our <a href="https://fsfe.org/events/events.en.html">events-page</a> and a new backend to <a href="https://fsfe.org/community/tools/eventregistration">submit FSFE related events</a>. Participants are eager to run another hackathon in spring 2019, so stay tuned if you would like to join.
			Local FSFE community meetings happened this month in Helsinki, <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/RheinMain">Rhein-Main (Frankfurt)</a>, <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Hamburg">Hamburg</a>, <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/2018/FSFEKielMeeting_2018-11-22#head-e12ab40555a609cc55777234aba55aaa1ecddbe1">Kiel</a>, Bonn, and <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/2018/Fellowship%20Meeting%20Linz%202018-12-20#head-a95af9173ecd5ace91a03853d5eb6ac8127a065b">Linz</a>. If you would like to see your local FSFE meeting listed here, please announce it with our improved <a href="https://fsfe.org/community/tools/eventregistration">event announcement tool</a>.
			On some occasions where a lot of your friends, family members or colleagues celebrate you - like weddings, birthdays or christmas -, you might prefer they donate on a good cause instead of gifting you personally. To make your own fundraising messages easier on these occasions, you can find <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/Templates%20for%20Donations#preview">few suggestions</a> for inspiration in our wiki.
		Do not miss: upcoming events with the FSFE
			35C3: As in previous years, we are hosting a FSFE assembly during the Chaos Communication Congress from December 27. to 30. in Leipzig. Our assembly is meant to be a place for and by our members, friends and supporters, and offers a common space to discuss, meet, hack and organise. We also have a bunch of speakers selected from our <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20181024-01">Call for Participation</a> who will provide insights on burning topics regarding Free Software in various fields - from funding Free Software to rejecting surveillance to helping lifesaving and many more. You can see the full schedule, once the 35C3-Wiki is online. Pass by, talk to us and hear our talks.

			FOSDEM 2019: The Free and Open Source Developers European Meeting, the de facto largest Free Software developers conference in Europe, will take place on February 2nd and 3rd at Campus Solbosch of the Free University Brussels (ULB). As with every year, the FSFE will be present at our large information booth with our entire collection of information material, stickers, postcards, and the latest FSFE fashion. Also, our core FSFE team will be at the booth and we are looking forward to meeting you and discussing your plans (or our common plans) to continue spreading software freedom in Europe in 2019. 
		Get Active<p>Thanks to our first FSFE hackathon (see above) and also to previous updates in recent weeks, our homepage has an ever more appealing and intuitive user experience design. That means many changes to our English web presence need to be reflected in other languages. If you would like to help spread our message in your language, please help us to update and translate the FSFE's new web pages! You can find information on <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/translators/translators">how you can contribute</a> on our translators page. Our translation team is very helpful and welcoming. Do not hesitate to ask for any help or where to start on our <a href="https://lists.fsfe.org/mailman/listinfo/translators">translators list</a>.</p>Contribute to our newsletter<p>If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter@fsfe.org. We're looking forward to hearing from you!</p><p>Thanks to our community, all the <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute">volunteers</a>, <a href="http://fsfe.org/join">supporters</a> and <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus">donors</a> who make our work possible. And thanks to <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/translators/translators">our translators</a>, who enable you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.</p><p>Please be aware that there will be no newsletter in January. </p><p>Your editor,
	Erik Albers</p><p><a href="http://fsfe.org/join/nl2018-11">Join our community of freedom fighters!</a></p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/generated_xml/news___2019___news-20190108-01.en.xml
title: FSFE is hiring: Fundraising Manager
uri: FSFE-is-hiring-Fundraising-Manager
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190108-01.html
content:
    FSFE is hiring: Fundraising Manager
  <p>We are looking for a Fundraising Manager to support our work to empower people to control technology. The person will work 35 hours per week with our team in the Berlin office, being in charge of the FSFE's individual and corporate fundraising.</p>About the FSFE<p>Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to
  control technology. Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our
  lives; and it is important that this technology empowers rather than
  restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use,
  understand, adapt and share software. These rights help support other
  fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech, press and privacy.</p><p>The FSFE helps individuals and organisations to understand how Free
  Software contributes to freedom, transparency, and self-determination.
  It enhances users' rights by abolishing barriers to Free Software
  adoption, encourages people to use and develop Free Software, and
  provides resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software
  in Europe.</p><p>We are involved in legal, economic, political, and technical
  projects around Free Software (see <a href="http://fsfe.org/work.html">our work areas</a> and <a href="http://fsfe.org/campaigns/campaigns.html">our
  campaigns</a>).</p><p>Our work is made possible by a community of volunteers, supporters and donors. To make this community more sustainable, we are looking for a Fundraising Manager to help us sustainably grow the FSFE's supporter base and increase our grants and donations. The Fundraising Manager will develop, adjust, and implement fundraising strategies and goals in close cooperation with our team of employees and volunteers.</p>Main responsibilities
    Constant development, adjustment, and implementation of fundraising strategies and goals,
    Coordination of fundraising campaigns,
    Independent identification of fundraising opportunities, as well as establishing and taking care of networks and contacts,
    Monitor grant opportunities and write applications,
    Content-related development, analysis, and maintenance of databases,
    Update and modify websites, promo material, and the FSFE's public appearance, in order to match with fundraising goals,
    Handle finances for EU projects and other project grants,
    Financial responsibilities for and controlling of fundraising related processes,
    Update of transparency pages and other reporting about funds.
  Qualifications
    Work experience with fundraising for non-profit charities in the field of individual and corporate donors and grant management,
    Knowledge and experience in understanding the financial side of the charitable non-profit sector,
    Basic knowledge about accounting and controlling,
    Very reliable and well-organised,
    Data analysis skills,
    Good communication skills,
    Ablility to understand legal, economic, political, and slightly technical arguments about Free Software, and then being able to lead projects which involve people from those different backgrounds,
    Fluency in written and spoken English; other European languages are considered an asset,
    Being able to work with HTML and CSS to improve website content under version control system, or learn it fast,
    Basic graphic design skills are a nice-to-have,
    Knowledge about how to use a GNU/Linux laptop is a plus,
    Knowledge about the Free Software field and affinity with the FSFE's values and mission. Ability to communicate the FSFE's work towards people and organisations with technical, political, legal, or economic backgrounds, and working together with volunteers.
  Attitude<p>We are looking for a reliable and well-organised team player who is passionate about helping to increase the FSFE's budget so we can make the world a better place for further generations. While patiently and discreetly making concrete mid-term improvements, you should work sustainably and keep your long-term focus on the FSFE’s mission.</p>How to apply<p>To apply, please send a maximum one-page cover letter including a salary proposal for a 35 hour week and a maximum two-page CV (only PDFs are accepted) by email to jobs@fsfe.org, with the subject “Fundraising Manager”. Please do not include pictures of yourself in the application.</p><p>Your personal data will be deleted 3 months after we have made our decision. The closing date for applications is 3 February 2019. Interviews with selected candidates will take place in the beginning of February. The start date for the job will be March 2019. The employment will first last for 14 months.</p><p>Free Software is meant to serve everyone regardless of their age,
  ability or disability, gender identity, sex, race, religion, or sexual
  orientation. Hence, we encourage applications from all backgrounds and
  promise to judge all applications on merit, without reference to any of
  the characteristics listed. To promote diversity and equality in the
  Free Software community, we shall give preference to applicants who
  identify as part of a traditionally marginalised demographic in
  technology for applications of equal strength.</p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/generated_xml/news___2019___news-20190124-01.en.xml
title: FSFE publishes expert brochure about “Public Money? Public Code!"
uri: FSFE-publishes-expert-brochure-about-Public-Money-Public-Code
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190124-01.html
content:
    FSFE publishes expert brochure about “Public Money? Public Code!"
  <p>Why should governments develop Free Software? Where is Free Software already generating benefits in the public sector? What are Free Software business models? Answers to these questions and practical guidelines are given in the new expert policy brochure published today by the Free Software Foundation Europe. Produced with decision-takers in mind, the brochure will be a helpful source of information for candidates and parties running for the European Parliament election. Downloads and prints are available under a Creative Commons license.</p><p>Today the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) releases its policy brochure, "Public Money Public Code - Modernising Public Infrastructure with Free Software".  This brochure aims to answer decision-takers' questions about the benefits of using and developing Free Software for public administrations. To help understand the important role that public procurement plays in this, the brochure presents an overview of EU Free Software projects and policies, uncovering legislation on software procurement. The FSFE will use this brochure in the upcoming European Parliament elections to inform MEPs how to speed up the distribution and development of Free Software in public administration and putting in place appropriate legislation.</p>    
		
			<img src="media/112bd1ae.201901-pmpc-brochure-release-pic-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/pmpc/201901-pmpc-brochure-release-pic-800px.jpg"/>
		
			
		
	About the brochure<p>The brochure evaluates the modernisation of public infrastructure with using Free Software from the perspectives of academia, law, business, and government. Expert articles, reports, and interviews help readers to understand the opportunities for Free Software in public administration. For decision-takers, practical guidance is provided to move forward and start modernising public infrastructure with Free Software.</p>FSFE President Matthias Kirschner states: "Free Software licences have proven to generate tremendous benefits for the public sector. This is not a trend that will pass, but rather a long-term development that is based on very positive experiences, and strategic considerations resulting from serious vendor lock-in cases in the past. In a few years, Free Software licences could become the default setting for publicly financed IT projects. The Free Software Foundation Europe watches these developments very carefully and we want to contribute our knowledge to support the public sector in this transition."<p>First steps for making Free Software licenses the default in publicly financed IT projects are outlined in the brochure. Other topics cover competition and potential vendor lock-in, security, democracy, "smart cities", and other important contemporary debates. The language and examples used have been specifically chosen for readers interested in politics and public administrations. If you are interested or looking for a professional print to communicate your arguments, get yourself a copy:</p>    
	  <a href="media/bf275550.PMPC-Modernising-with-Free-Software.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/PMPC-Modernising-with-Free-Software.pdf">
		
	  </a>
	
		<a href="media/bf275550.PMPC-Modernising-with-Free-Software.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/PMPC-Modernising-with-Free-Software.pdf">Download as PDF</a>
		<a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword.html#pmpc-brochure">Order printed copy</a>
	<p>The brochure stars leading experts from various ICT areas. These include, among others, Francesca Bria - Chief of Technology and Digital Innovation Officer (CTIO) for the Barcelona City Council, Prof. Dr. Simon Schlauri - author of a detailed legal analysis on the benefits of Free Software for the Swiss canton of Bern, Cedric Thomas – CEO of OW2, Matthias Stürmer – head of the Research Center for Digital Sustainability at the University of Bern, and Basanta Thapa – from the Competence Center for Public IT (ÖFIT) within the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems. The brochure is released in digital and print, and is published under a CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.</p>About the campaign<p>With the <a href="http://publiccode.eu/">'Public Money, Public Code' campaign</a>, the FSFE demands that publicly financed software developed for the public sector is made publicly available under a Free and Open Source Software licence. The campaign's <a href="https://publiccode.eu/openletter/">open letter</a> has, until now, gained more than 19.000 signatures, as well as support from more than 150 organisations. If it is public money, it should be public code as well!</p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/generated_xml/news___2019___news-20190205-01.en.xml
title: Huawei case demonstrates importance of Free Software for security
uri: Huawei-case-demonstrates-importance-of-Free-Software-for-security
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190205-01.html
content:
  Huawei case demonstrates importance of Free Software for security
<p>The discussion of the Huawei security concerns 
showcases a general trust issue when it comes to critical 
infrastructure. A first step to solve this problem is to publish the 
code under a Free and Open Source Software licence and take measures to 
facilitate its independently-verifiable distribution.</p><p>The ongoing debate about banning Huawei hardware for the rollout of 
5G networks, following earlier state espionage allegations, falls too 
short. It is not just about the Chinese company but about a general 
lack of transparency within this sector. As past incidents proved, the 
problem of backdoors inside blackboxed hard- and software is widely 
spread, independently from the manufacturers' origins.</p>    
  
    <img src="media/64acd3e1.201902-pmpc-security-blackbox.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/pmpc/201902-pmpc-security-blackbox.jpg"/>
  
<p>However, it is unprecedented that the demand to inspect the source 
code of a manufacturer's equipment has been discussed so broadly and 
intensely. The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) welcomes that the 
importance of source code is recognised, but is afraid that the 
proposed solution falls too short. Allowing inspection of the secret 
code by selected authorities and telephone companies might help in this 
specific case, but will not solve the general problem.</p><p>To establish trust in critical infrastructure like 5G, it is a 
crucial precondition that all software code powering those devices is 
published under a Free and Open Source Software licence. Free and Open 
Source Software guarantees the four freedoms to use, study, share, and 
improve an application. On this basis, everyone can inspect the code, 
not only for backdoors, but for all security risks. Only these freedoms 
allow for independent and continuous security audits which will lead 
citizens, the economy, and the public sector to trust their 
communication and data exchange.</p><p>Furthermore, in order to verify code integrity – so that the 
provided source code corresponds to the executable code running on the 
equipment – it is either necessary that there are reproducible builds 
in case of binary distribution, or that providers are brought into the 
position to compile and deploy the code on their own.</p><p>"We should not only debate the Huawei case but extend 
the discussion to all critical infrastructure." says Max Mehl, FSFE 
Programme Manager. "Only with Free and Open Source Software, 
transparency and accountability can be guaranteed. This is a long-known 
crucial precondition for security and trust. We expect from state 
actors to immediately implement this solution not only for the Huawei 
case but for all comparable IT security issues."</p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/generated_xml/news___2019___news-20190124-01.fr.xml
uri: La-FSFE-publie-un-guide-d-expertise-ou-une-brochure-explicative-sur
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190124-01.html
title:
La FSFE publie un guide [d'expertise ou une brochure explicative] sur la campagne “Public Money? Public Code!"

content:
            La FSFE publie un guide d'expertise sur la campagne “Public Money? Public Code!"
        <p>Pourquoi les gouvernements devraient-ils développer du Logiciel Libre ? Où le Logiciel Libre procure-t-il déjà des avantages dans le secteur public ? Quels sont les modèles économiques du Logiciel Libre ? La réponse à ces questions ainsi que des conseils pratiques sont donnés dans le nouveau guide d'usage et d'expertise publié aujourd'hui par la Free Software Foundation Europe. Rédigé à l'attention des décisionnaires, ce guide sera une source d'information utile pour les candidats aux élections européennes et leurs partis. Les versions numérique et papier du document sont disponibles sous une licence Creative Commons.</p><p>Aujourd'hui la Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) publie sa brochure stratégique, "Public Money Public Code - Modernising Public Infrastructure with Free Software". Cette brochure vise à répondre aux questions des dirigeant·e·s sur les avantages à utiliser et produire du Logiciel Libre pour les administrations publiques. Pour souligner le rôle important qu'ont les marchés publics en la matière, la brochure présente un panorama de projets et de politiques européennes sur le logiciel libre, qui éclairent le contexte législatif de la passation de marchés de produits logiciels. La FSFE utilisera cette brochure lors des élections européennes à venir, pour informer les députés européens sur la manière d'accélérer la diffusion et le développement de Logiciel Libre dans les administrations publiques, en mettant en place la législation appropriée.</p>
            
                <img src="media/112bd1ae.201901-pmpc-brochure-release-pic-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/pmpc/201901-pmpc-brochure-release-pic-800px.jpg"/>
                

            
        À propos de la brochure<p>La brochure évalue la modernisation des infrastructures publiques à l'aide du Logiciel Libre, du point de vue de l'éducation, de la loi, des affaires et des institutions gouvernementales. Des articles spécialisés, des rapports et des interviews aident les lecteurs à comprendre les avantages du Logiciel Libre pour les administrations publiques. Au niveau décisionnel, des conseils pratiques sont également fournis pour aider les responsables à initier la modernisation des infrastructures publiques avec les Logiciels Libres.</p>Le Président de la FSFE Matthias Kirschner déclare : "Les licences des Logiciels Libres ont démontré leur apport immense au secteur public. Ce n'est pas une tendance passagère, mais bien un développement de à long terme qui se base sur des expériences très positives, et des considérations stratégiques issues de situations préoccupantes résultant de cas de verrouillage/cloisonnement commercial par le passé. Dans quelques années, les licences de Logiciel Libre pourraient devenir la clause par défaut pour les projets informatiques financées par des fonds publics. La Free Software Foundation Europe observe ces développements avec beaucoup d'attention, et nous souhaitons apporter notre expertise pour soutenir le secteur public dans cette transition."<p>Les premiers pas pour faire des licences de Logiciel Libre le choix par défaut dans les projets informatiques sur fonds publics sont expliqués dans la brochure. Y sont également traités la concurrence et le verrouillage commercial, la sécurité, la démocratie, les "smart cities" et d'autres débats importants du moment. Le vocabulaire et les exemples utilisés ont été choisis spécifiquement pour les personnes impliquées dans la vie politique et les administrations publiques. Si vous êtes intéréssé·e ou cherchez un support papier de qualité professionnelle pour défendre vos arguments, procurez-vous un exemplaire :</p>
            <a href="media/bf275550.PMPC-Modernising-with-Free-Software.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/PMPC-Modernising-with-Free-Software.pdf">
                
            </a>
        

            <a href="media/bf275550.PMPC-Modernising-with-Free-Software.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/PMPC-Modernising-with-Free-Software.pdf">Télécharger au format PDF</a>
            <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword.html#pmpc-brochure">Commander un exemplaire papier</a>

        <p>La brochure met en avant des experts à la pointe dans le domaine des TIC (Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication). Vous y trouverez, parmi d'autres, Francesca Bria - Chief of Technology and Digital Innovation Officer (CTIO) de la mairie de Barcelone City Council, le Pr. et Dr. Simon Schlauri - auteur d'une analyse légale détaillée sur les avantages du Logiciel Libre pour le canton suisse de Berne, Cedric Thomas – CEO de OW2, Matthias Stürmer – Chef du Centre de Recherche pour la Pérennité Numérique à l'Université de Berne, et Basanta Thapa – du Centre de Compétences pour l'Informatique Publique (ÖFIT) au sein de l'Institut Fraunhofer pour les Systèmes de Communication Ouverts. La brochure est diffusée sous forme numérique et imprimée, et est publiée sous une licence CC BY-SA 4.0.</p>À propos de la campagne<p>Avec la <a href="http://publiccode.eu/">campagne 'Public Money, Public Code'</a> (Argent public Code Public), la FSFE demande que les logiciels développés pour le secteur public avec des fonds publics soient être diffusées publiquement sous licence de Logiciel Libre et Open Source (FLOSS). La <a href="https://publiccode.eu/openletter/">lettre ouverte</a> de la campagne a récolté jusqu'ici plus de 19 000 signatures, ainsi que le soutien de plus de 150 organisations. Si c'est de l'argent public, alors le code devrait être public aussi !</p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/generated_xml/news___nl___nl-201902.en.xml
title: FSFE Newsletter - February 2019
uri: FSFE-Newsletter-February-2019
url: http://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201902.html
content:
FSFE Newsletter February 2019<p>This month's Newsletter is introducing our new expert policy brochure "Public Money? Public Code" and reflecting the importance of source code availability for trust and security in critical IT-infrastructure. As always the Newsletter gives an overview about the talks given and the booths set-up by our community as well as a short summary of what we have done - this month including FOSDEM, 35C3, FOSS4SMEs and the Next Generation Internet. As a "get active" item, this month we encourage you to participate in our IloveFS-campaign.</p>FSFE publishes expert brochure about “Public Money? Public Code!"<p>Convincing decision-makers why more public code would benefit us all should be easy. There are so many good arguments for putting publicly funded code under a Free Software licence: Tax savings, transparency, and innovation – just to name a few. But, in practice, we experience that there are still a lot of basics that need to be explained. Starting with: What is Free Software? Why should governments develop Free Software? What are Free Software business models? To answer these questions and give practical guidelines to decision-makers, we have published a policy brochure that presents the most important facts and arguments about publicly funded code. </p><p>This <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190124-01.html">publication</a> answers decision-makers' most common questions and refutes widespread misunderstandings about Free Software. In several articles and contributions from experts, the brochure presents successful Free Software use-cases and inspiring legislation that show that change is already taking place. Overall, the brochure provides practical guidance for moving the modernisation of public infrastructure forward and hints at how procurement guidelines can be updated to include the strong points of Free Software. Downloads and prints <a href="https://fsfe.org/campaigns/publiccode/brochure.html">are available under a Creative Commons license</a></p><p>Among the contributions included in the brochure, that feature experts from various fields, is an interview with Francesca Bria, Chief Technology and Digital Innovation Officer for the City of Barcelona, who drives the modernisation of Barcelona's public infrastructure. She says: "The Barcelona City Council supports the FSFE's campaign 'Public Money, Public Code', because we need alliances to make Free Software the default setting in the public sector. The digital public infrastructure that we use should be a public good, owned and controlled by the citizens." </p>
				  <a href="https://fsfe.org/campaigns/publiccode/brochure.html"/>
				<p>Help us with a <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate">donation</a> to print and distribute the new FSFE expert policy brochure</p>
			About publishing source code to establish trust in critical infrastructure<p>In many countries, the Chinese company Huawei is facing distrust after allegations of potential state espionage. The company is one of the largest manufacturers of 5G equipment, the upcoming generation of cellular mobile communications. To ensure that the products and the underlying infrastructure are safe, network providers and politicians proposed an inspection of the equipment's source code. <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190205-01.html">The FSFE welcomes</a> this move to recognize the importance of source code availability , but is afraid that the proposed solution falls too short. Allowing inspection of the secret code by selected authorities and telephone companies might help in this specific case, but will not solve the general problem. Instead, to establish trust in critical infrastructure like 5G, it is a crucial precondition that all software code powering those devices is published under a Free and Open Source Software licence. On this basis, everyone can inspect the code, not only for backdoors, but for all security risks. Only these freedoms allow for independent and continuous security audits which will lead citizens, the economy, and the public sector to trust their communication and data exchange. Furthermore, in order to verify code integrity – so that the provided source code corresponds to the executable code running on the equipment – it is either necessary that there are reproducible builds in case of binary distribution, or that providers are brought into the position to compile and deploy the code on their own.</p><p>"We should not only debate the Huawei case but extend the discussion to all critical infrastructure." says Max Mehl, FSFE Programme Manager. "Only with Free and Open Source Software can transparency and accountability be guaranteed. This is a long-known crucial precondition for security and trust. We expect state actors to immediately implement this solution not only for the Huawei case but for all comparable IT security issues."</p><p><a href="http://fsfe.org/join/nl2018-02">Join our community of freedom fighters!</a></p>What else have we done? Inside and Outside the FSFE
			On January 14 and 15, our project manager Gabriel Ku Wei Bin attended a kickoff meeting in Amsterdam of the <a href="https://nlnet.nl/PET/background/">Next Generation Internet</a> project, funded by the European Commission and administered by the NLNet Foundation in the Netherlands. The FSFE joins the project to provide guidance to applicant technologies involved in the project to ensure that their final products are compliant with Free Software licensing best practices.

			On January 16 and 17 the FSFE's project managers Galia Mancheva and Max Mehl joined the <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/foss4smes/foss4smes.html">FOSS4SMEs</a> meeting in Dublin and shot videos for the online lessons the e-learning platform of the project is launching later this year. Stay tuned for further updates on the <a href="https://www.foss4smes.eu/">project’s website</a>.

			Björn Schießle, FSFE coordinator for Germany, <a href="https://2019.copyleftconf.org/schedule/presentation/12/">gave a talk</a> on using strong copyleft to build a sustainable business at the Copyleft Conference on February 4th in Brussels.

			On January 23 Alexander Sander, the FSFE's EU public policy programme manager, joined a panel at Eurocieties Society Forum in Barcelona. Sander talked about how cities and public administration can foster Free Software and involve the local ecosystem in developing digital services based on Free Software and open standards.

			Paul Boddie writes about <a href="https://blogs.fsfe.org/pboddie/?p=2386">"An Absence of Strategy?"</a> in which he argues that "installing Free Software over it" is no longer enough in the world of mobile devices. He claims that instead we need a strategy and an organisation that brings together collective efforts and practical action to identify ongoing projects and propose actual solutions towards constructing sustainable, community-driven, and user-protecting devices.

			Frank Karlitschek <a href="https://karlitschek.de/2019/01/2018-and-2019/">predicts</a> that 2019 will be a very good year for privacy, open source and decentralized <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#nocloud">"cloud"</a> software. It could be the year where Free Software, federated and self-hosted technology hits the  mainstream.

			Björn Schießle <a href="https://www.schiessle.org/articles/2019/01/02/cultural-techniques/">wrote</a> about Free Software being a "new cultural technique", a collective achievement done in a socio-cultural context, requiring social interaction and participation. And as such, it requires special attention by policy makers and society.

			Marcus Moeller, Country Coordinator of the FSFE in Switzerland, set up a Swiss association <a href="https://faircomputer.ch">Faircomputer</a> for which he and his contributors are collecting used Laptops. These devices are then checked, repaired, cleaned and equipped with Free Software. The refurbished machines are given away for free to interested people around Germany, Austria and Switzerland, only charging a small amount for the warranty to ensure they can be used without any hassle for years. 

			Between Christmas and New Year, the FSFE was organising a cluster "about:freedom" together with like-minded organisations at the Chaos Communication Congress, the biggest community driven hacker congress in Germany. Inside the cluster, <a href="https://events.ccc.de/congress/2018/wiki/index.php/Assembly:Free_Software_Foundation_Europe">the FSFE was present</a> with an assembly, a booth, and running its <a href="https://events.ccc.de/congress/2018/wiki/index.php/Assembly:Free_Software_Foundation_Europe#Our_Sessions">own track</a>. From the FSFE we had Susanne speaking about her <a href="https://fahrplan.events.ccc.de/congress/2018/Fahrplan/events/9681.html">self-made "smartphone"</a> (<a href="https://media.ccc.de/v/35c3-9681-butterbrotdosen-smartphone">video</a>), Katharina Nocun about <a href="https://fahrplan.events.ccc.de/congress/2018/Fahrplan/events/9858.html">data collecting Amazon</a> (<a href="https://media.ccc.de/v/35c3-9858-archaologische_studien_im_datenmull">video</a>) and Erik Albers about <a href="https://pretalx.35c3oio.freifunk.space/35c3oio/talk/UFZYAS/">the best of Fdroid</a> (<a href="https://media.freifunk.net/v/35c3oio-74-f-droid-pimp-your-android-fork-with-the-best-free-software-apps">video</a>)
			
		
				  <img src="media/f5056518.201812-booth-at-35c3-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/booths/201812-booth-at-35c3-800px.jpg"/>
				<p>FSFE booth during 35C3, the 35th Chaos Communication Congress</p>
			
			In the beginning of February, the FSFE was present at FOSDEM, the biggest community-driven Free Software event in Europe. We had formal and informal meetings and social evenings, and were running an information booth throughout the event. 

			On January 19, FSFE joined the Dutch Linux user group NLLGG meeting in Utrecht to set up a booth and have a chat about Free Software and related topics.

			Local FSFE community meetings happened this month in <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Hamburg">Hamburg</a>, Bonn, <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/RheinMain">Frankfurt (Main)</a>, <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Madrid">Madrid</a>, <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Zurich">Zurich</a> and <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Berlin">Berlin</a>. If you would like to see your local FSFE meeting listed here, please announce it with our <a href="https://fsfe.org/community/tools/eventregistration">improved event announcement tool</a>.

			The European Commission <a href="https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/news/eur-3000-eur-25000">expands its bug bounty programme</a> called EU-FOSSA2. Software developers who find security vulnerabilities in the selected Free Software will be awarded between EUR 3,000 and EUR 25,000 for critical bugs. 

		Do not miss: upcoming events with the FSFE
			The FSFE will be present with a booth at Chemnitzer Linuxtage from March 16 to 17 in Chemnitz, Germany, and is looking forward to having a chat with you about Free Software or FSFE. Erik Albers, programme manager for the FSFE will <a href="https://chemnitzer.linux-tage.de/2019/en/programm/beitrag/269">give a workshop</a> about how to make the best of your Android(-fork) by using FDroid. If you like to get in contact beforehand or join the booth team, have a look at <a href="https://community.fsfe.org/t/chemnitzer-linuxtage-2019-standteam/216">the discussion</a> in our Discourse installation.
		Get Active<p>On February 14, our community around the globe celebrates <a href="https://fsfe.org/campaigns/ilovefs/">"I love Free Software" Day</a>. We would like to encourage you to be part of our online campaign by creating, sharing or simply enjoying love messages all around the world dedicated to Free Software and the people behind it. Enjoy the day, share and refuel your energy!</p>
			  <a href="https://fsfe.org/campaigns/ilovefs/artwork/artwork.html"/>
		<p>As in previous editions, we are looking forward to seeing you spreading all kind of materials, be they texts, pictures, graphics, scripts or whatever comes to your mind, to show your love to Free Software. Throughout the day, we will share your contributions around the globe on our media channels and collect them for a nice write-up about the love you have for our communities. If you share something, remember to use the hashtag #ilovefs, or if you happen to use the <a href="https://fsfe.org/campaigns/ilovefs/artwork/artwork.html">IloveFS visuals</a> on your web platform, website or a blog, please, let us know, so we can include it in our stream.</p>Contribute to our newsletter<p>If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter@fsfe.org. We're looking forward to hearing from you!</p><p>Thanks to our community, all the <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute">volunteers</a>, <a href="http://fsfe.org/join">supporters</a> and <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus">donors</a> who make our work possible. And thanks to <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/translators/translators">our translators</a>, who enable you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.</p><p>Your editor,
	Erik Albers</p><p><a href="http://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-02">Join our community of freedom fighters!</a></p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/generated_xml/news___2019___news-20190214-01.en.xml
title: Join the I Love Free Software Day 2019
uri: Join-the-I-Love-Free-Software-Day-2019
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190214-01.html
content:
Join the I Love Free Software Day 2019<p>
Today, as with every year on February 14th, people around the globe are celebrating "I love Free Software" Day by expressing their love and thanks to all the people working behind each Free Software project. Follow the love with the hashtag #IloveFS today and add your own love dedication to the stream!</p>  <a href="https://ilovefs.org"> </a>  <p>Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our lives; and it is important that this technology empowers rather than restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use, understand, adapt and share software. These rights help support other fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech, press and privacy. And Free Software is also the result of people who work together collaboratively and dedicate their skills to a project. "I love Free Software" Day is a day to show our appreciation to all these people behind any Free Software project and our gratitude for their dedication:https://ilovefs.org</p>Becoming part of <a href="https://ilovefs.org">#ilovefs</a><p>Everyone can participate in "I love Free Software" Day and join the celebrations by sharing a message of love with the hashtag #ilovefs on any (social) media channel. Be it on a general note or directly dedicated to a particular Free and Open Source Software solution. The more people contribute their part, the more we will enjoy a beautiful "I love Free Software" Day together.</p><p>Or help by spreading the word in the offline world among your friends and colleagues and bring them together. We know about interesting offline events happening, for example in Barcelona, Berlin, Sofia, Stockholm, Tirana, Plovdiv and Zurich. Follow the stream and enjoy a lovely day packed with thankfulness and creativity!</p><p>Happy "I love Free Software" Day everyone!</p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/generated_xml/news___2019___news-20190308-01.en.xml
title: International Women's Day: No freedom without diversity and gender equality
uri: International-Women-s-Day-No-freedom-without-diversity-and-gender-equ
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190308-01.html
content:
  International Women's Day: No freedom without diversity and gender equality
<p>Today, the FSFE celebrates International Women's Day, a global day calling for women's rights and gender parity. Same as in many other communities, women in Free Software communities face gender discrimination on a daily basis. To help improve their environment and raise awareness, the FSFE wants to use today's occasion to share our ongoing efforts to improve gender balance and ensure gender equality. </p><p>Gender discrimination is a massive problem throughout history. But it was only in the beginning of the 20th century when first countries started to introduce an International Woman's Day which was adopted by the United Nations in 1975 as a global day of celebration  and a focal point in the movement for women's rights. The UN theme for <a href="http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/international-womens-day">International Women's Day in 2019</a> is “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change” to help put a focus on the role that technological innovation by and for women and girls plays in efforts to achieve gender equality. This theme reminds us of the role of Free Software in achieving self-emancipation and gender equality.
</p>    
    <img src="media/7f939019.tux-diversity-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/tux-diversity-800px.jpg"/>
	<p>Freedom is all about diversity.</p> 
<p>Ever more, technology controls every single aspect of our lives. But women have traditionally been and still are underrepresented in technology's power to change our society. Core reasons are traditional and exclusive male-driven organisation cultures and the creation of artificial barriers to prevent women's influence on shaping technology the way they see fit. To empower women and achieve true gender equality in our society, it is inevitable to offer women same access to tinker with technology as man have. </p><p>Free Software is technology that respects and empowers any user equally and puts everyone of us in control of technology. This way, the four universal freedoms of Free Software offer fertile soil for emancipating technologies without restrictions towards gender or any other backgrounds. At the Free Software Foundation Europe we are working towards ensuring that women are equally empowered to shape technology, and thereby change society for the better. Some actions that we have taken to achieve this include helping to establish female role models in technology by encouraging female speakers at our events, by balancing gender contributions in our public pictures and statements, and for job applications we give preference to applicants who  identify as part of a traditionally marginalised demographic in  technology for applications of equal strength.</p><p>But problems arise already on a much lower level and unfortunately, taking part in discussions is not always equal for everyone. We can see gender discrimination in nearly all communities, most prominently by people using their dominant positions or attitude to discriminate against or intimidate women. But regardless of how much someone has contributed to discussions with their knowledge, or how well connected they are within our community, or how much they have donated or are planning to donate:  discriminatory, disparaging or offensive speech or actions, including as to (but not limited to) gender, sexuality, race, nationality, religion or profession has no place in our community! We are proud to be a community of many different nationalities and backgrounds, and we cherish our strength in diversity. </p><p>To further strengthen diversity within the FSFE, we take an active role in establishing a welcoming environment for everyone inside our community. Our staffers and executives are consulting with experts on discrimination and inclusion, and to ensure that in the FSFE all participants can, at all times, feel at ease to participate without fearing any form of attack, reprisal or harassment, we have adopted a <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/codeofconduct">Code of Conduct</a>. Any behaviour contrary to the principles enshrined in this Code of Conduct, can and shall be brought to the attention of a respective local or our <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/codeofconduct#CARE">central CARE team</a>. We are convinced that any case we are being made aware of will help in making the environment more attractive and welcoming for everyone. 
</p><p>The FSFE's mission is to empower people to control technology. To make sure that every human can understand how software works, can use the software for any purpose, can share it with others and can adopt it to their needs. It is crucial that all women can exercise those rights as well to shape technology and create a better society for all of us. We want to contribute our part in balancing the power of who controls technology, and in general contribute to better gender equality inside our own as well as in other Free Software communities. We therefore ask you to join us on this path.</p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20190308-01.en.xml
title: International Women's Day: No freedom without diversity and gender equality
uri: 2019-03-10-International-Women-s-Day-No-freedom-without-diversity-and-gender-equ
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190308-01.html
content:
  International Women's Day: No freedom without diversity and gender equality
<p>Today, the FSFE celebrates International Women's Day, a global day calling for women's rights and gender parity. As in many other communities, women in Free Software communities face gender discrimination on a daily basis. To help improve their environment and raise awareness, the FSFE wants to use today's occasion to share our ongoing efforts to improve gender balance and ensure gender equality. </p><p>Gender discrimination is a massive problem throughout history. But it was only in the beginning of the 20th century when first countries started to introduce an International Woman's Day which was adopted by the United Nations in 1975 as a global day of celebration  and a focal point in the movement for women's rights. The UN theme for <a href="http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/international-womens-day">International Women's Day in 2019</a> is “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change” to help put a focus on the role that technological innovation by and for women and girls plays in efforts to achieve gender equality. This theme reminds us of the role of Free Software in achieving self-emancipation and gender equality.
</p>    
    <img src="media/7f939019.tux-diversity-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/tux-diversity-800px.jpg"/>
	<p>Freedom is all about diversity.</p> 
<p>Ever more, technology controls every single aspect of our lives. But women have traditionally been and still are underrepresented in the bodies shaping those technologies that change our society.  Core reasons are traditional and exclusive male-driven organisation cultures and the creation of artificial barriers to prevent women's influence on shaping technology the way they see fit. To empower women and achieve true gender equality in our society, it is inevitable to offer women the same access to tinker with technology as man have. </p><p>Free Software is technology that respects and empowers any user equally and puts everyone of us in control of technology. This way, the four universal freedoms of Free Software offer fertile soil for emancipating technologies without restrictions towards gender or any other backgrounds. At the Free Software Foundation Europe we are working towards ensuring that women are equally empowered to shape technology, and thereby change society for the better. Some actions that we have taken to achieve this include helping to establish female role models in technology by encouraging female speakers at our events, by balancing gender contributions in our public pictures and statements, and for job applications we give preference to applicants who  identify as part of a traditionally marginalised demographic in  technology for applications of equal strength.</p><p>But problems already arise on a much lower level and unfortunately, taking part in discussions is not always equal for everyone. We can see gender discrimination in nearly all communities, most prominently by people using their dominant positions or attitude to discriminate against or intimidate women. But regardless of how much someone has contributed to discussions with their knowledge, or how well connected they are within our community, or how much they have donated or are planning to donate:  discriminatory, disparaging or offensive speech or actions, including as to (but not limited to) gender, sexuality, race, nationality, religion or profession has no place in our community! We are proud to be a community of many different nationalities and backgrounds, and we cherish our strength in diversity. </p><p>To further strengthen diversity within the FSFE, we take an active role in establishing a welcoming environment for everyone inside our community. Our staffers and executives are consulting with experts on discrimination and inclusion, and to ensure that in the FSFE all participants can, at all times, feel at ease to participate without fearing any form of attack, reprisal or harassment, we have adopted a <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/codeofconduct">Code of Conduct</a>. Any behaviour contrary to the principles enshrined in this Code of Conduct, can and shall be brought to the attention of a respective local or our <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/codeofconduct#CARE">central CARE team</a>. We are convinced that any case we are being made aware of will help in making the environment more attractive and welcoming for everyone. 
</p><p>The FSFE's mission is to empower people to control technology. To make sure that every human can understand how software works, use the software for any purpose, share it with others and adopt it to their needs, it is crucial that all women can exercise those rights as well to shape technology and create a better society for all of us. We want to contribute our part in balancing the power of who controls technology, and in general contribute to better gender equality inside our own as well as in other Free Software communities. We therefore ask you to join us on this path.</p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2018/.news-20181205-01.en.xml
title: The FSFE needs you to continue spreading software freedom in Europe!
uri: 2019-03-10-The-FSFE-needs-you-to-continue-spreading-software-freedom-in-Europe
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20181205-01.html
content:
The FSFE needs you to continue spreading software freedom in Europe!<p>Since 2001 the Free Software Foundation Europe empowers software users to exert control over the technology that is so deeply involved in every aspect of our lives today. As a non-profit organisation, our work is backed by the continuous and generous contributions of our supporters. From public campaigns to policy monitoring, from removing legal barriers to helping organisations in understanding how Free Software contributes to freedom, transparency, and self-determination, our supporters have helped to finance our work. </p>
				
				
				
				
				
				
			
           <p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Become a supporter of the FSFE</a></p>
    <p>On the European level, 2019 will be a particularly crucial year for software freedom and technological rights that will need your support. The EU Copyright Directive currently moving its way through formal Trilogue discussions threatens to impede the free flow of online information and enact onerous new legal barriers for Free Software developers. The looming elections for the EU Parliament in May will seat politicians with the legislative power to impact the Free Software movement in Europe for the next five years. </p><p>To help them get started, we are releasing a comprehensive policy brochure as part of our "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign, which will be used to provide candidates for the EU elections in Spring 2019 with background information about the benefits of Free Software for the public sector. We will also hand over our signatures from individuals and organisations in Europe in our "Public Money? Public Code!" open letter, and continue our movement to demand that code paid for by the people should be freely available to the people.</p><p>And of course, in 2019 the FSFE will again use public awareness campaigns and political lobbying, provide our expertise, and produce promotional material and explanatory videos, to bring our community to diverse events in Europe and let them talk about the freedom of software. To achieve our goals, we base our work and form our movement with the help of our community and friends, who ensure that our message gets out and is heard in as many diverse parts of our society as possible. </p><p>    You can directly help us to master these upcoming challenges in 2019 by <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">becoming a supporter of the FSFE</a>. Any amount that you give will be greatly appreciated. Your contribution makes a huge impact today, tomorrow, and ongoing!</p>    
				<img src="media/d3e72a45.connecting-europe-500.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/campaigns/15years/pictures/connecting-europe-500.jpg"/>
			
				<p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Help spread software freedom in Europe</a></p>
			<p>If you would like to know more about the FSFE’s ongoing work, our <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20181105-01.html">2018 yearly report</a> gives you a better and more detailed understanding of the projects that we are presently involved in, which projects we want to realise in 2019, and what we have accomplished over the past year.</p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/nl/.nl-201811.en.xml
title: FSFE Newsletter - November 2018
uri: 2019-03-10-FSFE-Newsletter-November-2018
url: http://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201811.html
content:
FSFE Newsletter November 2018Software Freedom in Europe<p>For 17 years, the FSFE has been empowering people to have control over their technology, and we get better at it every year. To help you understand how we work and what we do, we have just published <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20181105-01">"Software freedom in Europe"</a>, the yearly report about the FSFE and our activities.</p><p>The report gives you a breakdown of important things the FSFE has achieved during the last 12 months in one document. In the 2018 report, you will read about several campaigns, our input on the European Union's copyright reform, and about our successful outreach in demanding publicly financed software be made publicly available under a Free Software licence. You will also get insights about the multiple events we (co-)organised, about our community and groups that helped us with these achievements. Finally, we will display some numbers showing what resources we counted on, and giving an outlook for the next year.</p><p>If you like our report, please share it on your favorite (social) media channels and mailing lists, among your colleagues, friends and families.</p>
				
				
				
				
				
				
			  <p><a href="http://fsfe.org/join/nl2018-11">Join our community of freedom fighters!</a></p>What else have we done? Inside and Outside the FSFE
		A large part of the FSFE team was present at the SFScon in Bolzano, Italy, with a booth. The FSFE's president Matthias Kirschner gave a talk about how <a href="https://www.sfscon.it/talks/be-aware-technology-shapes-democracy/">"Technology shapes democracy"</a> and our EU public policy programme manager Alexander Sander hosted a policy workshop. 

		Bits&amp;Bäume is a conference to bring together actors of different sustainability and digital right movements. The FSFE local group Berlin was present with a booth and Erik Albers gave a talk about <a href="https://fahrplan.bits-und-baeume.org/events/138.html">software as a digital resource</a>, Christian Nähle about <a href="https://fahrplan.bits-und-baeume.org/events/176.html">Free Software in municipalities</a> and Bernhard Reiter about <a href="https://fahrplan.bits-und-baeume.org/events/163.html">paying for freedom</a>.  

		In the third consecutive year, the FSFE coordinators Spain were running a booth at OSHWDem, a fair about Free Software and free hardware. On this occasion, the creation of a FSFE local group in Northern Spain was announced, as well as a translation team for the Galician language. If you are interested to join one of them, please get in contact with <a href="mailto:pd@fsfe.org">Pep Diz</a>.

		At this year's Linux Day Italy, the FSFE Local Group Sicilia <a href="https://linuxday.thefreecircle.org/2018/en/">hosted an event</a> with Giuseppe Bonocore, member of FSFE local group Milano, who gave an introduction about the FSFE and the state of the art of Free Software for "Microservices, dev-ops and silverbullet". At the same time, the FSFE local group Milano was also <a href="http://linuxdaymilano.org/2018/">hosting an event in Milano</a> about Free Software and open source culture, together with local associations where Stefano Costa gave a talk about "Libera il tuo router!" (Free your router).               

		David Boddie <a href="http://www.boddie.org.uk/david/www-repo/Personal/Updates/2018/2018-11-11.html">writes about</a> how he learned to publish applications through F-Droid and encourages everyone to do likewise: "The process was smooth and people were friendly and happy to help".

		Björn Schießle writes about his <a href="https://www.schiessle.org/articles/2018/11/01/keep-yourself-organized/">set-up of Zim</a>, and how that helps him keep being organised. 

		Diderik van Wingerden <a href="http://think-innovation.com/blog/reinventing-startups/">proposes an alternative entrepreneurial-based innovation model</a> that he believes has the potential to be good for people and the planet by design. 
		
		Get Active<p>Towards the end of the year, many people are open to join or support a cause they believe in or they believe to do good. If you liked our <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20181105-01">annual report</a> and the work we are doing, please spread the word about it. You can for example share our report on your favorite (social) media channels and mailing lists, amongst your colleagues, friends and families. If you are not a supporter of the Free Software Foundation Europe yet, please <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">consider doing so</a> and strengthening the European Free Software movement. Help yourself by making the process of understanding or explaining the importance of Free Software easier for yourself with <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword">our promotion material</a>. <a href="https://fsfe.org/order/">Get our latest merchandise</a> and improve your outfit for the winter season - or gift it to someone you know during the winter celebrations.</p>Contribute to our newsletter<p>If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter@fsfe.org. We're looking forward to hearing from you!</p><p>Thanks to our community, all the <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute">volunteers</a>, <a href="http://fsfe.org/join">supporters</a> and <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus">donors</a> who make our work possible. And thanks to <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/translators/translators">our translators</a>, who enable you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.</p><p>Your editor,
	Erik Albers</p><p><a href="http://fsfe.org/join/nl2018-11">Join our community of freedom fighters!</a></p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2018/.news-20181105-01.en.xml
title: Annual report of the Free Software Foundation Europe 2018
uri: 2019-03-10-Annual-report-of-the-Free-Software-Foundation-Europe-2018
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20181105-01.html
content:
Software freedom in Europe 2018<p>"Software freedom in Europe" is the yearly report of the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE). In one document, it gives you a breakdown of important things the FSFE has done and achieved during the last 12 months. In the 2018 report, you will read about our electoral campaigns, our input on the European Union's copyright reform, and about our successful outreach in demanding publicly financed software be made publicly available under a Free Software licence. You will also get insights about the events we (co-)organised and about our community and groups that helped us with these achievements. Finally, we will display some numbers showing what resources we counted on, and giving an outlook for the next year.</p>About the Free Software Foundation Europe<p>The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a charity that empowers people to control technology by enabling access to software and its source code. The rights to use, study, share, and improve this software are essential to guarantee equal participation in democracies of the 21st century.</p><p>We work for a world in which everyone has access to the source code of the software that runs in the products we own, or that is essential to the public infrastructure and services of the society we live in. Access to this code should be embedded in a legal environment where people are able to change technologies in a way that fulfills their needs - individually or collectively. Therefore, any software that is used to run public infrastructure or is publicly financed has to be made publicly available.</p><p>To shape the future this way, we help people to understand Free Software and its assets today. We would like everyone to understand the four freedoms to use, study, share and improve, and how these freedoms are essential to freedom in our society as a whole.</p><p>To help people understand our message, we use public campaigns and political lobbying, we provide expertise in talks and personal meetings, we set up informational booths and organise events, we produce promotion material and explanatory videos. To achieve our goals, we base our work and form our movement with the help of our community and friends, who ensure that our message gets out and is heard in as many diverse parts of our society as possible. We work in a transparent and cooperative way.</p><p>If you like to join our cause, <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute">contribute</a> or <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">support us financially</a>.</p>
	  <p>Table of contents</p>
	    
			
	      <a href="#campaigns">Campaigns in 2018</a>
	      
			   
				<a href="#pmpc">Public Money? Public Code!</a>
				<a href="#article13">Free Software in the European Union's Copyright Directive</a>
				<a href="#REUSE">The REUSE Initiative</a>
				<a href="#ayc">Electoral campaigns</a>
				<a href="#ilovefs">I Love Free Software Day 2018</a>
			   
		   
		   
	      <a href="#eventsorganised">Events we organised and participated in</a>
	      <a href="#community">The FSFE Community</a>
	       
			<a href="#care">Code of Conduct and the CARE team</a>
			<a href="#people">Staffers and team</a>
			<a href="#members">The association and its members</a>
			
		  
	      <a href="#budgets">Budgets and expenses</a>
	      <a href="#prmaterial">Promotion material</a>
	      <a href="#merchandise">Merchandise</a>
	      <a href="#2019">Looking forward into 2019</a>
	    
	Campaigns in 2018Public Money? Public Code!<p>Why is software, created using taxpayers' money, not released as Free Software? We started raising this question with our <a href="https://publiccode.eu">"Public Money? Public Code!"</a> campaign, and received a lot of international attention and support. At the time of writing more than 18.500 individuals and more than 150 organisations signed our <a href="https://publiccode.eu/openletter/">open letter</a> demanding that code paid for by the people should be available to the people. As another strong sign that now is the right time to ask for public code, we have found the first public administration to sign our open letter: the City Council of Barcelona.</p><p>On the other hand, little is known about how much public code is already a reality in many public administrations throughout Europe. To change this, we shed light on outstanding examples, to learn from each other and to put positive pressure on decision makers. We started a series of expert interviews in different areas to learn more about their experiences and their motivation, as well as their challenges: Francesca Bria, CTO of Barcelona, elaborates on how <a href="https://news/2018/news-20180705-01.html">Free Software helps build a more democratic, inclusive and sustainable digital society</a>; Elena Muñoz Salinero, who leads the Technology Transfer Centre of the Spanish Government, speaks about <a href="https://news/2018/news-20180601-01.html">best practices between public administrations in the re-use of software solutions</a>, by publishing code under Free Software licenses; and Timo Aarnio, GIS expert at National Land Survey of Finland which coordinates the development of Oskari, <a href="https://news/2018/news-20180917-01.html">explains development practices under public funding within a network with over 38 organisations from both the public and private sector</a>.</p><a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20180705-01.html"/><p>As our next step, we are releasing a brochure with more than 20 pages to be used in the time before the European Parliament's election in mid-2019. The brochure is directed towards decision makers in politics and administrations: To help them understand Free Software, to explain the benefits of public code for democracy and IT security, and to point out the first steps to positively change procurement and legislation in favor of Free Software. We will not only use this brochure for the European Parliament's election, but also for distribution to decision-makers inside public institutions to help them understand the importance of Free Software in modernising our digital infrastructure. If you would like to support this and other "Public Money? Public Code!"-activities, sign the <a href="https://publiccode.eu/openletter/">open letter</a> and help us with your <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/">donation</a>.</p><p>However, offering expertise to decision-makers is only one factor. It is just as important to apply pressure by raising awareness inside our society and offering people tools to explain the benefits of public code to each other. For the overall campaign's success, it is essential to empower activists and organisations from all over the world to become a part of this movement. One key to achieving this is to offer material and explanations in a person's mother tongue. Thanks to the priceless help of our outstanding volunteers, we have managed to translate the campaign website into 18 languages. The corresponding <a href="https://publiccode.eu/#about">popular campaign video</a> is dubbed into six different languages (English, French, Italian, German, Portuguese and Russian) and offers subtitles in a total of 15 languages. This way, we enable more than 1.5 billion people to learn about "Public Money, Public Code" in their language. </p><a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#pmpc"/><p><a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#pmpc">Get our "Public Money? Public Code!" stickers, card and poster</a> to help you spread the word!</p>Free Software in the European Union's Copyright Directive<p>One of the most controversial policy topics in the European Union 2018 was, and still is, the harmonisation of copyright with a new copyright directive. At the time of writing, and after two years of intense debates, the copyright reform is getting close to the final straight. For the well-being of software freedom, one of the most important debates was around Article 13.</p><p>Article 13 of the European Union's current copyright directive proposal can seriously hamper collaborative software development, and especially Free Software, by imposing the use of mandatory upload filters and monitoring of their users.  As a result of this proposal, Free Software code-hosting platforms and public code repositories can be arbitrarily removed online. </p><p>After a long and intense debate that we accompanied with our <a href="https://savecodeshare.eu/">Save Code Share</a> campaign, and after collecting more than 14.000 signatories for our open letter to avoid any negative impact for Free Software, we obtained some limited exclusion for Free Software in the text of the European Parliament's directive. With amendment 143 and 150 of the current copyright reform proposal, we now have at least an exclusion for “open source software developing platforms (..) within the meaning of this Directive”. However, the council proposed this exclusion to only be valid for “non-commercial open source software developing platforms”.</p><img src="media/296138fe.201803-malaja-reda-petition-article13-800px.jpeg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/people/201803-malaja-reda-petition-article13-800px.jpeg"/><p>MEP Julia Reda receives more than 11.000 signatures against the dangerous impact of Article 13 from the FSFE's policy coordinator Polina Malaja.</p><p>Since the beginning of October the European Parliament and the Council have been in the Trialogue in which we keep raising our voices and demanding for an appropriated exception of commercial as well as non-commercial Free Software in the upcoming Copyright Reform package. Most likely, this debate will continue until the beginning of next year, so if you have not yet done so, back our demand and help keep a healthy environment for Free Software development by <a href="https://savecodeshare.eu/#sign-letter">signing our open letter</a> or <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">helping us finanicially</a>. </p>The REUSE Initiative<p>The FSFE aims to support developers by helping them understand the legal implications of reusing a given piece of Free Software, and how to comply with these legal requirements by adding copyright and license information. To achieve this, the FSFE has embarked on our <a href="https://reuse.software">REUSE Initiative</a>, which introduces a set of best practices for license information in ways that not only humans can read, but computers as well, helping to automate licensing. These guidelines have been in place since December 2017, and FSFE is proud to have contributed them under CC-0 licensing terms to the OpenChain Curriculum, a project that helps companies understand best practices supporting their compliance efforts.</p><p>In September, the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano published a study that was funded by the FSFE in order for us to better understand the impact of the REUSE Initiative, and how it could be improved upon. Researchers analyzed a set of GitHub projects and the extent to which they respect REUSE guidelines, discovering that compliance is currently lackluster. While this can be attributed to the relatively recent availability of our guidelines, the study also found them overly complex. Accordingly, the next step by the REUSE Initiative to provide support to developers in their efforts to include license information will be to further simplify the guidelines and to provide additional tools for developers, which can include, for example, the so-called <a href="https://github.com/idm-suedtirol/reuse">“flight rules” developed by IDM-Südtirol</a>. The FSFE is eager to work with partners from industry and research to improve these guidelines in order to see increased compliance in the future, and greatly appreciates all feedback that can help us make this a reality.</p><img src="media/1e97d060.2018-screenshot-investigate-europe2.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/2018-screenshot-investigate-europe2.png"/><p>The FSFE helped <a href="https://www.investigate-europe.eu">Investigate Europe</a>, an independent journalistic team, to better understand concepts and benefits of Free Software and brought them in contact with experts from our network for their research for the TV documentary <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duaYLW7LQvg">"Microsoft-Software: Safe for Europe?".</a></p>Electoral campaigns<p>At the FSFE, we believe that Free Software and Open Standards should be a topic in all elections, be they on a European, national, regional, or local level. To influence the discourse and the agenda pre-election in favour of Free Software, we run <a href="https://fsfe.org/campaigns/elections">electoral campaigns</a>, where we collect and highlight information about the candidates and political parties who participate, and shed light on how they stand on Free Software. This practice can assist voters who care about Free Software and Open Standards with their voting decisions, by allowing them to understand which candidates support our cause towards a free society. After the elections, we will stay in contact with decision-makers and those who are committed to raising their voices for Free Software.</p><p>In 2018, the FSFE <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20180302-01">ran an Ask Your Candidates campaign</a> in the forefront of the Italian elections by sending a set of questions to the participating political parties and <a href="https://fsfe.org/campaigns/askyourcandidates/201803-italy-general-elections">publishing their answers</a> afterwards. These questions aimed to clarify the various parties' positions on the use of Free Software in public administrations, a subject already present in Italian jurisprudence by way of Article 68 and Article 69 of the Code of the Digital Administration.</p><p>In conclusion, all parties and candidates that answered the questions - Movimento 5 Stelle, Liberi e Uguali, Partito Democratico and Potere al Popolo - have claimed to be in favour of the adoption and the extended use of Free Software and open formats in public administration as well as in public education. In the running legislation period, the FSFE Italy will use this information to observe the government on whether they are delievering on their promises.</p>I Love Free Software Day 2018<p>Every year on February 14th, we celebrate <a href="https://fsfe.org/campaigns/ilovefs/">"I Love Free Software Day"</a>, a day to say thank you to the contributors of the various Free Software you love: developers, translators, designers, testers, or documentation writers, of huge or smaller software projects. Again, all around the globe the message of 'I love Free Software' (#ilovefs) was spread on mass and social media, in communities and between people.</p><a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20180308-01.html"/><p>We counted hundreds of messages on social media, as well as private and corporate blogs. Messages full of love declarations, sweetened with photos and artwork dedicated to the countless people out there contributing to Free Software every day, be it in the form of code, translations, documentation, community work, design, or management of projects. Thank you very much for having shared your love once more!</p><p>This year, to monitor the online popularity of the day's celebration, our intern Jan Weymeirsch wrote a scraper in GNU R to scrape trending data from social media and <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/janwey/ilfs-data">published it as a Free Software tool</a>. We used this scraper to compile results about the quantity of toots and tweets using the hashtag #ilovefs and analysed their corresponding metadata as well. We then used this data to create a word-board that showed which Free Software had been the most popular that users were sharing the love with.</p><a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20180308-01.html"/><p>Again, there have just been too many  outstanding love declarations by individuals and organisations to be listed here. If you are interested in more details, read <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20180308-01.html">this year's report</a> and do not miss #IloveFS-day in 2019!</p><p>If you would like to keep up to date throughout the year and read good news about Free Software and the people behind it, <a href="https://lists.fsfe.org/mailman/listinfo/newsletter-en">subscribe to our newsletter</a> and if you would like to help us spread the love about Free Software, <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">support us financially</a>.</p>Events we organised and participated in<p>The FSFE participates in public events to spread the message of Free Software. We are organising more and more successful events on our own, and extending our presence at events organised by others. In 2018 we participated with informative booths and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC68ldbHwL_-5qzETqOaAMWQ">talks</a> at <a href="https://fsfe.org/events/events.html">more than 40 events</a> in ten European Countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, Spain, Sweden).</p><p>In July, we combined <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/LSMandCommunityMeeting2018">our annual community meeting</a> with the FSFE's presence at the Libre Software Meeting (aka Rencontres Mondiales du Logiciel Libre) in Strasbourg, France. The Libre Software Meeting is a community-driven Free Software meeting in France, and the FSFE had the chance to run its own freedom-related track during the conference. Our community meeting is the annual event to bring together our community across Europe for a weekend to discuss and set the FSFE's agenda for the months to come. </p>
				
				
				
				
				
				
			  <p>In April, the FSFE led its <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20180530-02">annual Free Software Legal and Licensing Workshop (LLW)</a>, a 3-day conference in Barcelona, Spain, and a meeting point for world-leading legal experts to remove legal barriers for Free Software adoption, as well as to debate issues and best practices surrounding Free Software licences. In 2018, an estimated 120 legal experts enjoyed an unprecedented amount of parallel tracks and interactive sessions designed to dive into the most contentious topics in the legal world of Free Software.</p><p>In January, the FSFE partnered up again with Open Forum Europe for <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20180215-01">the third edition of the European Free Software Policy Meeting in Brussels</a>, at the heart of European decision-making. The aim of the meeting was to shed light on topics important for Free Software in public policy all over Europe, and to exchange experience for policy action within different regions to help political decision-makers understand how software freedom is related to other freedoms in our society, as well as the economic impact of Free Software. This year, 17 different groups were represented at the European Free Software Policy Meeting, from national Free Software groups to public sector representatives and international organisations.</p><a href="https://events.ccc.de/congress/2017/wiki/index.php/Assembly:Free_Software_Foundation_Europe"/><p>Booth at the FSFE assembly during 34C3</p><p>In the days before New Year's Eve, the FSFE aligned with European Digital Rights (EDRi) and other friends to form a <a href="https://events.ccc.de/congress/2017/wiki/index.php/Cluster:Rights_%26_Freedoms">Cluster “Rights &amp; Freedoms”</a> at the 34th Chaos Communication Congress, one of the largest community-driven technology-events in the world. This cluster offered a stage with a full-time programme about digital rights and the FSFE Assembly forms an integral part of this program with <a href="https://events.ccc.de/congress/2017/wiki/index.php/Assembly:Free_Software_Foundation_Europe">our own Free Software track</a>.</p><p>If you would like to support our community in participating throughout events in Europe, please consider <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">supporting us financially</a>.</p>The FSFE Community<p>In the FSFE's community, we appreciate all the people who help us on different levels with their respective skills on our path towards a society where users are in control of their technology. With this in mind in 2018, some ten thousand people, from Europe and beyond, are supporting the FSFE by spreading our word, signing our open letters about <a href="https://publiccode.eu">Public Money? Public Code!</a> and <a href="http://savecodeshare.eu/">Save Code Share</a>, subscribing to our <a href="https://lists.fsfe.org/mailman/listinfo/newsletter-en">newsletter</a>  and mailing lists, and joining <a href="https://fsfe.org/contact/community.html">our public discussions</a> about Free Software and FSFE. </p><p>For those who feel inspired by the FSFE and would like to help keep the FSFE running with their official support, we offer a supporter programme, <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20171116-01.html">previously known as the Fellowship programme</a>. The supporter programme includes a financial contribution to the FSFE and is crucial to our success. <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Joining the supporters program</a> is as easy as any online transaction and it is said to bring good karma!</p>
			
			
			
			
			
			
		  <p>Last but not least, the FSFE is proud to have highly motivated people around Europe, without whose help the FSFE could not operate in the size and outreach that we have. These volunteers work in the core of our activities and are an integral part of our community. Some of them come together in our <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/team#eu-core-team">European Core Team</a>, others coordinate our <a href="lhttps://fsfe.org/about/localteams">country or local groups</a>, and countless volunteers <a href="https://fsfe.org/events/events">run FSFE booths and give talks</a>. They help spreading our <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword">promotional material</a> as well as telling friends, families and colleagues about Free Software in Europe. All of them shape the FSFE community. If you would like to become an integral part of our community <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute">read about how you can contribute</a>.</p><a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/LSMandCommunityMeeting2018"/><p>Community members at the FSFE booth during LSM / RMLL 2018.</p>Code of Conduct and the CARE team<p>Disagreement and possible conflicts are part of any debate in every community. This is not inherently bad; quite the opposite, in the FSFE's community, we understand differences of opinions to be fundamental in the democratic process, and important to shape the directions of a community-driven organisation like the FSFE. But no matter the dispute at stake, all participants should at all times feel at ease to participate and express their opinion, and to do so without fearing any form of attack, reprisal, or harassment.</p><p>It has always been an aim for our community to offer a friendly and peaceful environment for every participant at the FSFE's events and in its infrastructure, online and offline. Since last year, we have officially codified this in our <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/codeofconduct">Code of Conduct</a>. To further ensure its availability and enforcement, we created a <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/codeofconduct#CARE">CARE team</a> at the beginning of this year. Whenever you encounter a situation in which our Code of Conduct was breached, do not hesitate to get in touch with our central CARE team.</p><a href="http://fsfe.org/about/codeofconduct"/>Staffers and team<p>In the beginning of the year, Jonas Öberg left his position as the Executive Director, and later also Polina Malaja, our former Policy Analyst and Legal Coordinator. On the other hand, Max Mehl works full-time for FSFE since January, Francesca Indorato started in February as our new office assistant and, in August, <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/sander/sander">Alexander Sander</a> joined <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/team">our team</a> as the FSFE's new EU public policy programme manager. At the beginning of October, <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/mancheva/mancheva">Galina Mancheva</a> and <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/ku/ku">Gabriel Ku Wei Bin</a> joined us as project managers. In total, the FSFE will employ seven full-time staffers and one part-time employee at the end of 2018. In addition, we constantly have two <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/internship.html">internship positions</a> in parallel that support our work. Throughout the year, our interns have been: Alexandra Busch, George Brooke-Smith, Jan Weymeirsch and Vincent Lequertier</p><p>As another addition to our team in 2018, it will be possible <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20180913-01.de.html">to undertake Federal Volunteer Service</a> ("Bundesfreiwilligendienst") at the FSFE. </p>The association and its members<p>Formally, the FSFE is an association with charity status, registered in Germany. The charity is governed by its <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/team#general-assembly">formal members</a> who are responsible for planning, budgeting, setting the agenda, as well as electing and recalling the Executive Council and the Financial Officer. We have seen a growth of members with the general assembly in 2017 and welcome as new members since then: Amandine Cryptie, Polina Malaja, Ulrike Sliwinski, Jan-Christoph Borchardt, Max Mehl, Erik Albers and Florian Snow. Daniel Pocock resigned as a member. Currently, the FSFE e.V. has 28 members.</p><p>Daily operations are run by the <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/team#council">Executive Council</a>. This year, our long-time financial officer <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20171207-01#id-reinhard-muller">Reinhard Müller</a> stepped down from his position after more than 10 years, and Patrick Ohnewein has been elected to take over the position. Reinhard continues to be a contributor to the FSFE in our technical backend and frontend, in particular as the lead organiser of the FSFE's biggest annual booth at FOSDEM. </p><p>In 2018, the General Assembly also <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20180526-01">approved</a> the removal of the "Fellowship seats". In future, <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Teams/GA">access to membership of the FSFE</a> shall be facilitated through the normal membership procedures for active FSFE contributors. The FSFE believes that encouraging active contributors to become GA members, without the downsides of the elections, is a better way to achieve our mission.</p><img src="media/0985e564.201810-general-assembly-participants-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/people/201810-general-assembly-participants-800px.jpg"/><p>Participants at the FSFE's general assembly 2018.</p>Budgets and expenses<p>As soon as we have the final numbers for 2018, you will find them on our <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/funds/funds.html">funds list</a>. On a general note, we are always eager to increase our financial independence with an increase of individual supporters instead of major donors. We expect around one third of our budget in 2018 to be covered by our <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">financial supporter program</a>. Apart from the basic costs to run our infrastructure, we have the highest expenses in <a href="https://fsfe.org/work.html">Policy</a>, <a href="https://fsfe.org/campaigns/campaigns.html">Public Outreach</a>, and <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/ftf/activities.html">Legal</a>. Currently, our biggest campaign is <a href="http://publiccode.eu/">Public Money? Public Code!</a>. The financial part of our Public Outreach covers the production and distribution of <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword">PR material</a>, <a href="https://fsfe.org/order/order.html">merchandise</a> and the FSFE's presence at <a href="https://fsfe.org/events/">various Free Software events</a>.</p>Promotion material<p>The FSFE empowers people to promote digital freedom in the real world by offering a <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword">large set of promotion material</a>. You can find inspiration about the <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#100-freedoms-black-sticker">100 freedoms of Free Software</a> and why <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#nocloud">There is no Cloud, just other people's computers</a>, or leaflets to help you explain <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#fs-and-tools">Free Software</a>, <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#gnupg-leaflet">Email encryption</a>, the dangers of <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#drm-leaflet">DRM</a> and how to <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#f-droid">Free Your Android</a>. You can also find postcards, posters and stickers of our <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#pmpc">Public Money? Public Code!</a> and <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#ilovefs">I love Free Software</a> campaign. <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword">Order your own material</a> now and help us to spread the word!</p><p>In the last 12 months, we sent out 751 promotion orders around the world. This means literally thousands of stickers, leaflets, and posters have been given out to people, who are interested or are even hearing about Free Software for the first time . If you would like to support us in this direct action, consider <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">supporting us financially</a> or consider a donation along with <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#ilovefs">your personal PR material order</a>. The right leaflet at the right time to the right person can be the start of long-lasting change. </p>Merchandise<p>Besides promotion material, <a href="https://fsfe.org/order/order.html">the FSFE sells</a> clothes, bags, baby bibs, and magnets as merchandise items. This year, we have newly released a <a href="https://fsfe.org/order/order.htmltshirt-100freedoms-black">"100 Freedoms of Free Software"</a> shirt, a <a href="https://fsfe.org/order/order.html#magnet-nocloud-white">"There is no Cloud just other people's computers" magnet</a>, and a <a href="https://fsfe.org/order/order.html#bag-pmpc-natural">"Public Money? Public Code!" bag</a>. </p><a href="http://fsfe.org/order/order.html"/>Looking forward into 2019<p>2019 will be another exciting year for software freedom and the Free Software Foundation Europe. On the European level, the FSFE will start the year by further explaining to actors, who are involved in the copyright reform, that Free Software can always be commercial as well as non-commercial, thereby removing barriers for Free Software in Europe. Later in the year, and still before the European Parliament's elections, we will get in contact with the candidates running for office and explain to them the benefits of "Public Money? Public Code!". In parallel, we will raise our voices in the debate about the next European Framework Research Programme, called "Horizon Europe", to ensure that releasing publicly financed software under free licenses becomes an integral part of "Horizon Europe", as well as a general condition for publicly financed science inside the European Union.</p>
			
			
			
			
			
			
		  <p>On the member states level, there will be elections in many European countries, such as in Switzerland, Albania, Netherlands, Greece, and Spain. We want to accompany as many of them as possible with electoral campaigns to make sure political decision makers understand how Free Software contributes to freedom, transparency, self-determination, as well as economic well-being, and that they vote accordingly in future. </p><p>To bring more Free Software to small and medium-sized enterprises and its employees, we are part of <a href="http://foss4smes.eu">FOSS4SMEs</a>. Together with our partners, we are going to create e-learning courses for managers and workers to teach them about the origins and benefits of software freedom. Our goal is that SMEs can make an informed decision and, if SMEs want to use or develop software, that Free Software is their preferred choice. Stay tuned for first releases in 2019!</p><p>Preparations are already running for our annual legal conference "Legal Licensing Workshop" (LLW), as well as for our hackathons and annual community meeting. And, besides our own events, we will of course be present again at various Free Software related events, from FOSDEM to the Chaos Communication Camp. </p><p>Last but not least, in 2019 the FSFE will again use public awareness campaigns and political lobbying, provide our expertise, and produce promotion material and explanatory videos. To achieve our goals, we base our work and form our movement with the help of our community and friends, who ensure that our message gets out and is heard in as many diverse parts of our society as possible. </p><p>If you would like to join our cause, <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute">contribute</a> or <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">support us financially</a>. </p><p>On this occasion, we like to send a big thank you to our community: all the <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute">contributors</a>, as well as our financial <a href="http://fsfe.org/join">supporters</a>, and <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus">donors</a> who made the work of the FSFE possible during the last 12 months.</p><p>Thank you!</p><p>Your Free Software Foundation Europe</p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support"/><p>FSFE supporters at the community meeting 2018 in Strasbourg, France.</p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/nl/.nl-201903.en.xml
title: FSFE Newsletter - March 2019
uri: FSFE-Newsletter-March-2019
url: http://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201903.html
content:
FSFE Newsletter March 2019<p>This month's newsletter highlights the new project the FSFE recently joined and the funding opportunities it offers, that you may want to take advantage of. You can get the latest updates on the Copyright Directive reform and the hottest news regarding Article 13, as well as a short summary of what else has happened during the past month. In the Editor's choice section this month you can find interesting news on developments with the Radio Equipment Directive, and find out who else have expressed their support for our "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign and what they have to say about it.</p>European Commission Next Generation Internet Initiative 
		<a href="https://www.ngi.eu/"/><p>Next Generation Internet Initiative</p> <p>The European Commission launched an initiative called "The Next Generation Internet" and the FSFE is part of its <a href="https://www.ngi.eu/about/ngi-zero/">NGI0 consortium</a>. The Initiative's purpose is to create technologies for a better internet where the individual user's best interests are the top priority. In other words, internet technologies that respect human rights and important values like privacy, openness, transparency, cooperation, and protection of data. 
To help achieve these objectives, the Initiative runs two branch projects, led by the <a href="https://nlnet.nl">NLnet Foundation</a>, in order to award grants to applicant technologies that attest to those ideals. The FSFE's role is to provide Free Software licensing recommendations and consultation in these projects:</p>
<p><a href="https://nlnet.nl/PET/">NGI0 PET</a> deals with technologies that enhance privacy and trust on the Internet. It awards grants to applicants that can provide people with new instruments to keep their data on the Internet confidential, while still being able to act freely and independently online.</p>
<p><a href="https://nlnet.nl/discovery/">NGI0 Discovery</a>, deals with technologies that enhance the ability to search for information on the Internet. The project confers grants to applicants that can help strengthen how we search for and discover content on the internet in such a way that supports important social values, such as freedom of expression, privacy, and transparency. The best suited solutions would ensure that searching for information is less centralised with as few intermediaries as possible. </p>

<p>All granted technologies will be based on and be made available as Free and Open Source Software.</p><p>The NGI0 consortium acts as a sort of advisory body for successful applicants and assists them with their technologies in specific areas, such as security and accessibility. In this context, the FSFE facilitates their software licensing, advising them on how to properly apply best licensing practices, and making sure their technologies are licensed and compliant.</p><p>Calls for applications for both projects are renewed every 2 months. They are currently in the midst of their 2nd call, the deadline of which is 1 April 2019. The first call, which ended in February, resulted in over a hundred submissions from countries not only from Europe, but also from Asia, Africa, and the Americas. If you are interested in getting funding to develop your relevant technology, you can <a href="https://nlnet.nl/propose/">apply here</a>.</p>Copyright and Article 13 - What happened and what's next 
		<a href="https://savecodeshare.eu/"/><p>Save Code Share</p> <p>Despite uncertainties and controversies along the way, the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive seems to be reaching the end of the road. There are many steps to finalise a legal text in the EU, but now the EU Member States and the European Parliament have reached an agreement on a <a href="media/3dbf6630.Copyright_Final_compromise.pdf" data-original-source="https://juliareda.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Copyright_Final_compromise.pdf">consolidated text</a>.
The next step is for the Directive to be voted in the plenary session at the end of March/in early April. As <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20171130-01.html">reported</a>, the original proposal could have regulated the platforms software developers use, cooling incentives to innovate and making software more fragile in Europe. It was in response to this that the OpenForum Europe and the FSFE started the <a href="https://savecodeshare.eu/">SaveCodeshare.eu</a> campaign. Together we wrote letters, petitions, and held meetings and events in Brussels and in EU member states.</p><p>Article 13 now excludes “open source software development and sharing platforms” from its scope (see article 2(5)) in the <a href="media/3dbf6630.Copyright_Final_compromise.pdf" data-original-source="https://juliareda.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Copyright_Final_compromise.pdf">provisional agreement</a>. This one unintended consequence has at least been avoided. 
From a wider perspective, no matter how the vote turns out, we were able to raise awareness and understanding of what drives software development in Europe today among many policymakers. We explained how the software ecosystem operates, the pervasive use of Free and Open Source software licenses, and the commercial nature of Free and Open Source Software.</p><p>Join our community of freedom fighters:
<a href="https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-03">https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-03</a></p>Inside and Outside the FSFE

    
      <img src="media/7f939019.tux-diversity-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/tux-diversity-800px.jpg"/>
      <p>Freedom is also about diversity.</p>
             

The four universal freedoms of Free Software offer fertile soil for emancipating technologies without restrictions towards gender or any other backgrounds. However, women have traditionally been and still are under-represented in those bodies and communities shaping these technologies. It is time to change that. On March 8, the International Women's Day, we used the occasion to <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190308-01.html">share the FSFE's ongoing efforts to improve gender balance and ensure gender equality</a>. 
As a way to help ensure that in the FSFE everyone can, at all times, feel at ease to participate without fearing any form of attack, reprisal or harassment, we adopted a <a href="http://fsfe.org/about/codeofconduct">Code of Conduct</a> and installed a <a href="http://fsfe.org/about/codeofconduct#CARE">CARE team</a>. To further support the aims of the CARE Team, we welcome <a href="http://fsfe.org/about/ku/ku.html">Gabriel Ku Wei Bin</a> as a new member.
On February 23rd <a href="http://fsfe.org/about/sander/sander.html">Alexander Sander</a>, FSFE's policy analyst, spoke about our <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">Public Money - Public Code</a> campaign at the "Winter Kongress Digitale Gesellschaft" in Zurich, Switzerland ( <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHI3rR9UmqA&amp;pbjreload=10">watch the video</a> ). At the same event, Marcus Moeller, the FSFE's Coordinator for Switzerland, and Michel Ketterle presented the next version of <a href="https://www.digitale-gesellschaft.ch/kongress/2019/talks/freedomvote_-_eine_transparenzinitiative/">Freedomvote</a>. Freedomvote is a <a href="https://freedomvote.ch/">campaign</a> and a <a href="https://github.com/freedomvote/freedomvote">Free Software</a> that enables local groups to run political and electoral campaigns by themselves. FSFE local groups have already been using it to run campaigns <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20170302-01.html">in the Netherlands in 2017</a> and <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2015/news-20150916-01.html">in Switzerland in 2015</a>
Katharina Nocun, Internet activist and FSFE Freelancer, together with Basanta E. P. Thapa from Fraunhofer Fokus presented the ongoing <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">Public Money - Public Code</a> campaign and our <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190124-01.html">new expert policy brochure</a>, and used this occasion to talk about ways public procurement can be modernised. The presentation took place on March 5th at c-base in Berlin, hosted by the <a href="https://digitalegesellschaft.de/portfolio-items/netzpolitischer-abend/">Netzpolitischen Abend</a> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya-NY1d2e9c&amp;pbjreload=10">(Watch the video)</a>
From March 16th to 17th, FSFE's booth and staff could be spotted at the <a href="https://chemnitzer.linux-tage.de/2019/en">Chemnitzer Linuxtage</a> in Chemnitz, Germany. <a href="http://fsfe.org/about/albers/albers.html">Erik Albers</a>, FSFE's Programme Manager, gave a <a href="https://chemnitzer.linux-tage.de/2019/en/programm/beitrag/269">workshop about F-Droid</a>, G-Droid, and the most useful Free Software apps to help people use more Free Software on their mobile phones.  
Another place you could inform yourself about the FSFE and have a chat with our supporters was at the <a href="https://nllgg.nl/bijeenkomst/20190316">the Dutch Linux Usergroup NLLGG</a> on March 16th, in Utrecht, the Netherlands. 
FSFE supporter André Klöpfel was <a href="https://srv.deutschlandradio.de/dlf-audiothek-audio-teilen.3265.de.html?mdm:audio_id=705107">interviewed</a> (DE) by Deutschlandfunk Marktplatz about how to install a Linux Distro for beginners.
This month we had local FSFE supporter meetings in Madrid, Hamburg, Frankfurt (Main), Berlin and Bonn.
Editor's choice
	 
		<a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/radiodirective/"/><p>EU Radio Lockdown Directive</p>  

<a href="https://blog.mehl.mx/2019/protect-freedom-on-radio-devices-raise-your-voice-today/">Protect freedom on radio devices: raise your voice today!</a> - Alert on an upcoming threat from a new EU regulation. In this entry Max explains in greater detail how a single article in the EU <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/radiodirective/">Radio Equipment Directive</a> has the capacity to make installing a custom piece of software on most radio devices (like WiFi routers, smartphones and embedded devices) impossible. Read his blog to find out how you can contribute to the better development of events.
Public Money? Public Code! campaign in EDRi's Newsletter <a href="https://edri.org/fsfe-publicly-funded-software-has-to-result-in-public-code/">EDRigram</a>: "Publicly funded software has to result in public code." Read their opinion on our initiative.
Do not miss: upcoming events with the FSFE
Pablo González, FSFE's local  Coordinator Madrid, will be present with an info-booth from March 26th to 28th at the <a href="https://www.medialab-prado.es/programas/taller-de-periodismo-de-datos-2019-sigue-el-rastro-de-la-comida">Taller de Periodismo de Datos</a> in Medialab Prado in Madrid, Spain. Pass by to get to know local Madrid supporters and the FSFE.
Get Active<p>We have a <a href="http://fsfe.org/community/tools/eventregistration.html"> cool tool</a> for announcing events and promoting them on our website and social channels. If you would like us to include your event in our next newsletter and website, feel welcome to try out <a href="http://fsfe.org/community/tools/eventregistration.html">the event submission tool.</a></p>Contribute to our newsletter<p>If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter@fsfe.org. We are looking forward to hearing from you!</p><p>Thanks to our community, all the <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute">volunteers</a>, <a href="http://fsfe.org/join">supporters</a> and <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus">donors</a> who make our work possible. And thanks to <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/translators/translators">our translators</a>, who enable you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.</p><p>Your editor,
Galia Mancheva</p><p>Join our community of freedom fighters:
<a href="https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-03">https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-03</a></p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20190326-01.en.xml
title: Copyright Directive – EU safeguards Free Software at the last minute
uri: Copyright-Directive-EU-safeguards-Free-Software-at-the-last-minute
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190326-01.html
content:
Copyright Directive – EU safeguards Free Software at the last minute<p>The European Parliament adopted the controversial Copyright Directive by 348 votes in favour, 274 votes against and 36 abstentions. Today's vote marks the end of years of debate in the European Union. Heated discussions about the introduction of upload filters ended up in protests of tens of thousands people in the streets all across Europe. In a last minute action back in September 2018, the European Parliament adopted an amendment and pushed it through the trilogue to at least protect Free and Open Source Software.</p><p>“We are glad we were able to raise awareness and understanding of what drives software development in Europe nowadays among many policy makers. The exclusion of Free Software code hosting and sharing providers from this directive is crucial to keep Free Software development in Europe healthy, solid and alive. 
we are dismayed that the EU missed the opportunity to renew copyright to a reasonable extent. As upload filters are now introduced, we urge the European Commission to avoid filtering monopolies by companies this directive actually intended to regulate. We call on the European Commission to promote the dissemination of Free Software filter technologies, including financial support, for instance within the framework of research programmes Horizon2020 and Horizon Europe.” says Alexander Sander, Policy Manager of the Free Software Foundation Europe.</p><p>The Free Software Foundation Europe and Open Forum Europe started a campaign to “<a href="https://savecodeshare.eu/">Save Code Share</a>” in 2017. More than 14.000 people supported our call with an open letter which requests EU legislators to preserve the ability to collaboratively build software online in current EU Copyright Directive proposal.</p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20190329-01.en.xml
title: #ilovefs Day report 2019
uri: ilovefs-Day-report-2019
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190329-01.html
content:
#ilovefs Day report 2019<p>On Wednesday 14th of February, we acknowledge and celebrate the annual "I love Free Software Day". It is the day to express your love for Free Software and gratitude for your favourite pieces of Free Software. The Free Software Foundation Europe would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated and helped making this day a special one for everyone involved.</p>
  <a href="media/5bc6fb34.2019-ilovefs-3D-heart-Hetzner.jpeg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/ilovefs/2019-ilovefs-3D-heart-Hetzner.jpeg">
    
  </a>
  
    <p>Loving Free Software #ilovefs</p>
  
What happened in numbers and pictures<p>We counted hundreds of Tweets and posts both on Twitter and the Fediverse, and we are happy to announce that participation again has increased. Some were inspired to come up with their own visuals, while others decided to use our balloons and posters to decorate and remind those in the offline world about the importance of Free Software. And about the importance to send a big thank you at least once a year to all those Free Software solutions that we all use on a daily basis.</p>
  <img src="media/8285fa58.2019-ilovefs-Lorraine-Percona-800px.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/ilovefs/2019-ilovefs-Lorraine-Percona-800px.png"/>
  
    <p>Spreading love for Free Software offline #ilovefs</p>
  

  <img src="media/20add584.2019-ilovefs-Wikimedia-Berlin.jpeg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/ilovefs/2019-ilovefs-Wikimedia-Berlin.jpeg"/>
  
    <p>People from Wikimedia spreading love for Free Software in Berlin</p>
  
<p>People from all over the world were showing their love with blog posts, news items, photos and artworks showing and encouraging others to join using the hashtag #ilovefs. As a result, Twitter, the Fediverse and even Facebook were flooded with love messages by people tagging their favourite Free Software projects. Thanks to our former intern and current volunteer <a href="https://www.jayvii.de">Jan Weymeirsch</a> who wrote a scraper to collect and analyse the data, we have concrete numbers and visuals to support them:</p>
    <a href="media/5732f3f2.2019-ilovefs-stats-800px.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/ilovefs/2019-ilovefs-stats-800px.png">
      
    </a>
    
      <p>Participation in #ILoveFS on Social Media through time</p>
    
  <p>Overall 667 distinct #ilovefs posts on Twitter and Fedeverse were counted, made by 530 individual accounts, mentioning at least 231 projects and developers. Posts on Twitter were coming from at least 230 different locations from all over the world in 16 different languages. In addition, there were many more "I love Free Software" posts that did not use the hashtag #ilovefs and cannot be part of this analysis, though.</p>
  <a href="media/feb49884.2019-ilovefs-social-media-stats.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/ilovefs/2019-ilovefs-social-media-stats.jpg">
    
  </a>
  
    <p>#ilovefs participation on Twitter, Fediverse and Reddit</p>
  
The Free Software community at its best<p>The important takeaway from all these numbers is the community feeling that it generates; that such a diverse group of people can share common values and attitudes towards software. It shows how much we all love sharing, using, studying and improving software for a better digital and analogue world!</p>
  <img src="media/f7cd53c0.2019-ilovefs-artwork-Elektrollart.jpeg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/ilovefs/2019-ilovefs-artwork-Elektrollart.jpeg"/>
  
    <p>#ilovefs by <a href="https://chaos.social/@Elektrollart/101590920303111962">@Elektrollart</a></p>
  
<p>There were also projects and individuals from all over the world dedicating special blog entries or news items, and we would like to share some of them with you. Unfortunately, we are not able to highlight all of them but pick just a few. There was a student from Nepal who used the occasion to <a href="https://sigdelsanjog.com.np/i-love-free-software">spread the word and explain IloveFS-day</a> and the Free Software concept to those who are still unfamiliar with it.</p>
  <a href="media/b0a812e2.2019-ilovefs-TheOpenProject.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/ilovefs/2019-ilovefs-TheOpenProject.jpg">
    
  </a>
  
    <p>The Open Project platform</p>
  
<p>The OpenProject went even further by expressing their affirmation for Free Software by <a href="https://twitter.com/openproject/status/1096036819945295872">integrating a #ilovefs banner into their platform</a>.</p><p>Befriended communities like <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikimedia:Woche/2019-02-14">Wikimedia Deutschland</a>, <a href="https://opensource.com/article/19/2/why-i-love-free-software">Open Source.com</a>, <a href="http://www.openfest.org/2018/bg/2019/02/13/i-love-free-software-day/">Open Fest Bulgaria</a>, <a href="https://blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2019/02/14/lets-celebrate-i-love-free-software-day/">LibreOffice</a> and <a href="https://www.percona.com/community-blog/2019/02/14/ilovefs-valentines-day/">Percona</a>, as well as the news site <a href="https://www.pro-linux.de/news/1/26773/i-love-free-software-day.html">Pro-Linux</a> reminded their readers and appealed to their communities to join the celebration and spread the love and gratitude.</p><p>Our friends from <a href="https://bcnfs.org/">Barcelona Free Software</a> organised a very cheerful meet up at a local bar and imbued everyone with the <a href="https://fosstodon.org/@BCNFreeSoftware/101612811244556062">love for Free Software</a> vibe.</p>
  <a href="media/23bd1ee8.2019-ilovefs-Barcelona-beer.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/ilovefs/2019-ilovefs-Barcelona-beer.jpg">
    
  </a>
  
    <p>A Cheers from the Free Software Community in Barcelona</p>
  
<p>We are also happy about companies getting active with spreading the word about Free Software and #ilovefs, and Zalando hosted a special event dedicated to the "I love Free Software" Day, hosted at their premises in Berlin. There were some interesting discussions with speakers sharing their reasons for using, loving and developing Free and Open Source solutions. </p>
  <a href="media/82ec44f3.2019-ilovefs-Zalando-event-cropped.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/ilovefs/2019-ilovefs-Zalando-event-cropped.png">
    
  </a>
  
    <p>#ilovefs panel by Zalando</p>
  
Save the date!
  <a href="media/306533b8.2019-ilovefs-Sonja-OSseeds.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/ilovefs/2019-ilovefs-Sonja-OSseeds.jpg">
    
  </a>
  
    <p>Sonja planting the #ilovefs seeds</p>
  
<p>In case you missed your opportunity to thank your favourite project, mark February 14 as "I Love Free Software Day" in your calendar for next year. But remember, you can always and without any special occasion create an opportunity to express your gratitude and appreciation throughout the entire year. You do not need a special day, as there is simply no wrong time for that!</p><p>We would like to thank everyone involved in and contributing to this day, as well as the countless developers, translators, community managers, artists and anyone else involved in Free Software.</p><p>We hope that this year's "I love Free Software Day" has further planted the seeds of Free Software passion in all of you, just like Sonja planted hers.</p><p>Support FSFE, <a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php">join the Fellowship</a><br/>Make a <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.html">one time donation</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/nl/.nl-201904.en.xml
title: FSFE Newsletter - April 2019
uri: FSFE-Newsletter-April-2019
url: http://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201904.html
content:
FSFE Newsletter April 2019<p>This month's newsletter highlights the presence of the FSFE's campaign"Public Money? Public Code!" in German media and its growing popularity across Europe. You can find a short reminder of the news around the newly voted Copyright Directive, as well as a short summary of what else has happened during the past month. In the Get Active section this month we remind you of the new open call the Next Generation Internet project we are part of has launched. Additionally you can find out about new events we are attending and the Web-a-thon we organise in Frankfurt am Main.</p>"Public Money? Public Code!" in German media
      <img src="media/ca63aeb0.2019-April-t3n-article_thumb.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/2019-April-t3n-article_thumb.png"/>
      <p>PMPC in German media</p>
    <p>Our campaign <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">Public Money? Public Code!</a> has really taken off, as German media <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M_AYj0gc_A">WDR</a> and <a href="https://t3n.de/news/sascha-lobo-breites-buendnis-code-1148918/">t3n</a> picked it up earlier this month. The FSFE's initiative received prominent support in the media from various Bundestag members, as well as digital politics activists and publicists embracing the free licenses for software receiving money from public sector.</p><p>Additionally, t3n, who also supports the campaign, published <a href="https://t3n.de/news/barcelona-touristen-hochburg-1139070/">an interview</a> with the FSFE's Public Policy Manager, Alexander Sander on the way public sector, like the city of Barcelona, deploys Free Software in its administration and city solutions: "The city manages to "react to the digital transformation with appropriate digital solutions". "The government's agenda today is 70 percent determined by the proposals made through Decidim." says the Public Policy Manager.  He believes that administrations could save money in the long term by using free-open source software: different communities might share programs and knowledge, new software would not have to be bought at high cost or completely redeveloped." Alexander Sander also mentioned Barcelona was the first major European city to support this action.</p><p>Please, feel welcome to also express your support by spreading the word and sharing our <a href="https://fsfe.org/campaigns/publiccode/brochure">brochure</a> </p>Copyright Directive was adopted<p>The European Parliament adopted the controversial Copyright Directive by 348 votes in favour, 274 votes against and 36 abstentions. Heated discussions about the introduction of upload filters ended up in protests of hundreds of thousands of people in the streets all across Europe. You can read our <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190326-01.html">press release</a> on the topic.</p><p>Join our community of freedom fighters: <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">https://my.fsfe.org/support</a></p>Inside and Outside the FSFE
      <img src="media/8d69aa4d.2019-April-Taller_Pablo_Medialab_Madrid_thumb.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/2019-April-Taller_Pablo_Medialab_Madrid_thumb.jpg"/>
      <p>Pablo González in Medialab Madrid </p>
    
Pablo González, the FSFE's Madrid Coordinator, was present with an info booth between March 26th and 28th at the <a href="https://www.medialab-prado.es/programas/taller-de-periodismo-de-datos-2019-sigue-el-rastro-de-la-comida">Taller de Periodismo de Datos</a> in Medialab Prado in Madrid, Spain. He met with local journalists, hackers and data researchers interested in the FSFE's initiatives and goals, and topics like Open Standards and privacy. 
We also published our <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190329-01.html">#ilovefs report</a> where you can see only few of the pictures and graphics used during the day, as unfortunately, we couldn't include all the wonderful photos we saw. And you can also have insights on some numbers in statistics.
On 3 April, the FSFE's Policy Manager Alexander Sander was at the <a href="https://privacylab.at/event/alexander-sander-open-platforms-for-open-data/">Open Platform for Open Data?</a> in Vienna, Austria. There, he talked about the challenges and contradictions of the models public administrations face when deploying software, as well as provided ways forward on how to shape the open data debate in a way that systematically promotes the public interest.
Alexander Sander also made few other presentations on that topic at the <a href="https://netzpolitischerabend.wordpress.com/2019/03/28/programm-des-35-netzpolitischen-abends-at-am-4-april-2019-in-wien/">Netzpolitischer Abend</a> on 4 April in Vienna and on April 5th at the <a href="https://grandgarage.eu/de/events/">Grand Garage</a> in Linz, Austria. A full video of his talk in Vienna is also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqTKkFHCnz0">available</a>.
Marcus Moeller, the FSFE Switzerland Coordinator, gave a presentation promoting the sustainable use of electronic equipment for educational purposes and thus also promoting Free Software, on 6 April at the <a href="https://openeducationday.ch/">Open Education Day</a> in Berne, Switzerland. His presentation was given in front of teachers, people engaged with school informatics, as well as people interested in introducing and promoting Free Libre Open Source Software, Open Content or Open Hardware at their school.
On 6 April the FSFE was present with an information and merchandise booth at another event - <a href="https://www.luga.de/Aktionen/LIT-2019/">the 18th "Linux-Infotag Augsburg"</a>. The event took place in the premises of the IT faculty of the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences.
On April 8th, The FSFE's Policy Analyst Alexander Sander and Programme Manager Erik Albers gave a presentation at Escola del Treball de Barcelona about our "Public Money?Public Code!" Campaign. The meetup, lead by Monica Bernardi from Dimmos, discussed public policies around Free Software, public money and how to leverage Free Software to push public administrations into the next level. You can also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXwq_bhjSwQ">watch the full video</a> from the event.

    
      <img src="media/71dfdb93.2019-April-PMPC-Barcelona-talk_thumb.jpeg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/2019-April-PMPC-Barcelona-talk_thumb.jpeg"/>
      <p>Escola del Treball de Barcelona</p>
    

This month we had local FSFE supporter meetings in Hamburg, Bonn, Kiel and Zurich, Switzerland.
Do not miss: upcoming events with the FSFE
On 26 and 27 April, Max Mehl, the FSFE's Programme Manager, will give a keynote about Free Software as a solution to many pressing IT security problems at the <a href="https://pretalx.linuxtage.at/glt19/talk/K9YDDN/">Grazer Linuxtage</a>. He will look at the pros and cons and use concrete examples to illustrate why security and openness are not contradictory. If you are close by, pay a visit to his talk at the Technical University Graz.
On 11 May, the FSFE will be present with a booth at <a href="http://t-dose.org/">T-Dose</a> in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Visit the booth for interesting dicussions and chats about Free Software.
On 21 May, Erik Albers, the FSFE's Communication Manager, will talk at the <a href="https://md-devdays.de/Act?id=1000138">Magdeburger Developer Days</a> about how we can help ours and future generations to safe resources with the help of software.
Between 24 and 26 May, the FSFE will host a web-a-thon in Frankfurt (Main) with the intend to have a fruitful collective work on improving the FSFE's homepage. The web-a-thon will happen at the local <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/2019/0525-fsfe-web-a-thon">Chaos Computer Club</a>. Be there, or be square.
Get Active
      <img src="media/a0a9d14c.NGI0-nl201903.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/NGI0-nl201903.jpg"/>
      <p>Next Generation Internet Project - Open Call</p>
    <p><a href="https://www.ngi.eu/">Next Generation Internet Initiative</a>: The third call of NGI Zero Discovery and NGI Zero PET opened up on April 1st 2019, with a deadline for submissions of June 1st 2019 12:00 CET. </p><p><a href="https://nlnet.nl/discovery/">NGI Zero Discovery</a> is seeking for project proposals between 5.000 and 50.000 euros - with the potential to scale them up if there is proven potential. Search should not be a gatekeeper, a black box or a privacy nightmare. If the internet is the equivalent of a global brain, we need creativity and diversity in the pathways across that brain to unlock its true potential. Search and discovery are basic human needs for humans of all ages, and we would like to put powerful new technology in the hands of future generations as building blocks for a fair and democratic society and an open economy that benefits all.</p><p><a href="https://nlnet.nl/PET/">NGI Zero PET</a> is seeking project proposals between 5.000 and 50.000 euros - with the potential to scale them up if there is proven potential. Reliability, confidentiality, integrity and security should be the 'new normal' of the internet, something ordinary users should not have to worry about. Trust is one of the key drivers for the Next Generation Internet, and an adequate level of privacy is a non-negotiable requirement for that. The desire is to assist independent researchers and developers to create powerful new technology, and to help them put it in the hands of future generations as building blocks for a fair and democratic society and an open economy that benefits all. </p><p>If your proposal ends up amongst the winners list, you will receive licensing advices and consultation from the FSFE team.</p>Contribute to our newsletter<p>If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter@fsfe.org. We are looking forward to hearing from you. Also make sure to see your event in our next newsletter. Please use our <a href="http://fsfe.org/events/events.html">new tool</a> to announce it!</p><p>Thanks to our community, all the <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute.html">volunteers</a>, <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">supporters</a> and <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus.html">donors</a> who make our work possible. And thanks to <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/translators/translators.html">our translators</a>, who enable you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.</p><p>Your editor,</p><p>Galia Mancheva</p><p>Join our community of freedom fighters: <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">https://my.fsfe.org/support</a></p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20190514-01.en.xml
uri: How-the-Parliament-of-Asturias-decided-to-sign-the-open-letter-demandi
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190514-01.html
title:
How the Parliament of Asturias decided to sign the open letter demanding "Public Money? Public Code!" - an interview with Iyán Méndez Veiga

content:
How the Parliament of Asturias decided to sign the open letter demanding "Public Money? Public Code!" - an interview with Iyán Méndez Veiga<p>"The Parliament of Asturias commits itself to the international "Public Money, Public Code" campaign" - this is a quote from the first demand in a recent proposal brought by the Parliament of Asturias to its government. It is also the happy end of continuous lobbying efforts from Oviedo's local hackerspace "Pica Pica Hacklab", using the FSFE's campaign material mixed with their self-developed brand of social hacking. Meanwhile, the Parliament of Asturias backed up its words with deeds and officially signed the open letter of our "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign - being the very first Parliament to do so. To shed light on this successful story and inspire local groups around the world, we conducted an interview with Iyán Méndez Veiga, member of Pica Pica Hacklab.</p><p>FSFE: You are a member of Pica Pica HackLab in Oviedo, Asturias. A hackerspace that refers to itself as "a collective of Eco Hackers". Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit what Pica Pica HackLab is and what you are doing?</p><p>Iyán Méndez Veiga: I am doing my masters-study in physics at the University of Ulm, Germany, but I am initially from Oviedo where I joined <a href="http://picapica.mindhackers.org/">Pica Pica Hacklab</a> five years ago. Pica Pica is a small organisation and we are focussing on spreading the word about the use and benefits of Free Software in our region. The whole project started ten years ago when the original members of Pica Pica noticed the lack of activities related to Free Software in our region and so they decided to do something. Just some weeks later, Pica Pica already organised its first workshop about Free Software.</p><p>Calling ourselves "eco hackers" is to emphasise that we also do some activities that are not usually related to hacker spaces or hacker labs. For example we are fighting against planned obsolescence. On our website you can find tutorials how to use your toner till its end and not until the printer claims you have to change it. Also we have workshops about technology and birds, using Free Software to live-record the sound of birds and later use the audio to identify them. Later this year we will also try to publish something similar about bats because we have been using Free Software to record bat sounds and recognise them. So Pica Pica mixes technology and environmental studies, and we like that mix.</p>
			<img src="media/d7e1dc7f.201610-pica-pica-hacklab-800px.JPG" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/201610-pica-pica-hacklab-800px.JPG"/>
			Some of the Pica Pica Hacklab members at a regular meetup in 2016. (Picture by Iyán Méndez Veiga, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC-BY 4.0</a>)
		<p>Currently Pica Pica has six active members. That seem like a small group, but a lot of people usually come to our introduction workshops. Also there is a lot of fluctuation. Meaning some people come, they are active for a while but then they go again. In the past, for example, a medical student preparing the MIR exam in Oviedo joined us. He was very interested in Free Software and he even gave a talk about hacking some medical devices. We always have our door open.</p><p>Do you think there is a good Free Software scene or culture in Asturias or in Oviedo in particular? I mean a hackerspace normally does not grow from nowhere.</p><p>I would say it is a not a big thing in Asturias. But we are trying to spread it more and more. So, although most communication happens via email, we try to meet as often as we can. Then, once a year, we have this big workshop about the introduction to Free Software which is split in two sessions. The first part is about the idea behind the Free Software movement and the second part is hands-on installing Free Software.  But we do a lot of other activities, as well. For example, when it was the 30th birthday of FSF, we organised a party and we also did it with the 20th birthday of KDE. And we hosted the first FLISOL event in Europe in our city back in 2010 and we have been doing so for the last 10 years.</p><p>Thank you very much for this introduction, now let's talk about your latest success: you convinced the Asturian parliament to write a proposal to the government to support the FSFE's <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">"Public Money? Public Code!"</a> campaign. How did you first become aware of the campaign?</p><p>Well, we received an email from FSFE which came just in time because we were already working on a similar proposal to our government some years before the "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign. The first time we tried to convince the Parliament was in 2015, during the previous regional elections. We wrote a similar document back then and when we saw the European "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign coming up, we used the moment to merge the two initiatives and give it a second try. Then, after some preparation, we started to contact the politicians of the Parliament in Asturias in March 2018. That means, it took us almost one year of work until they finally voted "Yes" which happened in February 2019.</p><p><a href="http://picahack.org/el-parlamento-asturiano-vota-mayoritariamente-s%C3%AD-al-software-libre">The proposal of the Parliament has three main items</a> and the very first one is that the Parliament of Asturias supports the international "Public Money? Public Code!" initiative. So I would say, indeed, that the campaign's material served us a very good basis to get the Parliament's proposal.</p>The proposal of the Parliament has three main items and the very first one is that the Parliament of Asturias supports the international "Public Money? Public Code!" initiative.<p>Why did you choose the Parliament and not the government or a ministry to influence with your agenda?</p><p>Some years ago Pica Pica HackLab tried to contact the President of Asturias, Javier Fernandez. Back then, in 2013, they created a committee of experts to give technological advise after the financial crisis. Alexis, first member of Pica Pica, wrote a letter to highlight that the committee was highly represented by Microsoft Ibérica (María Garaña, former president of Microsoft Ibérica was part of that comittee) and that this was probably not the best choice in the interest of our region. Obviously, there was a conflict of interest between what Asturias needed and wanted and what Microsoft wanted. So we wrote this letter to the President of Asturias and we were totally ignored. And we realised that it does not work very well to directly communicate with the government. In our experience, it is easier to contact the political parties that have representation in the parliament. And that is what we did this time.</p>Actually everything was going better when we had these face-to-face meetings. So as soon as we realised this, we started to do some kind of "social hacking"<p>How does this work in practice? Does it mean a lot of individual meetings with individual members from different parties or is there something like a public hour per week where you can talk with them? </p><p>It was a long process because when you start you do not yet have any good ways of contact like their phone numbers. So, everything was done via email at first. And then, as soon as we got some dialogue started, we sped things up and asked for meetings. Actually everything was going better when we had these face-to-face meetings. So, as soon as we realised this, we started doing some kind of "social hacking": the problem is that you cannot go to the Parliament of Asturias without an invitation. But once you have an invitation for a meeting with some of the politicians via email and you are inside the building, you can move freely. So we used the chance to knock on doors, office by office of politicians who did not yet reply or invite us, and this was a great chance to speak with these politicians directly and face-to-face even with a pending invitation.</p><p>Do you have a rough estimation of how many times you were going to the parliament?</p><p>I do not know exactly the number of meetings but I would say there were two important meetings. One with the first proposal with two or three political parties that were already going to vote yes. They agreed with the text of the initiative but the rest was not so sure. In these meetings we were actually trying to emphasise different aspects of "Public Money? Public Code!" depending on the direction the policial party is more aligned with. The idea behind this was that they are totally different parties but we want them all to vote in favour of the same thing. So we emphasised different benefits of Free Software to the different parties. For example the PP (conservative traditional party) was more interested in tax savings. But with the PSOE (labour party), which is also the governing party now, we tried to highlight the sharing aspect, so you can collaborate with other regions. If you develop something in one region, then you can share it later with the other regions. You do not have to invest again and again or to reinvent the wheel. Then we theorised that in the last elections it was a new party in our region that is more focused on transparency. We tried to convince them by highlighting that Free Software is the only kind of software that you can audit and that argument worked really well.  </p>The idea behind was that they are totally different parties but we want them all to vote the same thing. So we tried to emphasise different benefits of Free Software to the different parties.<p>That means depending on the party's own directions and programs, you will use their own arguments for your causes? </p><p>Yes. The FSFE's campaign mentions four main advantages of using Free Software within public administrations. We used all four of them but with each party we emphasised one more than the others. That worked really well to convince them.</p><p>Did you also directly use the campaign's material like showing them the webpage or the video? Was the material useful for your purposes?</p><p>Yes. Actually the campaign's website is directly mentioned in the final proposal, in the very first item. So the web page was a big help for us. About the video I do not exactly know if it was shown but I would have done it because it is really effective. </p>
			<img src="media/13075ef1.201903-pica-pica-hacklab-team-800px.JPG" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/201903-pica-pica-hacklab-team-800px.JPG"/>
			Pica Pica Hacklab team in front of the Parliament of Asturias after the Parliament's decision to support Public Money? Public Code! (Picture by Marcos Suárez, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC-BY 4.0</a>)
		<p>Which party was the first one to be convinced?</p><p>The parties that were more closely cooperating from the very beginning and were answering all the emails were Izquierda Unida and Podemos. Very early on, Izquierda Unida said that they were going to vote yes and they told us publicly that they were going to do that. So there was no mystery about their vote. It was different for Ciudadanos, PP and PSOE. I think Ciudadanos, by the end of the meetings, they were probably going to vote yes and they mentioned that they were going to vote yes. So we were quite sure about that, but regarding PSOE and PP we had no idea until the final vote. </p><p>Those are the biggest parties, so you needed them or at least one of them to succeed. Since you knew the small parties are going to vote in favour you further concentrated your efforts on the big ones?</p><p>Yes, of course. We sent a lot of emails to them before the voting, but they never replied... It was good to get the yes from Izquierda Unida and Podemos. But without the the PP or PSOE we would not have succeeded. And so, on the election day we were all watching the parliamentary session with tension.</p><p>And then you were successful, congratulations! Can you briefly explain what it is that the Parliament actually voted on and what it means?</p><p>I do not know how to legally translate this proposal. I would say something like non-binding motion or proposal or something like that. So there is the first item, it does not involve the government because it is says: "the Parliament of Asturias supports the European campaign of 'Public Money? Public Code!'". Meanwhile they followed their accepted proposal and are officially listed as signatories of <a href="https://publiccode.eu/#action">the open letter</a> of the campaign.</p><p>Then, the other two items are more related to the government. It basically takes the message from the "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign and although it is not mandatory, it asks the government to use Free Software in public administrations. So it is not a law, it is not binding, but it is an intention.</p>I think for the first time, a lot of politicians understood what Free Software is.<p>Is there a legal obligation for the government to reply to it?</p><p> I am not a legal expert, but I would say no. I think what was more useful about this is that, I think for the first time, a lot of politicians understood what Free Software is. At least now they know the movement, they know the concept, they know the issues with proprietary software. And our representatives in the parliament are now aware of that.</p><p>But also it serves as a very good basis for us. We are not naive and we know that this proposal is not like the last step but more like the first one. But we can use it for the ones that will come next. For example, we are in elections period and our idea is to ask the parties somehow to reflect this motion passed on their proposals for the next government. Then, once we have the new government by the end of next month, we will start working again with the Parliament and remind them of this decision. And if it is not PSOE again who is governing we can directly speak with the governing party and remind them that they agreed on fostering Free Software and ask them what are the things they are going to do regarding points two and three of the proposal. And if they do nothing, we will be there to let them know that we do not forget and we want them to do something about it.</p>We know that this proposal is not like the last step but more like the first one. But we can use it for the ones that will come next.<p>Do you think the elections will change something in the current government in Asturias?</p><p>To be honest, I do not know which party will win. The current governing party is the only party which voted no. So concerning Free Software any new party is supposed to be better. But we know that it is one thing to vote yes when you are in the opposition and often it is totally different when you are governing and you have to do something about it. So let us wait to see what happens.</p><p>We wish you good luck with this and thank you very much for this very interesting interview!</p><p>Interviewer: Erik Albers</p>With our <a href="http://publiccode.eu/">Public Money? Public Code! campaign</a>, the FSFE demands that publicly financed software developed for the public sector shall be made publicly available under a Free and Open Source Software licence. In order to help understand our call and its benefits, we run a series of interviews that highlight good examples and use-cases as best practices.<p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20190515-01.en.xml
title: Public Money, Public Code: Munich one step back - others two steps forward.
uri: Public-Money-Public-Code-Munich-one-step-back-others-two-steps-for
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190515-01.html
content:
Public Money, Public Code: Munich one step back - others two steps forward.<p>More than two years ago, Munich abandoned their strategy of developing an independent IT infrastructure built with Free Software and the free operating system GNU/Linux and  went back to depending on proprietary software. We followed this process closely and like to give an update today about what has happened since then in Munich and in Europe in general. Did we manage to gain more independence and control over our IT or did dependencies on monopolies increase over the past two years? </p>Retrospect<p>The LiMux project was started 13 years ago when the city of Munich needed to replace their no longer supported Windows NT4 workstations. In that period, 15.000 workstations were migrated to vendor-neutral Free Software solutions and Open-Standard-based file formats supported by local IT companies. This initiative not only was an example of a successful move to more independence, but also served as a role model of how to strengthen the local IT industry. </p>
			<img src="media/63dd3cfb.2019-limux-munich-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/2019-limux-munich-800px.jpg"/>
			<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/149561324@N03/37726450455/">Picture</a> by Marco Verch, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC-BY 2.0</a>
		<p>But then things took a turn for the worse. In 2014, the SPD entered a coalition agreement with the CSU and Dieter Reiter (SPD) was elected new mayor of Munich. The new coalition started to question the LiMux strategy as soon as their term started, and asked Accenture, a Microsoft partner located in the same building as Microsoft, to analyse Munich's IT infrastructure. The report can be found <a href="media/c6e3610a.4277724.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.ris-muenchen.de/RII/RII/DOK/SITZUNGSVORLAGE/4277724.pdf">here</a> (German). It is worth noting that, despite their close connection with Microsoft, in their report, analysts identify primarily organisational issues at the root of the problems troubling LiMux's uptake, but no significant technical issues. </p><p>Nevertheless, the coalition filed a surprise motion with minimal lead time before the city council, with the goal to end LiMux once and for all. </p><p>Back then we, together with other independent parties, <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20170301-01.html">came to the conclusion</a> that LiMux suffered from organisational problems, including lack of clear structures and responsibilities, something the Accenture report confirmed. These where independent from the software used on client machines, and switching operating systems alone would not solve them. </p>Where we are today<p>Munich is still in the transition back to proprietary software. This whole process will cost the citizens of Munich nearly 90 million Euros in the next six years. Meanwhile, looking at other cities in Germany and all over Europe, we see that many regions push for more independence. Free Software in public administrations is not a short‐term trend. The last few years have seen significant changes in the attitudes of public administrations towards IT procurement, increasingly favouring a strategic, long‐term‐oriented approach.</p><p>Free Software solutions are helping governments address different challenges, from democratic governance to natural disaster prevention. Some projects are not only deployed but also developed internationally. Popular projects, such as Consul, GNU Health, X-Road, and CKAN, highlight the potential of Free Software for cooperation across borders. In Germany, the Government decided to run their own, Free Software Cloud Solution, called Bundescloud. 300,000 people in ministries and other federal institutions will use this federal cloud. The Government of France decided to build a country wide <a href="https://matrix.org/blog/2018/04/26/matrix-and-riot-confirmed-as-the-basis-for-frances-secure-instant-messenger-app/">messaging platform based on Free Software</a> and many more exciting projects are happening all over Europe in an effort to increase IT independence of public administrations. But Munich, once a spearhead in this modernization effort, is now backpedalling on what the city achieved and, instead of institutionalizing it, they are giving up on the experience and knowledge they acquired with their new software.</p><p>To support these activities and in order to convince more administrations to migrate to Free Software, the Free Software Foundation Europe runs the well received <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">"Public Money? Public Code!"</a> campaign. The initiative asks legislators to establish the rule that publicly financed software developed for the public sector must be made publicly available under a Free Software license. If it is public money, it should be public code as well.</p><p><a href="https://fsfe.org/campaigns/publiccode/brochure">Our Brochure</a> summarises the FSFE's long-term expertise with additional knowledge from leading experts in various ICT areas. It helps readers understand Free Software and its benefits for a modern digital public infrastructure. Please help us spread the word about the campaign and <a href="https://publiccode.eu/#about">share our videos</a> (available in many languages) and - if you haven't already - sign <a href="https://publiccode.eu/#action">our open letter</a>.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20190515-02.en.xml
title: Free Software in Munich - FSFE thanks cabaret artist Christine Prayon
uri: Free-Software-in-Munich-FSFE-thanks-cabaret-artist-Christine-Prayon
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190515-02.html
content:
Free Software in Munich - FSFE thanks cabaret artist Christine Prayon<p>Yesterday, political satirist Christine Prayon was awarded the 10,000 Euro Dieter Hildebrandt Prize of the City of Munich for demanding political or decidedly socio-critical political satire. Prayon is donating the prize money to the Free Software Foundation Europe.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.muenchen.de/rathaus/Stadtverwaltung/Kulturreferat/Kulturfoerderung/Preise/Dieter-Hildebrandt-Preis/2019.html">jury states</a>, among other things, that the award recipient Prayon "[...] does not simply accuse - she unmasks, and we are her witnesses". Prayon herself used her thank-you speech to put the finger on one of Munich's sore spots: Prayon describes the former genius, progressive process of making Munich independent of the providers of proprietary software and letting the complete administration run on a free system. Prayon then criticised the switch back to proprietary systems.</p>
			<img src="media/1861bb03.2019-05-Christine-Prayon-1200x630.en.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/fundraising/2019-05-Christine-Prayon-1200x630.en.png"/>
		<p>The migration of workstations back to proprietary software will cost Munich almost 50 million Euros over the next six years. A further 37 million Euros will have to be invested in implementation projects. The Free Software Foundation Europe already criticised the migration-project in the past. The migration will not solve existing organisational IT problems in the day-to-day administrative business. At the same time new dependencies on manufacturers of proprietary software will arise and license fees will be paid to the proprietary manufacturers instead of using these funds in tax payers' best interest for the further development of the software and the cooperation with other administrations. The systems become less transparent and no longer comprehensible for citizens. Further information on the migration plans of the City of Munich can be found <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190515-01.html">here</a>.</p><p>Munich is thus turning against the trend: in other administrations, Free Software is being used with overwhelming success. Since the French government decided to start using more Free Software back in 2012, between 0.6% and 5.4% more companies using Free Software have been created in France every year; between 6.6% and 14% more people find employment in the IT sector every year. In Barcelona, 70% of the budget for the development of new software is used to create Free Software. Contracts have so far been awarded to 3,000 companies, 60% of them SMEs, mostly from the region. In collaborative projects, more and more cities are working on common software solutions and jointly develop them, saving costs and sharing risks.</p><p>The Free Software Foundation Europe has launched the campaign "Public Money? Public Code!" to convince other administrations to switch to Free Software and support them in their migration. As part of the campaign, we published the specialist publication "Public Money Public Code - Modernising Public Infrastructure with Free Software". The brochure aims to answer questions from decision-makers about the benefits of using and developing Free Software for the public administration.</p><p>More information about the campaign and its supporters can be found on our campaign website at <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">publiccode.eu</a>, and the brochure can be found <a href="https://fsfe.org/campaigns/publiccode/brochure">here</a>.</p><p>The Free Software Foundation Europe would like to take this opportunity to thank Christine Prayon for her commitment to Free Software and her generous donation.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/nl/.nl-201905.en.xml
title: FSFE Newsletter - May 2019
uri: FSFE-Newsletter-May-2019
url: http://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201905.html
content:
FSFE Newsletter May 2019<p>This newsletter edition gives special attention to the upcoming EU Elections. We are telling the story of the Spanish Pica Pica Hacklab who successfully used our "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign to influence the Parliament of Asturias. Pica Pica's story takes us to the upcoming EU Elections that will bring in new MEPs into the European Parliament and so we provide advice and tips on how you can get active in promoting Free Software to them. As always, you will also read about the events the FSFE is going to be part of this month, as well as a retrospective of what has happened in the past month. </p>EU Elections 2019 and Free Software<p>"The Parliament of Asturias commits itself to the international <a href="http://publiccode.eu/">Public Money? Public Code!</a> campaign" - this is a quote from the first demand in a <a href="media/f78d46c5.18111520-20PNL20Software20Libre20-20RE35416.PDF" data-original-source="http://www.picahack.org/181115%20-%20PNL%20Software%20Libre%20-%20RE35416.PDF">recent proposal brought in by the Parliament of Asturias</a> towards its government and it marks the happy end of continuous lobbying efforts from Oviedo's local hackerspace <a href="http://picapica.mindhackers.org/">"Pica Pica Hacklab"</a>. </p>
     <img src="media/13075ef1.201903-pica-pica-hacklab-team-800px.JPG" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/201903-pica-pica-hacklab-team-800px.JPG"/>
     Pica Pica Hacklab team in front of the Parliament of Asturias after the Parliament's decision to support Public Money? Public Code!
<p>This was already the second attempt of Pica Pica to lobby the Parliament of Asturias and demand the use of Free Software within public administrations. However, in contrast to their first attempt in 2015, this time Pica Pica had <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#pmpc">"Public Money? Public Code!" campaign materials</a> at hand and used them extensively, together with their self-developed social hacking skills, to convince the politicians.</p><p>Pica Pica's success story is highly motivating for local activists and so we <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190514-01.html">interviewed Iyán Méndez Veiga</a>, member of Pica Pica, to highlight key elements of their activities, the usage of our campaign material and their lobbying. Read how Pica Pica successfully emphasised different benefits of Free Software depending on the agenda of the political party they were talking to respectively, how they turned emails into face-to-face meetings and how they finally landed even more meetings with officials from different parties by simply walking through the Parliament's building.</p><p>Pica Pica's story is not only motivating but it also clearly shows how local engagement by a small single group can influence even the highest political levels. Still, it is one story out of many, happening continuously in many parts of Europe. Be it a group of people or individuals: every talk, explanation or sometimes even the mere handing out of a <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword.html">well-formulated and informative leaflet</a> can make the difference and convince a decision-maker to care about Free Software. </p><p>That brings us to this year's EU Elections of the European Parliament taking place next week throughout Europe, from May 23rd to 26th. Let us follow the recent example of Pica Pica and make sure that as many candidates as possible are aware of Free Software and its benefits, and convince them to join us in empowering users to control technology.</p><p>This is even more important now, as forecasts predict that half of the Members in the current European Parliament will not be back in the next term. That means that there will be new members appearing on the scene that do not yet know about Free Software. </p><p>Help let them know about the benefits of technologies that respect users freedom. Help us establish new contacts with advocates for Free Software in the next European Parliament's term. Seek out the candidates in your region and get in contact with them. Use our <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">"Public Money?Public Code!" campaign</a> as a source for arguments. Find more <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/European_Elections_2019">general hints and tips</a> in our wiki.</p><p>And then get out there and vote for the candidate that convinced you most concerning the topics and values that matter to you!</p>
     <img src="media/ef6b0da7.European_Parliament_Strasbourg_Plenary-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/European_Parliament_Strasbourg_Plenary-800px.jpg"/>
     The European Parliament during a plenary session in Strasbourg. (<a href="media/d8904b6b.European_Parliament" data-original-source="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Parliament">Picture by Diliff</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>)
<p>Vote for freedom and join our community: <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">https://my.fsfe.org/support</a></p>Do not miss: upcoming events with the FSFE
From May 17th to 19th the Maker Fair Berlin will take place and the local FSFE group Berlin will be present with an information booth.
On May 18th the FSFE's Policy Manager Alexander Sander will be present at the Albanian Open Source conference <a href="https://oscal.openlabs.cc/speakers/alexander-sander/">OSCAL</a> to promote the FSFE's "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign to the local community.
On May 21st Erik Albers, FSFE's Communication and Programme Manager, will talk at the <a href="https://md-devdays.de/Act?id=1000138">Magdeburger Developer Days</a> about the sustainability of software and how to preserve software resources for future generations.
From May 24th to 26th the FSFE will host its own <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/2019/0525-fsfe-web-a-thon">web-a-thon</a> in Frankfurt (Main) to have a fruitful collective work on improving the FSFE's homepage together. You can find all details on the corresponding wiki-page.
On May 29th, the FSFE's legal intern Lucas Lasota will present FOSS legal trends at the <a href="https://opensaar.de/2019/04/libre-graphis-meeting-in-saarbruecken/">Libre Graphics Meetings</a> in Saarbrücken, Germany.
On June 8th, the FSFE's Project Manager Galia Mancheva will present the Public Money? Public Code! campaign to the Bulgarian tech community at <a href="http://tuxcon.mobi/">TuxCon</a> in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
On June 13th, the FSFE's President Matthias Kirschner will give a keynote about Free Software in our society at <a href="https://ow2con19.sched.com/event/NzsE">OW2con</a> in Paris, France.  
On June 25th, the FSFE's Policy and Project Managers Alexander Sander and Galia Mancheva will talk about the Public Money?Public Code! campaign and the updated Copyright Directive at <a href="https://libertybits.org/eventalk_speaker_category/2019/">Libertybits</a> in Sofia, Bulgaria
Save the Date:<p>This year we are running the FSFE community meeting on November 15th and 16th in cooperation with the <a href="https://www.sfscon.it/">SFSCon</a> in Bolzano, Italy. The FSFE country team Italy will use this occasion to prepare and run a dedicated FSFE track during the conference and the conference day will be followed by a dedicated community day. The general Call for Participation of the SFSCon is already up and running, while the one for the FSFE track in particular will be published soon. If you are interested in the publication of the call, follow <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/">our news</a> (<a href="http://fsfe.org/news/news.en.rss">RSS feed</a>)</p>What have we done? Inside and Outside the FSFE
On 27 April, Max Mehl, the FSFE's Programme Manager, gave a keynote at Grazer Linuxtage about Free Software and why security and openness are not contradictory. If you are curious about what he said, you can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOv_5ZPcFZ8">watch the keynote video</a>. 
On April 27th, there was an FSFE's info-booth at the the local FLISoL event in A Coruña, Spain and on 11 May, the FSFE was present with a booth at T-Dose in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. 
Alexander Sander, the FSFE's Policy Manager talked about the importance of supporting the Public Money? Public Code! campaign on May 3rd at the LWW2019 in Vienna, where the FSFE also hosted an infobooth.

     <img src="media/594a1438.201904-booth-at-linuxwochen-wien-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/booths/201904-booth-at-linuxwochen-wien-800px.jpg"/>
     FSFE booth at Linuxwochen Wien

Carmen Bianca Bakker writes <a href="https://www.carmenbianca.eu/en/post/2019-05-08-of-elitists-and-laypeople/">about elitists and laypeople</a> and uses this distinction for a comparison between the development of the Game of Thrones script with her own development and history from Spacemacs to Emacs to VSCodium and more.

Syncthing is a Free Software sync-solution on F-Droid. Andrea Scarpino explains the customizations he has done to use it for simple but <a href="https://scarpino.dev/posts/automated-phone-backup-with-syncthing.html">automated phone backup with Syncthing</a>
Matija Šuklje <a href="https://matija.suklje.name/how-i-put-order-in-my-bookmarks-and-found-a-better-way-to-organise-them">sums up different way and methods</a> he used to archive and organise his bookmarks in the last years. 
Get Active<p>As already brought up in the beginning of the Newsletter, the European Parliament's Elections are ahead and forecasts predict that many new members will be part of the next term. If you want Free Software to catch on with these Parliamentary freshmen, then you can seek out the candidates in your region and get in contact with them. We prepared a <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/European_Elections_2019">short list of actions you can take and other tips</a> in our wiki.</p>Contribute to our newsletter<p>If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter@fsfe.org. We're looking forward to hearing from you!</p><p>Thanks to our community, all the <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute">volunteers</a>, <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">supporters</a> and <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus">donors</a> who make our work possible. And thanks to <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/translators/translators">our translators</a>, who enable you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.</p><p>Your editors,</p><p>Erik Albers and Galia Mancheva</p><p>Vote for freedom and join our community: <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">https://my.fsfe.org/support</a></p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20190520-01.en.xml
title: Three conclusions to draw from Google denying Huawei access to software
uri: Three-conclusions-to-draw-from-Google-denying-Huawei-access-to-softwar
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190520-01.html
content:
  Three conclusions to draw from Google denying Huawei access to software
<p>Google denies the Chinese IT giant Huawei access to 
Google's proprietary components of the Android mobile operating system 
which threatens IT security. This highlights the importance Free 
Software has for technology users, public bodies, and businesses. The 
Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) presents three essential lessons 
from this case.</p><p>Following the U.S. administration's decision to effectively ban 
American companies from doing trade with the Chinese company Huawei, 
Google suspended all business with the company. This affects all 
software which is not covered under Free Software licences. In 
practice, Huawei's upcoming and potentially also current phones will no 
longer get support and updates for the Android operating system. They 
will also not have access to the proprietary Google apps and services 
like Gmail and Google Play. Although proprietary software should be 
avoided in the first place, especially the latter will put future 
Huawei user at risk because without access to the default app store on 
most stock Android phones they will miss important security updates for 
the apps installed through it.</p><p>Google offers only a base version of Android under a Free Software 
licence but bundles it together with proprietary apps and services. The 
non-free components of most stock Android devices have numerous 
downsides for users, as the <a href="https://freeyourandroid.org">FSFE 
has documented since 2012</a>. Now, the current case demonstrates that 
event tech giants like Huawei face similar dependencies and vendor 
lock-in effects as any individual users if they rely on proprietary 
software.</p>Three Conclusions<p>The following lessons can be drawn from this case:</p>
  The FSFE urges users to use Free Software 
  operating systems and applications on their computing devices. With 
  proprietary software, they are on the receiving end only and vendors 
  may deny them access to crucial security updates if the vendor or a 
  government changes its strategy. Free Software enables control of 
  technology, and the more important that technology becomes in our 
  daily lives, the more relevant Free Software becomes for users. For 
  Android, the FSFE helps users to regain more control with its <a href="https://freeyourandroid.org">Free Your Android 
  initiative</a>.
  
  Governments and especially the European Union 
  should invest more resources in Free Software to gain independence 
  from large enterprises and other states. The current case highlights 
  the lack of influence the EU has on outside technology providers. 
  Instead of waiting for a future European IT monopolist to enter the 
  stage, the EU and its members states should <a href="https://publiccode.eu">invest in Free Software development</a> 
  and focus on supporting local Free Software organisations as well as 
  businesses. This would effectively foster the inner-European market 
  and enable independence for European citizens and the EU economy. 
  This step is essential for avoiding exposing European infrastructure 
  to shutdowns controlled by external factors.
  
  The FSFE urges companies to use as much Free 
  Software as possible in their supply chains. Proprietary software 
  makes a company dependent on its vendor and this vendor's government. 
  The current case shows that the US was able force Google to stop 
  delivery of its proprietary products - but could not stop delivery of 
  the Free Software components of Android. Had Huawei invested more 
  resources in Free Software apps and services, the US strategy would 
  not have hit them as hard. Although the current events are linked to 
  the scrutiny the Chinese company is under right now, it is obvious 
  that this could happen to any other company based in any other 
  country as well.
<p>The earlier allegations against Huawei already showed that <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190205-01.html">code for all critical 
infrastructure should be published under a Free Software licence</a>. 
The latest episode of the Huawei affair illustrates that the same 
applies to apps and services. Just days before the European Elections, 
this should be a wake-up call for the next constituent Parliament to 
ask the European Commission for European directives that foster 
independence of European technical infrastructure and that build on 
Free Software, starting with the <a href="https://publiccode.eu">demand 
to release publicly funded software as public code</a>.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20190515.nl.xml
title: Vrije Software in München - FSFE bedankt cabaretière Christine Prayon
uri: Vrije-Software-in-München-FSFE-bedankt-cabaretière-Christine-Prayo
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190515.html
content:
Vrije Software in München - FSFE bedankt cabaretière Christine Prayon<p>Gisteren ontving politiek cabaretière Christine Prayon Dieter Hildebrandt Prijs van de stad München, waaraan 10.000 euro is verbonden, voor het eisen van politieke of onmiskenbaar socio-kritische politieke satire. Prayon doneert het prijzengeld aan de Free Software Foundation Europe.</p><p>De <a href="https://www.muenchen.de/rathaus/Stadtverwaltung/Kulturreferat/Kulturfoerderung/Preise/Dieter-Hildebrandt-Preis/2019.html">jury stelt</a> onder andere dat de prijsontvangster Prayon "[...] niet gewoon beschuldigt; ze ontmaskert en wij zijn haar getuigen". Prayon gebruikte legde in haar dankwoorden de vinger op een van de zere plekken man München: ze beschrijft het vroegere geniale progressieve proces waarmee München zichzelf onafhankelijk maakte van leveranciers van propriëtaire software en het hele stadsbestuur op een vrij systeem liet draaien. Prayon bekritiseerde toen de beslissing om terug te schakelen naar propriëtaire systemen.</p>
                            <img src="media/1861bb03.2019-05-Christine-Prayon-1200x630.en.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/fundraising/2019-05-Christine-Prayon-1200x630.en.png"/>
                    <p>De migratie van werkstations terug naar propriëtaire software zal München de komende zes jaren bijna 50 miljoen euro kosten. Daarbij zal nog 37 miljoen euro moeten worden geïnvesteerd in implementatieprojecten. De Free Software Foundation Europe bekritiseerde het migratie-project in het verleden: de migratie zal geen bestaande alledaagse organisationele IT-problemen van het stadsbestuur oplossen. Gelijktijdig zullen nieuwe afhankelijkheden van verkopers van propriëtaire software ontstaan en zullen licentiekosten betaald moeten worden aan deze verkopers zodat dit geld niet in het beste belang van de belastingbetalers kan worden besteed aan de verdere ontwikkeling van software en de samenwerking met andere overheden. De systemen worden minder transparant en zijn niet langer voor burgers te begrijpen. U kunt meer informatie over de migratieplannen van de stad München <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190515-01.html">hier</a> vinden.</p><p>München gaat dus in tegen de trend: Vrije Software wordt binnen andere overheden met enorm succes gebruikt. Sinds de Franse overheid in 2012 besloot om meer Vrije Software te gebruiken zijn er jaarlijks 0.6% tot 5.4% meer bedrijven opgericht die Vrije Software gebruiken en vinden er 6.6% tot 14% meer mensen een baan in de IT-sector. In Barcelona wordt 70% van het budget voor de ontwikkeling van nieuwe software gebruikt voor het creëren van Vrije Software en hebben 3000 bedrijven een contract gekregen, waarvan 60% midden- en kleinbedrijf, meestal uit de regio. Meer en meer steden werken in samenwerkingsprojecten aan gemeenschappelijke software-oplossingen en ontwikkelen ze samen waarbij ze kosten besparen en risico's delen.</p><p>De Free Software Foundation Europe heeft de campagne "Publiek Geld? Publieke Code!" gelanceerd om andere overheden te overtuigen over te stappen naar Vrije Software en ze te steunen in hun migratie. De publicatie van de expertbrochure "Publiek Geld Publieke Code: Publieke infrastructuur moderniseren met Vrije Software" maakt deel uit van de campagne. De brochure heeft als doel om vragen van beslissingnemers over de voordelen van het gebruik en de ontwikkeling van Vrije Software voor de overheid te beantwoorden.</p><p>U kunt meer informatie over de campagne en haar supporters vinden op onze campagnewebsite <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">publiccode.eu</a>. De brochure kunt u <a href="https://fsfe.org/campaigns/publiccode/brochure">hier</a> vinden.</p><p>De Free Software Foundation Europe zou graag van deze gelegenheid gebruik willen maken om Christine Prayon te bedanken voor haar toewijding aan Vrije Software en haar genereuze donatie.</p><p>Bijgewerkt 24.05.2019: Christine Prayon's dankwoord is nu ook beschikbaar als video-opname.</p>
          
          
        <p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/nl/.nl-201906.en.xml
title: FSFE Newsletter - June 2019
uri: FSFE-Newsletter-June-2019
url: http://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201906.html
content:
FSFE Newsletter June 2019<p>This month's newsletter highlights the Google/Huawei case and the greater picture it reveals to us. In the Get Active section we call for your proactivity in promoting the use of Free Software. Additionally, you can find out what happened at our Web-a-thon in Frankfurt am Main and view some media of the actions we have taken for promoting and increasing the awareness of Free Software to the wider audience, as well as see what's planned for the near future, where you can take part in.</p>The Google - Huawei Lessons<p>Last month, Google blacklisted and blocked Huawei from accessing all its proprietary components of the Android mobile operating system. The California based tech giant had to comply with the executive order issued by the U.S. government to effectively ban all American companies from trading with Huawei. 
While the Chinese telco will not have access to Google's proprietary components, it will nevertheless be able to use those parts of Android's operating system available under the open source licence, which is free for anyone to use. This highlights the importance that Free Software has for users, public bodies, and businesses. The Free Software Foundation Europe presented three essential lessons from this case:</p> 
	Free Software enables control over technology: The more important technology becomes in our daily lives, the more relevant Free Software becomes for individual users.

	The EU is overly reliant on foreign sources of technology: The European Union and its member states should invest in Free Software development and focus on supporting local Free Software organisations and businesses. This can foster greater technological independence for the EU economy. 

	Free Software gives companies technological independence.: A company that uses proprietary software is dependent on such software's vendor and the government that regulates it. The best strategy for a company to avoid this is to use as much Free Software as possible in their supply chains. 
	
<p>Read more details about these lessons in our <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190520-01.en.html">press release</a>.</p><p>Join our community:
<a href="https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-06">https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-06</a></p>Do not miss: upcoming events with the FSFE<p>As with every month, we are trying to spread the word and help individuals and organisations understand what Free Software is and how Free Software contributes to freedom, transparency, and self-determination. If you are interested in seeing us in action and join our cause, keep in mind the following dates and locations in the coming few months:</p>
On July 3rd, FSFE Programme Manager Max Mehl will explain how Free Software can be the solution to many security problems at <a href="https://2019.pass-the-salt.org/talks/102.html">Pass the Salt</a> in Lille, France.
On July 6th, FSFE supporter Reinhard Müller will give a presentation at <a href="https://www.tuebix.org/">Tübix</a> about the development of web applications he used successfully for the development of the new <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/">online FSFE community portal</a> in Tübingen, Germany
On July 8th, the FSFE community in Bonn will have a <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Bonn">meeting</a> discussing Free Software.
On July 22nd, the Franken community of the FSFE and the Nuremberg Hackerspace will be <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Franken/DigitalFestival2019">hosting a lecture</a> about the basics and common misunderstandings of Free Software in Nuremberg, Germany
Between August 21st and 25th the FSFE will host an <a href="https://signup.c3assemblies.de/assembly/db340abb-1f28-48e0-bbd6-59035e98cb42">assembly</a> at the Chaos Communication Camp in Mildenberg, Germany. The assembly will be part of <a href="https://signup.c3assemblies.de/assembly/c1831305-457e-4199-9070-38e2ac9234de">about:freedom</a>,  a cluster with a focus on digital (human) rights politics, freedom of information and Free Software advocacy. It is a union of different and diverse organisations from all over the world promoting Free Software and defending and extending digital rights. There will be workshops on-site and information materials. If you are coming to the camp, drop by and have a chat with us!
What have we done? Inside and Outside the FSFE<p>Since the last newsletter we have been very active in promoting the Free Software cause, by helping individuals and organisations have a better understanding of what Free Software is and encouraging them to develop and implement it in their lives. We want to share with you the events we have photos and videos for, below:</p>
     <img src="media/2be49b3e.201905-webathon.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/events/201905-webathon.jpg"/>
     Our web-a-thon in Frankfurt.

Between May 24th and 26th, the FSFE ran our <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/2019/0525-fsfe-web-a-thon">web-a-thon 2019</a>. There were 13 hackers (and more in the evenings) who met in Frankfurt (Main) to work on the FSFE's website, and of course to also celebrate our nice community and commemorate <a href="https://mastodon.social/@3rik/102155847488969972">International Towel Day</a>. We aimed high and tried to get rid of many unresolved issues, some rather small, some highly important for editors, translators and of course our visitors. In the milestone <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/FSFE/fsfe-website/milestone/10?state=closed">"Hackathon1905"</a>, we collected the issues to be worked on, and it turns out that we achieved more than we anticipated. 47 tickets and pull requests have been closed successfully. Thanks to everyone who participated, maintained the good mood throughout  and to the <a href="https://ccc-ffm.de/">CCC FFM</a> for hosting us patiently during  the whole weekend!

     <img src="media/c6232528.201905-webathon-group-picture-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/events/201905-webathon-group-picture-800px.jpg"/>
     Some of the people behind fixing the FSFE's website during the 2nd web-a-thon for the year

Lucas Lasota, the FSFE's legal intern, presented the legal trends in Free Software at the <a href="https://opensaar.de/2019/04/libre-graphis-meeting-in-saarbruecken/">Libre Graphics Meetings</a> in Saarbrücken, Germany on May 29th. You can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnNkTWLohWo">watch his presentation video. </a>

     <img src="media/f7e74658.201906_Lucas_Lasota_Saarbrucken-horizontal_800px.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/onstage/201906_Lucas_Lasota_Saarbrucken-horizontal_800px.png"/>
     Lucas Lasota at the Libre Graphics Meetings in Saarbrücken

<p>The Viennese FSFE supporters group participated with an FSFE info-booth at the local street festival Veganmania between June 7th and 10th in Vienna, Austria. See pictures of the event and read about the local group's successful down-to-earth approach in a <a href="https://blogs.fsfe.org/franz.gratzer/2019/06/16/linux-week-veganmania/">report by Franz Gratzer</a>. </p> 

   <img src="media/ee18b2c3.201906-booth-Veganmania-Vienna-June_800pxl.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/booths/201906-booth-Veganmania-Vienna-June_800pxl.jpg"/>
   The FSFE booth at Veganmania in Vienna 

<p>The FSFE's president Matthias Kirschner gave a keynote about Free Software in our society at this year's OW2 on June 13th in Paris. You can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHXDCHX1Zhg">watch the keynote video. </a> </p>


     <img src="media/94436fda.201906_Matthias_Kirschner_OW2con_Paris_800pxl.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/onstage/201906_Matthias_Kirschner_OW2con_Paris_800pxl.jpg"/>
     Matthias Kirschner keynote at OW2 in Paris 

<p>Our Policy Manager Alexander Sander was invited as an expert on E-Government in the Landtag Saarland, the parliament of the German federal State Saarland on June 17th. In his talk he discussed the advantages of free software in the area of e-government. You can find his <a href="media/368a771d.190607_EGov_Saarland_Stellungnahme.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/policy/190607_EGov_Saarland_Stellungnahme.pdf">expert opinion and research here</a>:</p>


<p>The FSFE participated with a booth at the <a href="https://openexpoeurope.com/">OpenExpo</a> in Madrid, Spain on June 20th where we had the chance to meet and talk to many people about Free Software.</p>


     <img src="media/f7b937dc.201906-booth-OpenExpo-Madrid_800pxl.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/booths/201906-booth-OpenExpo-Madrid_800pxl.jpg"/>
     Erik Albers and Pablo González Otero at the OpenExpo in Madrid 

On June 25th, the FSFE's Policy and Project Managers Alexander Sander and Galia Mancheva talked about the Public Money? Public Code! campaign and the updated Copyright Directive at <a href="https://libertybits.org/eventalk_speaker_category/2019/">Libertybits</a> in Sofia, Bulgaria

     <img src="media/aee4526d.201906_Alex_Sander_Libertybits_Sofia_800pxl.JPG" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/onstage/201906_Alex_Sander_Libertybits_Sofia_800pxl.JPG"/>
     Alexander Sander talks about PMPC at the Libertybits event in Sofia, Bulgaria 

     <img src="media/80ee25f4.201906_Galia_Mancheva_Libertybits_Sofia_800pxl.JPG" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/onstage/201906_Galia_Mancheva_Libertybits_Sofia_800pxl.JPG"/>
     Galia Mancheva presents the Copyright Directive updates at the Libertybits in Sofia, Bulgaria 
Get Active<p>Do you remember that some years ago the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung (TAZ) <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2013/news-20130327-01.en.html">received the Document Freedom Day Award</a> for delivering its electronic paper to its subscribers in a choice of open formats, and without <a href="https://drm.info/">digital restrictions (DRM)</a>?
This year, the TAZ newspaper went a step further and even launched their <a href="https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.thecode.android.tazreader/"> taz.app on f-droid</a> under a Free Software license. This is a great example for other newspapers to follow. Contact your favourite newspaper and demand they follow the TAZ's example of giving users freedom of choice and technical control.</p>Contribute to our newsletter<p>If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter@fsfe.org. We're looking forward to hearing from you!</p><p>If you also want to support us and our work, join our community and support us with a donation or a monthly contribution: <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">https://my.fsfe.org/support</a></p><p>Thanks to our community, all the <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute">volunteers</a>, <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">supporters</a> and <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus">donors</a> who make our work possible. And thanks to <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/translators/translators">our translators</a>, who enable you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.</p><p>Your editors,</p><p>The FSFE team</p><p>Join our community:
<a href="https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-06">https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-06</a></p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20190701-01.de.xml
title: Bundesfreiwilligendienst bei der Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE)
uri: 2019-07-01-Bundesfreiwilligendienst-bei-der-Free-Software-Foundation-Europe-(FSFE
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190701-01.html
content:
Bundesfreiwilligendienst bei der Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE)
  <img src="media/d39d70a3.logo_bfd.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/graphics/logo_bfd.jpg"/>
<p>
Du bist zwischen 16 und 24 Jahre alt und möchtest Dich im gesellschaftlichen Engagement ausprobieren bevor es mit Ausbildung oder Uni weitergeht? Außerdem beherrschst Du Englisch fließend in Wort und Schrift, verfügst über gute Deutschkenntnisse und hast Interesse an Technik? Dann bist Du bei der FSFE goldrichtig!</p><p> Wir suchen eine engagierte Person, die Interesse hat ihren <a href="https://www.bundesfreiwilligendienst.de/">Bundesfreiwilligendienst</a> bei der FSFE zu leisten.
Bewirb Dich bis zum 7. Juli 2019 über unseren Kooperationspartner Freiwilliges Jahr Beteiligung für den Jahrgang 2019/20 mit Beginn 1. September.
</p>Über den FSFE e.V.:<p>Der Free Software Foundation Europe e.V.
ist ein gemeinnütziger Verein, der Menschen im selbstbestimmten Umgang
mit Technik unterstützt. Software ist in vielen Aspekten unseres Lebens
tief verankert. Es ist daher elementar, dass diese Technologie uns
hilft, statt uns einzuschränken.
</p><p>Freie Software gibt allen das Recht,
Programme für jeden Zweck zu verwenden, zu verstehen, zu verbreiten und
zu verbessern. Diese Rechte stärken zudem Grundrechte wie das Recht auf
freie Meinungsäußerung, die Pressefreiheit und das Recht auf
Privatsphäre.
</p><p>Wir betreiben zahlreiche Projekte und  Kampagnen, um
unsere Ziele zu erreichen, zum Beispiel <a href="https://publiccode.eu">"Public Money Public
Code"</a>, <a href="https://savecodeshare.eu">"Save Code Share"</a> und die <a href="https://reuse.software">REUSE-Initiative</a>.
</p>Das erwartet dich:<p>Im Rahmen des Bundesfreiwilligendienstes wirst Du Einblicke in die Arbeitsweise einer europaweit agierenden NGO erhalten, die von vielen Freiwilligen aus ganz Europa unterstützt wird. In einem internationalen Team kannst Du verschiedene Projekte kennenlernen und mitgestalten. Deine Ideen sind uns willkommen. Auch mit Freiwilligen vor Ort wirst Du ins Gespräch kommen und Dich bei deren Engagement einbringen. </p>Deine Aufgaben:
  Unterstützung und Mitarbeit bei Kampagnen und Projekten des Vereins;
  Verfassen von Dokumentationen und Texten für Informationsmaterial, Artikeln sowie Inhalten für die Webseite;
  Recherchearbeiten und Übersetzungen;
  Betreuung von Informationsständen des FSFE e.V.;
  Verschicken von Informationsmaterial und allgemeine Bürotätigkeiten;
  Moderation von Mailinglisten sowie Kommunikation und Koordination mit Ehrenamtlichen und der Community;
  je nach Profil und Interesse tiefergreifende technische Unterstützung, etwa bei Webseitendesign, Serverinfrastrukur, Containerisierung (Docker) sowie weiterer Dienste des FSFE e.V.

  <img src="media/441030d1.EST_button.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/graphics/EST_button.png"/>
<p>Bei Fragen steht Dir Alexander Sander <a href="mailto:alex.sander@fsfe.org">alex.sander@fsfe.org</a>
gerne als Ansprechpartner zur Verfügung. Weitere Informationen und Zugang zur Online-Bewerbung: <a href="https://www.fj-beteiligung.de/blog/artikel/free-software-foundation-europe/">www.fj-beteiligung.de/blog/artikel/free-software-foundation-europe/</a></p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/nl/.nl-201907.fr.xml
title: Lettre d'information FSFE - juillet 2019
uri: Lettre-d-information-FSFE-juillet-2019
url: http://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201907.html
content:
Lettre d'information FSFE juillet 2019<p>Dans la lettre d'information de ce mois, nous portons une attention particulière à notre nouvelle page de Témoignages ainsi qu'au résumé fraîchement préparé de l'Atelier Licence et Législation annuel qui a eu lieu à Barcelone. Plus bas, vous découvrirez les évènements à venir que nous accueillons ou auxquels nous participons, ainsi que quelques détails visuels sur la façon et les endroits où nous avons promu et étendu l'usage du Logiciel Libre à travers l'Europe.</p>Les Témoignages<p>FSFE est une association à but non lucratif ayant pour but de permettre aux utilisateurs de contrôler la technologie. Avec notre communauté, nous formons un mouvement a travers l'Europe afin de construire nos sociétés numériques sur la base de la liberté des utilisateurs et des logiciels. Bien qu'il n'y ait pas assez de place pour mettre en avant tous les esprits créatifs et les personnes motivées qui ont aidé à la croissance de notre mouvement et qui ont vécu notre mission, nous souhaitons malgré tout mettre en avant certains de nos estimés membres qui ont, d'une façon ou d'une autre, façonné l'image de les FSFE et qui nous ont continuellement aidé à devenir ce que nous sommes aujourd'hui.</p><p>Le mois dernier, la FSFE a travaillé sur une page de Témoignages. Cette page appartient à une séries d'entretiens avec des partisans de la FSFE et des amis qui souhaitaient partager leur enthousiasme à appartenir à un groupe de personnes et de volontaires si variées qui façonnent la communauté FSFE à travers l'Europe tout en réalisant <a href="http://fsfe.org/about/mission">notre mission</a>. Une des premières entrées provient de notre supportrice Française et experte en confidentialité, Cryptie, qui utilise du Logiciel Libre depuis 15 ans, et qui est une membre active de la communauté FSFE depuis les 6 dernières années. Vous pouvez trouver d'autres entretiens, ainsi que des vidéos et témoignages sur notre <a href="http://fsfe.org/about/people/testimonials.html">Page de Témoignages</a>. Venez découvrir notre communauté !</p>L'Atelier Licence et Législation 2019<p>Un aspect important de l'usage et de la distribution de Logiciel Libre passe par les réseaux souvent déroutants de la législation. Une de nos principales initiatives pour améliorer la compréhension des questions légales liées au Logiciel Libre et l'Atelier Licence et Législation, une conférence fermée que nous organisons annuellement pour les membres du Réseau Légal de la FSFE. Tous les ans, de nombreux avocats de par l'Europe et de par le monde participent à cette conférence pour échanger leurs connaissances, présenter les meilleures pratiques et discuter des questions liées à la licence du Logiciel Libre. Avec jusqu'à trois jours d'échanges dans une atmosphère informelle et confidentielle, l'Atelier fait progresser l'état de l'art sur des sujets allant de la conformité de licence à la gestion de brevets, de la gouvernance de projet à la responsabilité des entreprises.</p><p>La participation à l'Atelier Licence et Législation apporte aux professionnels juridiques non seulement la possibilité de partager et actualiser leurs connaissances sur les sujets sur lesquels ils travaillent, mais aussi une chance de se rencontrer et de faire connaissance. Ces deux aspects combinés, favorisent une meilleure conformité de licence par la distribution des meilleures pratiques. La conférence offre de plus un forum afin que différents professionnels du secteur puissent mieux se comprendre, réduisant ainsi la friction générale liée à ce secteur.</p><p>La FSFE a préparé <a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/ftf/legal-conference.html">un court résumé</a> de l'Atelier de cette année. Vous pourrez aussi satisfaire votre curiosité, si vous recherchez des informations sur les éditions précédentes.</p><p>Rejoignez notre communauté:
<a href="https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-07">https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-07</a></p>Ne manquez pas: les évènements à venir de la FSFE<p>Comme chaque mois, nous essayons de passer le mot et d'aider tout un chacun et des organisations à comprendre ce qu'est le Logiciel Libre ainsi que la façon dont le Logiciel Libre contribue à la liberté, la transparence et l'auto-détermination. Si vous souhaitez nous voir en action ou rejoindre notre cause, pensez aux dates et endroits qui suivent pour les prochains mois:</p>
    Du 10 au 11 août, Alexander Sander, Gestionnaire Politique de la FSFE, fera la promotion de l'initiative "Argent Public? Code Public !" ("Public Money ? Public Code!") à l'audience de la FrOSCon à Bonn, en Allemagne.
    Du 21 au 15 août, la FSFE accueillera une <a href="https://signup.c3assemblies.de/assembly/db340abb-1f28-48e0-bbd6-59035e98cb42">assemblée</a> au Chaos Communication Camp à Mildenberg, en Allemagne. L'assemblée fera partie de <a href="https://signup.c3assemblies.de/assembly/c1831305-457e-4199-9070-38e2ac9234de">about:freedom</a>, un groupe mettant l'accent sur la politique des droits numériques (humains), la liberté d'information et la défense du Logiciel Libre. Il s'agit de l'union d'organisations diverses et variées venant du monde entier, faisant la promotion du Logiciel Libre et défendant et augmentant les droits numériques. Au programme sur place, des ateliers ainsi que du matériel d'information. Si vous passez par le Camp, venez nous voir et parler avec nous !
    Du 24 au 25 août, vous aurez une seconde chance d'admirer notre stand pour la deuxième édition du festival Veganmania à Vienne, en Autriche. 
Qu'avons nous fait? Dans et hors FSFE<p>Nous avons été très actifs à promouvoir la cause du Logiciel Libre depuis la dernière lettre d'information, en contribuant à fournir une meilleure connaissance de ce qu'est le Logiciel Libre aux particuliers et aux organisations et en les encourageant à le développer et à l'implanter dans leur quotidien. Nous souhaitons partager ces moments avec des photos et des vidéos, ci-dessous:</p>
     <img src="media/c4b1d838.201907-Alex-Sander-Church-Day_800pxl.JPG" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/onstage/201907-Alex-Sander-Church-Day_800pxl.JPG"/>
     Alexander Sander lors d'une de ses interventions du Church Day

Alexander Sander, Gestionnaire Politique de la FSFE, a tenu une conférence et participé à un groupe de discussions sur le Logiciel Libre lors des Church Days à Dortmund, entre les 19 et 23 Juin. Vous avez accès au <a href="https://www.evangelisch.de/blogs/kirchentag-2019/156935/21-06-2019">rapport complet</a> sur l'évènement et les interventions. Pendant ces journées, Alex a aussi accueilli deux ateliers pour débutant sur comment utiliser et manipuler Open Street Map et comment utiliser et éditer sur Wikipédia.


     <img src="media/66f68f1c.201907-Max-Mehl-Pass-the-Salt-Lille-France_800pxl.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/onstage/201907-Max-Mehl-Pass-the-Salt-Lille-France_800pxl.jpg"/>
     Présentation de Max Mehl au Pass the SALT à Lille, en France


Max Mehl, Gestionnaire de Programme de la FSFE, a pu expliquer comment le Logiciel Libre peut être la solution à de nombreux problèmes de sécurité lors du Pass the SALT le 3 juillet, à Lille, en France. Vous pouvez regarder sa présentation <a href="media/89367e1c.20190703-mm-SALT-ITSec.en.mp4" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/presentations/20190703-mm-SALT-ITSec.en.mp4">sur notre site miroir</a>.
Reinhard Müller, volontaire de longue date, a donné une présentation sur le développement d'application web qu'il a utilisées avec succès pour le développement du nouveau <a href="https://my.fsfe.org">portail communautaire de la FSFE</a> lors de la <a href="https://www.tuebix.org/">Tübix</a> le 6 juillet, à Tübingen, en Allemagne.


     <img src="media/c8afd192.201907-Reinhard-Muller-Tubex_800pxl.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/onstage/201907-Reinhard-Muller-Tubex_800pxl.jpg"/>
     Reinhard Müller s'adressant à son public lors de la Tübix, Allemagne



     <img src="media/109d2302.201907-booth-Tubix_800pxl.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/booths/201907-booth-Tubix_800pxl.png"/>
     La FSFE avait aussi un stand à la Tübix


Le 22 juillet, la communauté Francienne de la FSFE et le Hackerspace de Nuremberg on accueilli <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Franken/DigitalFestival2019">une intervention commune</a> sur les bases et les malentendus répandus à propos du Logiciel Libre à Nuremberg, en Allemagne.
   <img src="media/1868dfda.201907-Christian-Carlowitz-Nuremberg_800pxl.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/onstage/201907-Christian-Carlowitz-Nuremberg_800pxl.jpg"/>
   Christian Carlowitz à Nuremberg, en Allemagne


Le choix des éditeurs<p>Pendant le mois de juillet, vous pouvez observer des trouvailles parfois techniques et parfois pas si techniques que ça des membres de la <a href="https://planet.fsfe.org/">Communauté planétaire</a> de la FSFE:</p>
Albert Astals présentes quelques nouvelles <a href="https://tsdgeos.blogspot.com/2019/07/kde-applications-1908-branches-created.html">branches d'application KDE</a>
Evaggelos Balaskas partage ses notes sur l'idée d'utiliser une Machine Virtuelle nested-Kernel-based pour lancer minikube dans une Machine Virtuelle, afin que minikube puisse créer un noeud kernel-based pour la Machine Virtuelle, sous <a href="https://balaskas.gr/blog/2019/07/14/kubernetes-with-minikube-intro-notes/">Ubuntu 18.04 LTS</a>.
Matija Šuklje (Hook) partage les résultats de l'analyse qu'il a effectuée sur les <a href="https://matija.suklje.name/popular-licenses-in-openapi">licences courament utilisées avec OpenAPI</a>
Passez à l'action<p>Vous souhaitez lire notre lettre d'information dans votre langue, pour échanger avec vos pairs dans votre pays? Ne soyez pas timide et rejoignez notre équipe de courageux traducteurs en nous envoyant un courrier à <a href="mailto:contact@fsfe.org">contact@fsfe.org</a>.</p>Participez à notre lettre d'information<p>Si vous souhaitez échanger vos pensées, images, ou infos, merci de nous les envoyer. Comme toujours, l'adresse est <a href="mailto:newsletter@fsfe.org">newsletter@fsfe.org</a>. Nous sommes impatients de vous entendre !</p><p>Si vous souhaitez par ailleurs nous aider, nous ou notre travail, rejoignez notre communauté et aidez nous par un don ou une participation mensuelle: <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">https://my.fsfe.org/support</a></p><p>Merci à notre communauté, à tous les <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute">volontaires</a>, <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">sympathisants</a> et <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus">donateurs</a> qui rendent notre travail possible. Et merci à <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/translators">nos traducteurs</a>, qui vous permettent de lire cette lettre dans votre langue natale.</p><p>Votre éditrice,</p><p>Galia Mancheva</p><p>Rejoignez la communauté:
<a href="https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-07">https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-07</a></p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20190806-01.en.xml
title: The Impact of Free Software on competition by Prof. Dr. Simon Schlauri
uri: The-Impact-of-Free-Software-on-competition-by-Prof-Dr-Simon-Schlauri
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190806-01.html
content:
The Impact of Free Software on competition<p>Do public administrations distort the market through the release of Free Software? An article by Prof. Dr. Simon Schlauri about the legal and economic arguments resulting from this question and originally written for our Public Money? Public Code - policy brochure.</p><p>Free Software is well established in the IT world. A significant number of companies, from SMEs to global corporations, invest considerable sums in the further development and use of Free Software. Public administrations now also regularly use Free Software. For example, for administration in municipalities, as a
	decision database for courts, or for the provision of geodata on the Internet<a href="#fn1">1</a>. The reasons for using Free Software in companies and public administrations are manifold, e.g. the openness of the standards used, the independence from suppliers and products, the exchange with the community of users and developers, security, as well as stability and possible cost savings.</p>
			<img src="media/9f477714.201906-pmpc-administration-transparency-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/pmpc/201906-pmpc-administration-transparency-800px.jpg"/>
		<p>The free availability of Free Software creates an ecosystem in which software developers, providers of complementary services (such as maintenance or support), and users are equally involved. Another important advantage of the Free Software model is the accelerated software development by users and developers, once the
	software code is made available to third parties.</p><p>It is debatable whether the release of software under a Free Software licence by the state could violate competition neutrality (i.e., the obligation of the state to treat competitors equally). In some countries the obligation of ensuring competition neutrality of the state’s actions is a constitutional principle. It may also arise from European law, for example from single market policy, or from public procurement or state aid
	law.</p><p>If the state itself enters a market and pursues commercial interests in the process, this is generally unproblematic from a competition neutrality perspective. By contrast, in most cases the consideration of other motives (public interest) leads to a distortion of markets and hence violates competition neutrality. In extreme cases, private activity is even completely displaced by public supply because the community subsid‐
	izes its services with the use of state funds from the general budget. Vice versa, it can be argued that the more the state acts as a rational private competitor, the less the risk of distortion of competition.</p><p>Permissibility of making Free Software available by the state is dependent on whether, from the point of view of a private market participant, the release of Free Software would also be a viable business model, i.e.
	whether a private market participant, in a similar situation as the community, would also decide to release the source code under a Free Software licence<a href="#fn2">2</a>.</p><p>In addition, a recourse to subsidy law may be helpful. Subsidies include non‐refundable cash benefits, preferential conditions for loans, guarantees, free or discounted services, and benefits in kind. According to EU case law, such benefits exist if a private investor, compared to therelevant public administration, has not taken the same measure in a comparable situation<a href="#fn3">3</a>.</p><p>Thus, since there are a number of reasons for private market participants to release their own code free of charge under a Free Software licence, its release by the state is often unproblematic from a competition neutrality perspective.</p><p>An exclusive focus on closed source software could violate the principle of competition neutrality</p><p>Moreover, an exclusive focus of public administrations on closed source software could also discriminate against the companies involved in the aforementioned Free Software ecosystem and thus also violate the principle of competition neutrality.</p><p>Furthermore, in terms of public procurement law, the question arises as to whether cooperation between two or more contracting public authorities is possible within the framework of a joint Free Software project. This is the case under the EU Public Procurement Directive, if there is a contractual basis between the public
	authorities under which common objectives are pursued, where cooperation is exclusively in the public interest, and where the contracting authorities involved perform less than 20% of the activities covered by the cooperation in the market as a whole. Especially in the case of administration‐specific software, this causes
	hardly any problems<a href="#fn4">4</a>.</p><p>It should be noted, however, that the disclosure of Free Software by a public administration might be problematic from a fair‐trade or administrative law perspective, if the disclosure exceeds the administration’s legally assigned tasks. So, for example, the distribution of general office software by any public administration would not be allowed<a href="#fn5">5</a>.</p><p>Nevertheless, in most cases, a government strategy to publish Free Software remains unproblematic, since there are many valid reasons for doing so which would also apply to private market participants.</p>About this article<p>This article was first published in the FSFE's <a href="http://fsfe.org/campaigns/publiccode/brochure">"Public Money? Public Code!" - policy brochure</a>. This brochure evaluates the modernisation of public infrastructure with using Free Software from the perspectives of academia, law, business, and government and stars leading experts from various ICT areas. The brochure is released in <a href="media/bf275550.PMPC-Modernising-with-Free-Software.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/PMPC-Modernising-with-Free-Software.pdf">digital</a> and <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword.html#pmpc-brochure">print</a>, and is published under a CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.  </p>
				
					<img src="media/8b353e62.2019-Simon_Schlauri.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/people/2019-Simon_Schlauri.jpg"/>
				
			<p>Prof. Dr. Simon Schlauri is an attorney and, since 2012, partner of the Swiss law firm Ronzani SchlauriAttorneys, which specialises in technology and information law. From 2009 to 2012 he worked as inhouse counsel in the IT and telecoms industry. Simon Schlauri received his doctorate on the subject of electronic signatures and habilitated in network neutrality (telecoms law). He regularly publishes on IT law topics and advises clients on IT law issues, particularly in the areas of open source software and open content.</p>Footnotes
      Thomas Poledna / Simon Schlauri / Samuel Schweizer, <a href="http://carlgrossmann.com/?ddownload=11748">Gutachten zu den rechtlichen Voraussetzungen der Nutzung von Open Source Software in der öffentlichen Verwaltung</a>, Berlin 2017, p. 23 ss.
	  Poledna/Schlauri/Schweizer, p. 101 ss., 108.
	  Poledna/Schlauri/Schweizer, P. 107 s.
	  Poledna/Schlauri/Schweizer, p. 123 ss.
	  Poledna/Schlauri/Schweizer, p. 85, 158.
	<p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20190807-01.en.xml
title: REUSE makes copyright and licensing easier than ever
uri: REUSE-makes-copyright-and-licensing-easier-than-ever
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190807-01.html
content:
  REUSE makes copyright and licensing easier than ever
<p>REUSE helps developers to declare copyright and licensing of their projects. Today, the REUSE project released version 3.0 of their specification. The new edition is accompanied by a helper tool and makes adopting the best practices easier than ever.</p><p>The licensing of a software project is critical information. Developers set the terms under which others can reuse their software, from individuals to giant corporations. Authors want to make sure that others adhere to their chosen licenses; potential re-users have to know the license of third-party software before publication; and companies have to ensure license compliance in their products that often build on top of existing projects. The <a href="https://reuse.software">REUSE</a> project, led by the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), helps all of these parties.</p>
  <img src="media/49c0579e.201908-reuse-tool.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/201908-reuse-tool.png"/>
  Output of the REUSE helper tool
<p>REUSE aims to have all copyright and licensing information stored as close to the source files as possible. This is achieved by directly adding this information to the file in a standardised and machine-readable form. If a file does not support that, a .license file or central DEP-5 configuration file can be used instead. This way, developers can be assured that re-users will not oversee copyright holders and their intended license.</p><p>Following the best practices is simple:</p>
  Choose and provide licenses: Select a Free Software license, find the unique identifier of this license, and store the full license text inside a dedicated LICENSES/ directory.
  Add copyright and licensing information to each file: Add at least two lines indicating the copyright holder and the license.
  Confirm REUSE compliance: Use the REUSE tool to check whether all necessary information is present.
<p>Adopters can start with a new <a href="https://reuse.software/tutorial">tutorial</a> that explains how to make a repository REUSE compliant. To ensure that developers can concentrate on their actual work, we have developed the <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/reuse/tool/">REUSE helper tool</a> that automates and assists with some of these steps. It can also be <a href="https://reuse.software/dev">included in CI/CD workflows</a> to confirm REUSE compliance continuously.</p><p>Our constantly expanding <a href="https://reuse.software/faq">FAQ</a> answers basic questions about licensing, copyright, and more complex use cases. Advanced users and integrators will find the <a href="https://reuse.software/spec">full specification</a> helpful.</p><p>And there is more to come: The REUSE initiative will continue its work on making copyright and licensing easier for everyone. Our roadmap includes configurable templates for adding the headers with the helper tool, as well as an API that for example allows projects to display a dynamic badge indicating the REUSE status, or third-party services to integrate REUSE checks.</p><p>REUSE is already being used by various software projects like the <a href="https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/Documentation/process/license-rules.rst">Linux kernel</a>, and recommended by other license compliance initiatives like <a href="https://www.openchainproject.org/news/2017/09/13/fsfe-contributes-reuse-guide-to-openchain-curriculum">OpenChain</a>. We welcome other developers to adopt REUSE and look forward to feedback and collaboration. Please <a href="http://fsfe.org/contact">contact us</a> and join the <a href="https://lists.fsfe.org/mailman/listinfo/reuse">mailing list</a>.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20190827-01.en.xml
title: Radio Lockdown: Criticism of Controversial Directive Unlikely to Sway European Commission
uri: Radio-Lockdown-Criticism-of-Controversial-Directive-Unlikely-to-Sway
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190827-01.html
content:
  Radio Lockdown: Criticism of Controversial Directive Unlikely to Sway European Commission
<p>Since 2014, a European Directive has the effect of
hindering users to load software on their radio devices, devices such
as mobile phones, laptops and routers. While the European Commission
recently closed a feedback period, where citizens shared their
thoughts about the impact of the Directive, the FSFE worries that such
feedback could very well go unheeded. Learn more about the feedback
received, and what lies ahead.</p><p>In 2014, the European Parliament passed <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A32014L0053">the
Radio Equipment Directive (the “Directive”)</a>, which, among other
regulations, makes vendors of certain types of radio hardware
responsible for preventing users from installing software which may
alter such hardware’s radio parameters to break applicable radio
regulations. While the FSFE shares the Directive’s overall purpose to
keep radio frequencies clean, we have been working on this issue of <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/radiodirective/">Radio Lockdown</a>
for almost 4 years now, because the Directive's approach will have
negative implications on users’ rights and Free Software, fair
competition, innovation, and the environment – mostly without equal
benefits for security.</p><p>Specifically, Article 3(3)(i) of the Directive requires
manufacturers of certain types of radio devices to assess every
software regarding its compliance with existing national radio
regulations. The classes of devices that will be affected has yet to be
defined. Due to this, it will likely become impossible or very
difficult for users and companies to use alternative software on
devices they have bought – routers, mobile phones, WiFi-cards and the
laptops they are built in, or almost all Internet-of-Things devices in
the future.</p><p>[R]adio equipment [shall support] certain features in
order to ensure that software can only be loaded into the radio
equipment where the compliance of the combination of the radio
equipment and software has been demonstrated.
– Radio Equipment Directive, Article 3(3)(i)</p><p>The European Commission officially opened a online feedback period,
lasting from 28 January to 4 March 2019. Some <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/initiatives/ares-2018-6621038/feedback_en?p_id=380919">276
comments were collected</a>, the overwhelming majority of which were
critical of the impact that Article 3(3)(i) would have. Most of the
commenters were individual private citizens, although academic and
research institutions, NGOs, and companies also provided feedback.</p><p>We were heartened to see that the comments largely reflected the
stance adopted by the FSFE. Many individuals shared their concerns that
Article 3(3)(i) would have a negative effect on the usage of Free
Software among individuals, public bodies, and companies, as it would
compel device manufacturers to assess every software for its compliance
with national radio regulations, thereby incentivising manufacturers to
ensure that their products come bundled only with their own
unmodifiable proprietary software. With Free Software being the only
feasible method by which users of technology can break out of planned
product obsolescence cycles, the feedback received reflected concerns
of restrictions on the freedom of use and right to repair of radio
devices.</p><p>Many commenters also expressed their dismay at the effect of the
Directive on competition and innovation. As a large amount of such
developments come from the Free Software community, compliance with
Article 3(3)(i) means a suppression of innovation and new technological
developments. If the software present in radio equipment is locked and
proprietary, this prevents the public at large from being able to learn
how the software in their devices work, and from making their own
potentially innovative and beneficial modifications.</p><p>We also saw that many people were concerned about the impact Article
3(3)(i) would have on security. As the safety of radio devices
deteriorate upon release, security issues can be more efficiently
addressed by Free Software improvements, than by waiting for
manufacturers to release updates on their own, often proprietary
software. Furthermore, old devices can become insecure when a
manufacturer no longer releases software updates to support them. This
caused concern that without being able to deploy their own updates
because of the application of Article 3(3)(i), a user would have to
choose between purchasing newer models, or living with potentially
insecure devices.</p><p>Despite the wealth of negative feedback received against Article
3(3)(i), a recent meeting of the Commission Expert Group on
Reconfigurable Radio Systems on 25 June 2019 attended by the FSFE
showed that the scope of the problem is likely not appreciated by the
European Commission. In fact, we are afraid that by the means of a <a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/radiodirective/#devices">delegated act</a>, a much
broader regulation is being sought, while leading actors still do not
comprehend the role of software in a digital world and economy, let
alone the importance of Free Software and how its licences work.</p><p>The FSFE is working hard to help regulators understand the negative
influence their current approach will have. Our concerns regarding
Article 3(3)(i) are shared by more than 50 organisations and
businesses, which have signed our Joint Statement against Radio
Lockdown, a result of our ongoing exchange and cooperation with the
Free Software community in Europe and beyond. If your organisation
would like to get involved and sign the Joint Statement, please <a href="http://fsfe.org/contact">get in touch with us</a>.</p><p>The European Commission is currently expected to open another public
consultation in the fourth quarter of 2019. You can see all the
responses to the European Commission’s online feedback round <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/initiatives/ares-2018-6621038_en">here</a>.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20190917-01.en.xml
title: Richard Stallman resigns as president of the Free Software Foundation
uri: Richard-Stallman-resigns-as-president-of-the-Free-Software-Foundation
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190917-01.html
content:
  Richard Stallman resigns as president of the Free Software Foundation
<p>On 16 September, one of our independent sister
organisations, the US-based Free Software Foundation (FSF), <a href="https://www.fsf.org/news/richard-m-stallman-resigns">announced
the resignation of Richard M. Stallman as its president</a>. While we
recognise Stallman's role in founding the Free Software movement, we
welcome the decision.</p><p>The Free Software Foundation Europe's mission is to empower people
from all backgrounds to control technology and thereby create a better
society for everyone. We want to ensure that every human can understand
how software works, use the software for any purpose without
discrimination, share it with others, and adapt it to their own
specific needs.</p><p>We will continue to work with all the many organisations and
individuals out there contributing to software freedom every day,
including our <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/fsfnetwork.html">sister
organisations in India, Latin America, and the United States</a>.
Together we can ensure the continued growth and success of the Free
Software movement, balance power in our society, and make the Free
Software community a safer and more respectful place for everyone who
wants to participate in it.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20190917-01.fr.xml
title: Richard Stallman quitte son poste de président de la Free Software Foundation
uri: Richard-Stallman-quitte-son-poste-de-président-de-la-Free-Software-Fo
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190917-01.html
content:
  Richard Stallman quitte son poste de président de la Free Software Foundation
<p>
Le 16 Septembre, l'une de nos organisations soeurs,
la Free Software Foundation (FSF) américaine, a <a href="https://www.fsf.org/news/richard-m-stallman-resigns">annoncé le départ de Richard Stallman de son poste de directeur</a>. Bien que nous reconnaissions le rôle de Stallman dans la création du mouvement Logiciel Libre, nous applaudissons cette décision.
</p><p>
La mission de la Free Software Foundation Europe est de donner les moyens à toutes personnes de contrôler la technologie, et ainsi de créer une meilleur société pour tous. Nous voulons que chaque personne puisse comprendre comment le logiciel fonctionne, l'utiliser comme elle l'entend sans discrimination, le partager, et l'adapter à ses usages.
</p><p>
Nous allons continuer à travailler avec toutes les organisations et individus qui contribuent à la liberté logicielle chaque jour, y compris nos <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/fsfnetwork.html">organisations soeurs en Inde, Amérique Latine et États Unis</a>. Ensemble, nous pouvons permettre au mouvement pour le Logiciel Libre de grandir et s'épanouir, équilibrer le pouvoir dans notre société, et faire de la communauté du Logiciel Libre une communauté respectueuse où chacun peut participer en toute sécurité.
</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/nl/.nl-201909.fr.xml
title: Lettre d’information de la FSFE, Septembre 2019
uri: Lettre-d-information-de-la-FSFE-Septembre-2019
url: http://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201909.html
content:
Lettre d’information de la FSFE, Septembre 2019<p>Ce mois-ci, nous allons nous concentrer sur l‘impact du Logiciel Libre sur la concurrence, dans un article écrit par notre expert invité, le professeur docteur Simon Schlauri. Nous profitons aussi de l’occasion pour annoncer les progrès impressionnants que nous avons réalisé sur le projet REUSE ayant pour but de rendre le droit d’auteur et les accords de licence plus faciles. Plus bas, vous pouvez découvrir les évènements à venir et des informations à propos du Comité Annuel de la FSFE, ainsi que quelques photos et vidéos des évènements lors desquels notre communauté a fait la promotion du Logiciel Libre à travers l’Europe. Nous proposons enfin quelques recommandations d’articles pouvant vous être intéressants.</p>Le Logiciel Libre et son impact sur la concurrence<p>Notre rédacteur invité, le professeur docteur Simon Schlauri, a partagé son expertise sur ce que peut être l’impact du Logiciel Libre sur la concurrence. Approfondissant les arguments légaux et économiques selon lesquels la distribution de logiciel sous licence Logiciel Libre altère les marchés, cet article fut écrit à l’origine pour notre brochure “Argent Public ? Code Public!”. Si vous l’avez manqué, merci d’y jeter un œil afin d’ <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190806-01.html">en savoir plus</a> sur l’impact qu’exerce le Logiciel Libre sur la concurrence.</p>REUSE rend le droit d’auteur et les accords de licence plus faciles que jamais<p>Comme vous la savez probablement, la FSFE travaille sur un projet nommé <a href="https://reuse.software/">REUSE</a>. Son principal objectif est d’aider les développeurs à afficher les informations de droits d’auteur et de licence de leurs projets selon les meilleures pratiques recommandées. Tout récemment, le projet a publié la version 3.0 de leur spécification. Cette nouvelle édition est accompagnée d’un outil d’aide rendant l’usage de ces meilleures pratiques plus facile que jamais. Si vous êtes curieux et souhaitez plus de détails sur ce sujet, nous vous invitons à <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190807-01.html">consulter l’article dédié</a>.</p><p>Rejoignez notre communauté:
<a href="https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-09">https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-09</a></p>Ne manquez pas : évènements à venir avec la FSFE<p>Comme tous les mois, nous essayons d’aider les individus et les organisations et de leur faire connaître ce qu’est le Logiciel Libre et comment le Logiciel Libre participe à la liberté, la transparence et l’auto-détermination. Si nous voir en action et rejoindre notre cause vous intéresse, conservez à l’esprit les dates et endroits suivants pour les prochains mois :</p>
Le <a href="https://osseu19.sched.com/event/05a3272287d3def1bcb0a62ace00b730">Open Source Summit Europe</a> à Lyon, France se tient entre les 28 et 30 octobre lors duquel le Chef de Programme de la FSFE Max Mehl parlera du projet REUSE et de la conformité de licence du Logiciel Libre.
Les 15 et 16 novembre, l’assemblée de la communauté FSFE joindra ses forces avec la <a href="https://www.sfscon.it/">South Tyrol Free Software Conference (SFScon)</a> à Bolzano, Italie. La FSFE aura sa propre piste et vous êtes invités à rejoindre les présentations de nos experts et les échanges communautaires, ainsi que les activités sociales. Vous pouvez en lire plus sur notre <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/FSFECommunityMeeting2019">page wiki</a>.
Qu’avons nous fait ? La FSFE en interne et externe<p>Depuis notre dernière lettre d’information, nous avons été très actifs à la cause du Logiciel Libre, en aidant les individus et les organisations à mieux comprendre ce qu’est le Logiciel Libre et en les encourageant à de développer et l’implémenter dans leurs vies. Nous souhaitons partager ci-dessous les évènements pour lesquels nous disposons de photos et de vidéos :</p>
     <img src="media/4beab5f4.201908-FrOSCon-booth_800pxl.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/booths/201908-FrOSCon-booth_800pxl.jpg"/>
     Le stand FSFE à la FrOSCon de Bonn

Le Responsable Politique de la FSFE, Alexander Sander, s’est rendu à la <a href="https://programm.froscon.de/2019/events/2326.html">FrOSCon</a> et y a tenu une conférence sur l’état actuel de l’initiative “Argent Public ? Code Public!”, dont l’enregistrement intégral est <a href="https://peertube.social/videos/watch/702cb495-7a04-472c-95af-ca249816f1d4">disponible en ligne</a>. Grâce au groupe local de la FSFE à Bonn, nous avons aussi être présents avec un stand. Il s’est avéré que de nombreux visiteurs étaient sincèrement intéressés par ce que se passe au niveau local, de même que par quels moyens ils peuvent aider et supporter la cause par leurs actions spécifiques. C’était une excellente opportunité de tenir de telles conversations et d’échanger des idées et des bonne pratiques.


     <img src="media/84c801e9.201908_Veganmania-booth-Austria.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/booths/201908_Veganmania-booth-Austria.jpg"/>
     Le kiosque d'information FSFE au Veganmania Summer Festival 2019


La question la plus fréquente rencontrée par notre groupe FSFE Viennois lors du Veganmania Summer Festival local en Août a été de comprendre pourquoi une organisation comme la FSFE  participe à un festival végan. Leur réponse ? Les considérations éthiques poussant les personnes à adopter un style de vie végan s’appliquent également aux technologies de l’information et à l’usage du Logiciel Libre. Pour plus d’impressions intéressantes, veuillez lire leur  <a href="http://blogs.fsfe.org/franz.gratzer/2019/08/27/fsfe-booth-donauinsel/">blog</a>. 


     <img src="media/0c7bf77c.201908-CCcamp-about-freedom-talk_800pxl.jpeg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/events/201908-CCcamp-about-freedom-talk_800pxl.jpeg"/>
     à propos : session de discussion sur la liberté au @CCcamp à Mildenberg, Allemagne


Au Chaos Communication Camp de Mildenberg, Allemagne, qui s’est tenu du 21 au 25 août, la FSFE a tenu sa propre assemblée sous le slogan <a href="https://events.ccc.de/camp/2019/wiki/Village:About:freedom">about:freedom </a>. Plus de 50 conférences, sessions de travail et panels ont trouvé le slogan conforme à leur vision et nous ont rejoint pour la durée entière du camp. La durabilité du logiciel, des formations à l’argumentaire pour la protection de données, le droit d’auteur, des sessions de travail Free Your Android and Crypto, ainsi que mesurer la censure Internet : juste quelques-uns des nombreux sujets que les visiteurs du Camp et nous-mêmes avons pu apprécier. Un enregistrement de la conférence sur la durabilité du logiciel et aussi disponible <a href="https://peertube.social/videos/watch/02f2666a-452a-47c9-a4b9-7c1d3a4b627b">sur notre chaîne</a>. D’excellentes photos de la configuration du village sont disponibles <a href="https://pixelfed.social/c/73939228374994944">en ligne</a>.


     <img src="media/27365057.201908-CCcamp-about-freedom-at-night_800pxl.jpeg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/events/201908-CCcamp-about-freedom-at-night_800pxl.jpeg"/>
     La vie nocture au village about:freedom du CC summer camp


Lors de la Next Cloud Conference qui s’est tenue le 14 septembre à Berlin dans les locaux de l’Université Technique de Berlin, notre Responsable Politique Alexander Sander à été présent lors du panel de discussion consacré à "Argent Public ? Code Public!". Il y a débattu au nom de la FSFE avec des personnes représentantes de Next Cloud, du Working Group of Youth Organisations et du Regional Youth Council d’Allemagne. La vidéo complète des débats and de ce que s’est dit peut être visionnée sur notre <a href="https://peertube.social/videos/watch/00577775-29d2-4064-968a-09960d48cba4">chaîne vidéo</a>.

Consécutivement aux évènements et efforts de promotion de l’initiative "Argent Public ? Code Public!" pendant l’été, la Lettre Ouverte a reçu 6 nouvelles signatures favorables d’organisations ces 2 derniers mois. Les organisations européennes et mondiales suivantes ont ratifié ces principes et rejoint les actions locales :

 <a href="https://opensaar.de/en/">OpenSaar</a> est une initiative basée dans la région SaarLorLux. Elle a consacré ses efforts à la promotion du Logiciel Libre dans sa région.
 <a href="https://www.fossbd.org/">FOSS Bangladesh</a> est l’organisation pour le Logiciel Libre la plus importante de la nation sud-asiatique du Bangladesh et a <a href="https://www.fsf.org/bulletin/2013/spring/foss-bangladesh">travaillé avec la FSFE</a> il y quelque temps.
 <a href="https://peercoin.net/">Peercoin Foundation</a> est une ONG internationale œuvrant pour le développement d’un Logiciel Libre blockchain.
 <a href="https://computertruhe.de/">Computertruhe</a> est une ONG Allemande qui répare et donne de vieux ordinateurs aux personnes dans le besoin.
 <a href="https://www.idealiste.cz/">Idealiste.cz</a> est une ONG Tchèque plaidant pour une meilleure qualité des services publics accessibles au public, spécialement en ce qui concerne les écoles, les hôpitaux, les transports publics ou le logement.
 <a href="https://liqd.net/en/about/">Liquid Democracy</a> est un "Think and Do Tank" basé à Berlin. Leur travail se concentre sur le développement d’un outil participatif numérique appelé Adhocracy, Logiciel Libre, offrant à ses utilisateurs des outils de participation citoyenne variés.


Le 16 septembre, une de nos organisations sœurs indépendante, la Free Software Foundation (FSF) basée aux États-Unis, a annoncé <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190917-01.html">la démission de Richard M. Stallman</a> en tant que président.
Articles recommandés<p>Beaucoup de choses se sont passées depuis notre dernière lettre d’information et pendant la pause estivale. Certaines ont été partagées sur <a href="https://planet.fsfe.org/">FSFE's Planet</a> et sont en directe relation avec notre organisation, alors que d’autres s’orientent dans la direction générale  de notre mission :</p>
<a href="https://karlitschek.de/2019/08/open-source-if-more-than-licenses/">Dans cet article</a>, Frank Karlitschek nous rappelle la vision d'ensemble du Logiciel Libre et pourquoi les solutions propriétaires ne sont pas qu'une question de licences logicielles;
Sur une note plus technique, si vous avez rencontré des problèmes lors de l'installation de WackoWiki, Evaggelos Balaskas a crée une procédure <a href="https://balaskas.gr/blog/2019/08/24/walkthrough-installation-of-wackowiki-v5512/">pas-à-pas</a> bien utile.
<a href="https://www.roussos.cc/2019/08/19/usbguard/">"Bloquer les appareils USB non fiables"</a> constitue une lecture intéressante, par Nikos Roussos, en particulier si vous êtes concernés par la sécurité numérique.Soyez actif<p>Le Internet Freedom Fund est le principal soutien de l'Open Tech Fund, permettant aux projets et aux personnes travaillant sur des projets centrés sur des technologies ouverte et accessibles, facilitant les droits humains, la liberté d'Internet, les sociétés ouvertes et aidant à faire avancer l'accès inclusif et sûr aux réseaux de communication globaux pour des utilisateurs à risques comprenant des journalistes, des défenseurs des droits humains, des activistes de la société civile, ainsi que les habitants des environnements répressifs souhaitant communiquer librement en ligne. Vous pouvez <a href="https://www.opentech.fund/funds/internet-freedom-fund/">contribuer à ce fond</a> jusqu'au 01.11.2019.</p>Participez à notre lettre d'information<p>Si vous souhaitez échanger vos pensées, images, ou infos, merci de nous les envoyer. Comme toujours, l'adresse est <a href="mailto:newsletter@fsfe.org">newsletter@fsfe.org</a>. Nous sommes impatients de vous entendre !</p><p>Si vous souhaitez par ailleurs nous aider, nous ou notre travail, rejoignez notre communauté et aidez nous par un don ou une participation mensuelle: <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">https://my.fsfe.org/support</a></p><p>Merci à notre communauté, à tous les <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute">volontaires</a>, <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">sympathisants</a> et <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus">donateurs</a> qui rendent notre travail possible. Et merci à <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/translators">nos traducteurs</a>, qui vous permettent de lire cette lettre dans votre langue natale.</p><p>Sincères salutations,</p><p>La FSFE.</p><p>Rejoignez notre communauté :
<a href="https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-09">https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-09</a></p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20190927-01.en.xml
title: Be part of this year's FSFE community meeting
uri: Be-part-of-this-year-s-FSFE-community-meeting
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190927-01.html
content:
Be part of this year's FSFE community meeting<p>

In less than 2 months this year's FSFE community meeting will take place between 15 and 17 November at the SFScon in Bolzano, Italy. There will be inspiring talks, both from within the FSFE community as well as from the SFScon accompanied with a lot of social gatherings. No matter if you are a longtime volunteer or you have never heard about us before - everyone who is interested in the FSFE is welcome to join.

</p>The FSFE community meeting 2019<p>The FSFE community meeting is as much about getting to know each other as it is about learning from each other. For more information you can find our schedule with the topics, the venue and practical information on our <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/FSFECommunityMeeting2019">wiki page</a>. The page shall help you to start preparing your trip and will be constantly updated. As we expect a lot of visitors, don't forget to book in advance.
</p>
    <a href="media/40cac60b.201808-community-meeting-rmll.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/people/201808-community-meeting-rmll.jpg"/>
   <p>Community members at the FSFE community meeting RMLL 2018</p>
<p>
We start on Friday 15 November when we invite you to participate in the SFScon. Don't forget that <a href="https://www.sfscon.it/">registration is required</a>, but it is free of charge. The SFScon is one of Europe’s most established annual conferences on Free Software with <a href="https://www.sfscon.it/programs/2019/">multiple tracks</a> running in parallel. This Friday some FSFE contributors will give talks on various matters.
</p><p>
On Saturday 16 November in the morning, the FSFE will run a full and own track to reflect the state of Free Software on current issues such as Free Software licenses and the role of Free Software in European politics. We will also share interesting updates on our campaigns promoting the role and implementation of the Free Software how to put artificial intelligence back into the people's hands, to the sustainable aspects of Free Software and relevant business models.
</p><p>
The afternoon of Saturday will then be dedicated exclusively to our community, with presentations by the Italian group and curious insights and stories from our campaigns and interactive sessions. So if you are interested to get to know the people and stories behind the FSFE, you are more than welcome to join us and our community in Bolzano.
</p><p>
The whole event will be accompanied with various social activities and on Sunday we welcome you all to go hiking with us and spend some time exploring the area.
</p><p>If you have any questions or just want to get in contact with us you can send us an email to <a href="mailto:contact@fsfe.org">contact@fsfe.org</a>,
please do not hesitiate to ask. We are looking forward to meet you all at the FSFE community meeting in Bolzano!
</p><p> 
PS: If you cannot attend our community meeting, there are other ways to contribute and to <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute.en.html">contribute and join the ranks of freedom fighters</a>. 
</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20191002.en.xml
title: Open Letter “Free and Open Source EU Policy Recommendations”
uri: Open-Letter-Free-and-Open-Source-EU-Policy-Recommendations
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191002.html
content:
Open Letter “Free and Open Source EU Policy Recommendations” <p>
At the end of September we organised a meeting in Brussels to bring together Free Software experts from around Europe. Goal of the meeting was to discuss Free Software and its driving role in the digital transformation in Europe, and in particular how the European institutions can further facilitate these developments.
</p>Open Letter “Free and Open Source EU Policy Recommendations”<p>
After the European Election, many Members of the European Parliament left the Parliament and new ones got in their place. Also the European Commission will be transformed, new Commissioners will be elected and restructuring processes will take place in the upcoming weeks. As we have seen in the latest debates, i.e. the discussion around the copyright reform, it is crucial to create awareness among policy makers to make the right choices in the light of new, upcoming legislation which will touch Free Software. On the other hand, there is the growing interest in the adoption and use of Free Software within the European Institutions, still there is a lack of commitment.
</p><p>
Therefore, the attendees of the meeting agreed on an open letter which will be sent to representatives and decision makers in the EU. The letter contains recommendations in the field of research, EU institutional capacity and demands on previous commitments regarding Free Software supportive policy-decisions.
</p><p>
To have big impact on the European institutions, we need alliances. Please send us an e-mail to <a href="mailto:contact@fsfe.org">contact@fsfe.org</a> if your organisation wants to sign and support the open letter as well.
</p> FREE AND OPEN SOURCE EU POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 
<p>
Brussels, 26 September 2019
</p>
<p>
On this day, Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) experts from around Europe met in Brussels to discuss FOSS and its driving role in the digital transformation in Europe and how the EU can further facilitate these developments. The undersigned organisations have agreed to the following Open Letter.
</p>
<p>
Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) refers to all programs distributed under specific terms and licenses that allow users to use the software for any purpose, to study how the program works, to improve the program to their needs and to share it with others, enabling innovation through collaboration.
</p>
<p>
Free and Open Source Software is mainstream technology with enterprise FOSS underpinning critical infrastructure in a wide range of sectors such as government, finance, security, telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing and transport in Europe. It is today the R&amp;D community of the digital transformation, with some of the biggest internet and mobile platforms to the Cloud built upon and actively contributing and co-developing it. In fact, European companies of all sizes rely heavily on FOSS to increase their pace of innovation in order to compete globally. FOSS development provides much of the fuel behind European technology priorities like eGovernment, Artificial Intelligence, HPC, Blockchain, 5G, eHealth, Industry 4.0, Connected Cars and the Internet of Things.
</p>
<p>
In order to establish trustworthy systems, and achieve technological sovereignty, European public bodies should ensure they have full control over the software and the computer systems at the core of our governmental digital infrastructures.
</p>
<p>
In that same vein, the EU has taken significant steps in the area of FOSS to digitally transform, but also “walk the policy talk”. By way of example, the European Commission's recent Digital Strategy and emphasis on co-creation as well as long standing policies/frameworks such as ISA² Program, the Open Source Observatory, the EU Open Source Strategy, and the objectives laid out in the Tallinn Declaration. Other initiatives include hackathons to help engage with the community as well as specific projects such as FOSSA 2 in cooperation with the European Parliament. Much more can be done, however, to unlock the potential of Free and Open Source Software in the EU.
</p>
<p>
That Member States and third countries signed the Tallinn Declaration in 2017 presents further evidence of the realisation of Free and Open Source Software being critical to starting/accelerating/improving a successful digital transformation. Some countries like France, Italy or Bulgaria have introduced FOSS legislation. Cities like Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona are using more and more FOSS-enabling cross-border collaboration within the EU and worldwide. Major projects can share expertise and costs, similar applications don't have to be programmed from scratch every time and with transparent processes, and others don't have to reinvent the wheel. This is also strengthening the European ideals of working together.
</p>
<p>
A majority of officials are not yet fully aware of FOSS’s importance within broader digital strategies. Most current digital strategies of public administrations could be updated yet more to reflect how Free and Open Source Software fits within the European technological independence and European growth in digital government, eHealth, Cloud computing, its relevance to SME-led innovation and a European IT market, Open Science, Industry 4.0, within Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence.
</p>
<p>
The signatories therefore address the EU institutions with the following recommendations for the next five years:
</p>

 Research 

<p>
Issue: There exists already a wealth of research on Free and Open Source Software, much of which have been funded by EU research grants and by the Commission. However, gaps exist in four specific areas, for which the European Commission is best-placed to produce much-needed research.
</p>

<p>
Rec 1: In the evaluations and midterm reports of Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programmes, particular focus should be given to FOSS and its role and relevance in the EU research funding instruments.
</p>

<p> 
Rec 2: We welcome the European Commission call for tenders for a FOSS market study. It should however be updated with a similar cadence to other Digitisation measurement projects (e.g. DESI), in order to track the development as the rate of growth of FOSS is significant.
</p>

<p>
Rec 3: The European Commission should continue to research how to co-develop and support communities around FOSS solutions such as in the area of eGovernment.
</p>

<p>
Rec 4: The European institutions should, when funding research, make sure that the principles of open access science should also cover software developed as part of that research. As such it should be released under a FOSS license. This fosters collaboration between research teams and ensures reproducibility.
</p>

EU Institutional Capacity

<p>
Issue: It is necessary to take a holistic approach to digital policy. There were unintended consequences on FOSS businesses stemming from legislation under the Digital Single Market. A broader view requires all relevant Commission services to be aware and act towards enabling European FOSS to succeed.
</p>

<p>
Rec 5: The European Commission should bolster existing resources focusing on explore the creation of a unit with a clear mandate to work withFOSS and/or institute a cross-DG, cross-cabinet collaboration focused on FOSS’sincreasing importance in the digital transformation.
</p>

<p>
Rec 6: The European institutions should rely on the well-documented wealth of knowledge available in FOSS communities when making policy decisions to minimize unintended consequences.
</p>

<p>
Rec 7: The European institutions should reach out to the FOSS community when preparing policy decisions, to extend its interaction from the technical to the policy level, to minimise the risk of unintended consequences.
</p>

Follow through on FOSS commitments

<p>
Issue: The European institutions and the Member States have made great commitments to openness. These commitments need to be fulfilled to reap their benefits.
</p>

<p>
Rec 9: The European Commission should follow up the Member States’ commitments in the Tallinn Declaration and proactively take its role in supporting and monitoring the implementation of the Declaration in Member States.
</p>

<p>
Rec 10: The European institutions and Member States should begin considerations for a follow-up, more ambitious Ministerial Declaration on eGovernment, including further concrete goals and commitments for FOSS.
</p>

<p>
Rec 11: When developing software, the European Commission needs to follow its commitment to developing software under a FOSS license and Develop In the Open (DITO), and encourage all EU institutions moving towards a FOSS by default approach.
</p>
<p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20191007-01.fr.xml
title: Freedomvote fait la lumière sur les candidats aux élections nationales suisses
uri: Freedomvote-fait-la-lumière-sur-les-candidats-aux-élections-national
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191007-01.html
content:
Freedomvote fait la lumière sur les candidats aux élections nationales suisses<p>
        Freedomvote.ch est de retour. La campagne suisse Freedomvote a pour but de donner des indications aux électeurs sur les candidats aux élections. Lors de l’édition précédente en 2015, elle a donné aux candidats la chance de présenter leur position sur des thématiques numériques variées, incluant le Logiciel Libre. Plus de 160 candidats participent déjà et prouvent ainsi que le numérique devient de plus en plus important - pour les électeurs comme pour les candidats.
    </p><p>
        A l'âge de l'information, les citoyens souhaitent connaître la position des candidats sur des problématiques clés du Logiciel Libre et des droits numériques. Le Logiciel est profondément ancré dans tous les aspects de notre quotidien; il est donc important que cette technologie nous renforce plutôt que nous restreigne. Le Logiciel Libre offre à tous les droits d’utiliser, comprendre, adapter et partager le logiciel. Ces droits contribuent à renforcer d’autres libertés fondamentales telles que la liberté d’expression, de la presse et de la vie privée.
    </p><p>
        Freedomvote.ch aide les électeurs à connaître la position prise par les candidats à cet égard. Quelles valeurs représentent-ils dans un monde connecté ? Sont-ils sensibles à la souveraineté numérique ? 
    </p><p>
        En 2019, <a href="https://ch19.freedomvote.ch/">freedomvote.ch</a> est à nouveau disponible pour les candidats et électeurs suisses afin d’apporter son orientation pour les élections nationales à venir. Déjà plus de 160 candidats ont créé leur profil et partagent leur position sur le Logiciel Libre sur Freedomvote.ch.
    </p><p>
        Les élections au Conseil National sont prévues le 20 octobre. La diversité et le nombre de candidats rendent les élections de 2019 difficiles - particulièrement en ce qui concerne les questions relatives aux droits et libertés dans le monde numérique.
    </p><p>
        Freedomvote.ch permet d’offrir des réponses et une orientation. En plus de pouvoir comparer les profiles les uns aux autres,un questionnaire peut aussi être rempli par les électeurs et être ainsi directement comparé à leurs propres valeurs et priorités. Ces résultats peuvent être partagés avec l'électorat sur les réseaux sociaux en utilisant le hashtag #freedomvote.
    </p><p>
        <a href="http://fsfe.org/campaigns/elections/freedomvote.html">Freedomvote.ch</a> est géré par le groupe local de Zurich de la Free Software Foundation Europe en collaboration avec d'autres organisations. Cette campagne a eu lieu en <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2015/news-20150916-01.html">2015 en Suisse</a> pour sa dernière édition. Le logiciel pour la plate-forme <a href="https://github.com/freedomvote/freedomvote"> est un Logiciel Libre</a>.
    </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20191012-01.en.xml
title: Today is the Day Against DRM
uri: Today-is-the-Day-Against-DRM
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191012-01.html
content:
Today is the Day Against DRM<p>
  Join us and the Free Software Foundation in the fight against DRM!
  Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) is any technology that is built
  into an electronic product or service with the aim of limiting its
  use. It is designed to prevent customers from using digital
  technology in ways that do not correspond to the business agenda of a
  content provider or device manufacturer.
</p>
  <img src="media/f07914b4.inchains.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/drm.info/graphics/inchains.png"/>
  
     CC BY-SA 3.0 - Brendan Mruk and Matt Lee
  
<p>
  <a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/drm/drm.html">Digital Restrictions
  Managements</a> often restricts individuals from doing things that
  are perfectly legal, so we might not be able to put together a mix of
  music files we bought legally, or to lend an e-book to a friend. Even
  backups can be restricted. Restrictions management technology removes
  basic rights and freedoms in the digital world. All DRM systems have
  one thing in common: They give businesses control over things that
  we, the owners, should be in control of. For example, businesses
  decide how often we can play the movies we paid for and what kind of
  files we can read on our e-book reader.
</p><p>
  Free Software is software that puts the user in control of their own
  devices. In contrast, DRM Digital Restrictions Management is
  technology to put the user under control of a third party: these two
  goals are fundamentally incompatible.
</p><p>
  If you want to get active on this topic, you can support the Day
  Against DRM which takes place every year. This campaign is organised
  by the Free Software Foundation, our sister organisation based in the
  US. On the <a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org">campaign
  website</a> you also can find a list of DRM-free-platforms for books,
  videos and audio files. To raise more awareness about the topic
  yourself, you can order our <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#drm-leaflet">leaflet about DRM</a> or
  recommend the <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-1.html">first episode of
  our Software Freedom Podcast</a> with Cory Doctorow on this topic.
</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/podcast/.episode-1.en.xml
title: Software Freedom Podcast #1 on Day Against DRM with Cory Doctorow
uri: Software-Freedom-Podcast-1-on-Day-Against-DRM-with-Cory-Doctorow
url: http://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-1.html
content:
  Software Freedom Podcast #1 on Day Against DRM with Cory Doctorow
<p>
  We have a Podcast! Starting with this episode, we will talk once a
  month with people who have inspiring ideas about software freedom. In
  our first episode of our Software Freedom Podcast, we address the
  issue of Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) together with Cory
  Doctorow, a British-Canadian writer, political activist, and
  co-editor of the blog boingboing.net. Cory Doctorow is a prominent
  supporter of software freedom and a less restrictive copyright law.
  His books are published under Creative Commons licenses.
</p><p>
  When we planned the first episode, we exchanged some ideas for
  possible guests. When we heard that the <a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/dayagainstdrm/2019">Day
  Against DRM</a> will take place in October we thought: we have to get
  Cory Doctorow as our first guest on Digital Restrictions Management.
  In this episode of the Software Freedom Podcast, we talk about the
  difference between books and an e-books with DRM, how authors and
  artist can make money without DRM, security implications of DRM,
  regulation of the so called "Internet of Things", and other questions
  related to this issue.
</p><p>Read more:</p>
  <a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/dayagainstdrm/2019">Day against DRM 2019</a>
  <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/drm/drm.html">More information about DRM</a>
  <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#drm-leaflet">Informative leaflet explaining DRM</a>
  <a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/drm/sony-rootkit-fiasco.html">"Revisiting the Sony Rootkit"</a>
  <a href="https://boingboing.net/">Boing Boing</a>
<p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20191014-01.en.xml
title: The FSFE re-elects president, vice president, and financial officer
uri: The-FSFE-re-elects-president-vice-president-and-financial-officer
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191014-01.html
content:
The FSFE re-elects president, vice president, and financial officer<p>
At this year's General Assembly, which took place in Essen, Germany, on 12 October, the members of the FSFE re-elected Matthias Kirschner as the president, Heiki Lõhmus as the vice president, and Patrick Ohnewein as the financial officer for another two-year term.
</p><p><a href="http://fsfe.org/about/kirschner/kirschner.html">Matthias Kirschner</a> has been serving as the president of FSFE since 2015 and working fulltime for the FSFE since 2009. In 1999 he started using Free Software and realised that software is deeply involved in all aspects of our lives. Kirschner is convinced that this technology has to empower society not restrict it. He joined the FSFE in 2004 while studying Political and Administrative Science. Kirschner is passionate to help governments, companies, other organisations, and individuals to understand how they can benefit from Free Software -- which gives everybody the rights to use, understand, adapt and share software -- and how those rights help to support freedom of speech, freedom of press or privacy.</p><p><a href="http://fsfe.org/about/repentinus/repentinus.html">Heiki Lõhmus</a> has been serving as the FSFE's vice president <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2016/news-20161031-01.html">since October 2016</a>. Lõhmus first started volunteering for the FSFE in 2011 as a translator and soon after assumed the responsibility for translation coordination. In 2013 he became a member of the FSFE. As a member, his main priority has been to make FSFE more appreciative of its volunteers and their contributions. Over time his focus has broadened to include other strategic questions about the FSFE's community. Though his main focus in FSFE has been and continues to be on people, he holds a Master's degree in aeronautical engineering and is currently pursuing a PhD on remote sensing of the Greenland Ice Sheet. He always welcomes an opportunity to hear from our supporters, volunteers, or potential volunteers, so drop him a line.</p><p>Patrick Ohnewein joined the FSFE as a member in 2009 and became its financial officer in 2017. He has been dedicated to building up a Free Software community in South Tyrol since the nineties. He co-founded the <a href="http://lugbz.org/">Linux User Group Bozen-Bolzano-Bulsan</a> and has served as its board member. He has also been organising the annual <a href="http://sfscon.it">South Tyrol Free Software Conference</a>. Ohnewein coordinates mailing lists about software projects and is involved as an IT-expert in various work-groups and committees for Free Software and for the IT-community. In his day job at NOI Techpark in the Italian region South Tyrol he is responsible for coordinating European development and research projects in the fields of tourism, mobility, energy, and food -- promoting an innovation strategy built on top of Open Data, Open Standards and Free Software.</p>
   <a href="media/73c3dfc9.201910-fsfe-ga-meeting-participants.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/events/201910-fsfe-ga-meeting-participants.jpg"/>
   <p>FSFE's general assembly meeting, 2019</p>
<p>The <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Teams/GA">General Assembly</a> consists of the <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/team.html">members of the FSFE e.V.</a>, the FSFE's legal body. It is responsible for strategic planning, budgeting, agenda-setting, and the election, exoneration, and recall of the Executive Council and the Financial Officer. </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20191002-01.en.xml
title: Open Letter “Free and Open Source EU Policy Recommendations”
uri: 2019-10-21-Open-Letter-Free-and-Open-Source-EU-Policy-Recommendations
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191002-01.html
content:
Open Letter “Free and Open Source EU Policy Recommendations” <p>
At the end of September together with Open Forum Europe we organised a meeting in Brussels to bring together Free Software experts from around Europe. Goal of the meeting was to discuss Free Software and its driving role in the digital transformation in Europe, and in particular how the European institutions can further facilitate these developments.
</p>Open Letter “Free and Open Source EU Policy Recommendations”<p>
After the European Election, many Members of the European Parliament left the Parliament and new ones got in their place. Also the European Commission will be transformed, new Commissioners will be elected and restructuring processes will take place in the upcoming weeks. As we have seen in the latest debates, i.e. the discussion around the copyright reform, it is crucial to create awareness among policy makers to make the right choices in the light of new, upcoming legislation which will touch Free Software. On the other hand, there is the growing interest in the adoption and use of Free Software within the European Institutions, still there is a lack of commitment.
</p><p>
Therefore, the attendees of the meeting agreed on an open letter which will be sent to representatives and decision makers in the EU. The letter contains recommendations in the field of research, EU institutional capacity and demands on previous commitments regarding Free Software supportive policy-decisions.
</p><p>
To have big impact on the European institutions, we need alliances. Please send us an e-mail to <a href="mailto:contact@fsfe.org">contact@fsfe.org</a> if your organisation wants to sign and support the open letter as well.
</p> FREE AND OPEN SOURCE EU POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 
<p>
Brussels, 26 September 2019
</p>
<p>
On this day, Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) experts from around Europe met in Brussels to discuss FOSS and its driving role in the digital transformation in Europe and how the EU can further facilitate these developments. The undersigned organisations have agreed to the following Open Letter.
</p>
<p>
Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) refers to all programs distributed under specific terms and licenses that allow users to use the software for any purpose, to study how the program works, to improve the program to their needs and to share it with others, enabling innovation through collaboration.
</p>
<p>
Free and Open Source Software is mainstream technology with enterprise FOSS underpinning critical infrastructure in a wide range of sectors such as government, finance, security, telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing and transport in Europe. It is today the R&amp;D community of the digital transformation, with some of the biggest internet and mobile platforms to the Cloud built upon and actively contributing and co-developing it. In fact, European companies of all sizes rely heavily on FOSS to increase their pace of innovation in order to compete globally. FOSS development provides much of the fuel behind European technology priorities like eGovernment, Artificial Intelligence, HPC, Blockchain, 5G, eHealth, Industry 4.0, Connected Cars and the Internet of Things.
</p>
<p>
In order to establish trustworthy systems, and achieve technological sovereignty, European public bodies should ensure they have full control over the software and the computer systems at the core of our governmental digital infrastructures.
</p>
<p>
In that same vein, the EU has taken significant steps in the area of FOSS to digitally transform, but also “walk the policy talk”. By way of example, the European Commission's recent Digital Strategy and emphasis on co-creation as well as long standing policies/frameworks such as ISA² Program, the Open Source Observatory, the EU Open Source Strategy, and the objectives laid out in the Tallinn Declaration. Other initiatives include hackathons to help engage with the community as well as specific projects such as FOSSA 2 in cooperation with the European Parliament. Much more can be done, however, to unlock the potential of Free and Open Source Software in the EU.
</p>
<p>
That Member States and third countries signed the Tallinn Declaration in 2017 presents further evidence of the realisation of Free and Open Source Software being critical to starting/accelerating/improving a successful digital transformation. Some countries like France, Italy or Bulgaria have introduced FOSS legislation. Cities like Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona are using more and more FOSS-enabling cross-border collaboration within the EU and worldwide. Major projects can share expertise and costs, similar applications don't have to be programmed from scratch every time and with transparent processes, and others don't have to reinvent the wheel. This is also strengthening the European ideals of working together.
</p>
<p>
A majority of officials are not yet fully aware of FOSS’s importance within broader digital strategies. Most current digital strategies of public administrations could be updated yet more to reflect how Free and Open Source Software fits within the European technological independence and European growth in digital government, eHealth, Cloud computing, its relevance to SME-led innovation and a European IT market, Open Science, Industry 4.0, within Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence.
</p>
<p>
The signatories therefore address the EU institutions with the following recommendations for the next five years:
</p>

 Research 

<p>
Issue: There exists already a wealth of research on Free and Open Source Software, much of which have been funded by EU research grants and by the Commission. However, gaps exist in four specific areas, for which the European Commission is best-placed to produce much-needed research.
</p>

<p>
Rec 1: In the evaluations and midterm reports of Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programmes, particular focus should be given to FOSS and its role and relevance in the EU research funding instruments.
</p>

<p> 
Rec 2: We welcome the European Commission call for tenders for a FOSS market study. It should however be updated with a similar cadence to other Digitisation measurement projects (e.g. DESI), in order to track the development as the rate of growth of FOSS is significant.
</p>

<p>
Rec 3: The European Commission should continue to research how to co-develop and support communities around FOSS solutions such as in the area of eGovernment.
</p>

<p>
Rec 4: The European institutions should, when funding research, make sure that the principles of open access science should also cover software developed as part of that research. As such it should be released under a FOSS license. This fosters collaboration between research teams and ensures reproducibility.
</p>

EU Institutional Capacity

<p>
Issue: It is necessary to take a holistic approach to digital policy. There were unintended consequences on FOSS businesses stemming from legislation under the Digital Single Market. A broader view requires all relevant Commission services to be aware and act towards enabling European FOSS to succeed.
</p>

<p>
Rec 5: The European Commission should bolster existing resources focusing on explore the creation of a unit with a clear mandate to work withFOSS and/or institute a cross-DG, cross-cabinet collaboration focused on FOSS’sincreasing importance in the digital transformation.
</p>

<p>
Rec 6: The European institutions should rely on the well-documented wealth of knowledge available in FOSS communities when making policy decisions to minimize unintended consequences.
</p>

<p>
Rec 7: The European institutions should reach out to the FOSS community when preparing policy decisions, to extend its interaction from the technical to the policy level, to minimise the risk of unintended consequences.
</p>

Follow through on FOSS commitments

<p>
Issue: The European institutions and the Member States have made great commitments to openness. These commitments need to be fulfilled to reap their benefits.
</p>

<p>
Rec 8: The European Commission should follow up the Member States’ commitments in the Tallinn Declaration and proactively take its role in supporting and monitoring the implementation of the Declaration in Member States.
</p>

<p>
Rec 9: The European institutions and Member States should begin considerations for a follow-up, more ambitious Ministerial Declaration on eGovernment, including further concrete goals and commitments for FOSS.
</p>

<p>
Rec 10: When developing software, the European Commission needs to follow its commitment to developing software under a FOSS license and Develop In the Open (DITO), and encourage all EU institutions moving towards a FOSS by default approach.
</p>
<p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20191022-01.en.xml
title: Annual report of the Free Software Foundation Europe 2019
uri: Annual-report-of-the-Free-Software-Foundation-Europe-2019
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191022-01.html
content:
Software Freedom in Europe 2019<p>"Software freedom in Europe" is the yearly report of the Free Software Foundation Europe e.V. (FSFE). In one document, it gives you a breakdown of important things the FSFE has done and achieved during the last 12 months. Among many other interesting stories, in the 2019 report you will read about our ongoing work for router freedom in Europe, about the first Parliament in Europe who joins our "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign, about our new version of REUSE tools to help Free Software developers with easy license compliance and about much more of our multi-faceted policy work - all together aiming at a world in which users are in control of technology!</p><p>Besides our policy work and projects, we also shine light on our community and its members; because it is only though working together with our community that the FSFE is able to form a movement across Europe to build a society based on users' and software freedom. We report about the events that we organised and participated in, from policy meetings to our web-a-thons. We finish with some numbers of our outreach-sections and an outlook into the next year.</p><p>But this short introduction can only give you some brief ideas, and so we invite you to discover your personal favourite of the FSFE's activities in 2019. Please enjoy your reading and if you are not a supporter yet, consider <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate">supporting software freedom in Europe</a>.</p>
	  
		  <img src="media/4c0fc4e5.2018-reinhard-mueller-300px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/people/2018-reinhard-mueller-300px.jpg"/>
		  <p>
			  "In a world where software influences virtually every single aspect of our lives, Free Software is a precondition for a free society."
		  </p>
		  <p>Reinhard Müller
		  </p>
	  
  
	  <p>Table of contents</p>
	  
          <a href="#eurouterfreedom">ISP's infrastructure ends where Router Freedom begins!</a>
          <a href="#pmpc">Europeans demand: "Public Money? Public Code!"</a>
          <a href="#foss4smes">Explaining Free Software to business: Our FOSS4SMEs-project</a>
          <a href="#savecodeshare">Saving Code Share in the European Copyright Directive</a>
          <a href="#radiolockdown">Tearing Down barriers introduced by the Radio Lockdown Directive</a>
          <a href="#ngi0">Licensing consultancy for the Next Generation Internet</a>
          <a href="#policy">Spreading software freedom in Europe: Our policy advocacy</a>
          <a href="#reuse">Our developer's best licensing friend: REUSE</a>
          <a href="#ilovefs">We all love Free Software: IloveFS</a>
          <a href="#sustainability">Sustainability of Software</a>
          <a href="#community">Our Community - we are the FSFE</a>
              
                  <a href="#join">How you can become a part of our movement</a>
                  <a href="#events2019">Events we organised and participated in</a>
                  <a href="#team2019">Staffers, team and GA</a>
              
          <a href="#outreach">Spreading the word of software freedom</a>
          <a href="#outlook">Looking forward</a>
          <a href="#about">About the Free Software Foundation Europe</a>
      
  ISP's infrastructure ends where Router Freedom begins!<p><a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/routers/">Router Freedom</a> is the right for customers of any Internet Service Provider (ISP) to choose and use their private modems and routers instead of those that their ISP forces them to use - for example by contract. Such an enforcement comes with a series of problems and it essentially denies freedom of choice, taking away control of technology from users. </p><p>Some years ago, the FSFE successfully fought for router freedom in Germany. In 2013 the legal situation in Germany was unclear, some ISPs were using this to already infringe on Router Freedom. The FSFE stepped in as early as possible into the public debate with a statement towards the Federal Network Agency and <a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/routers/timeline.html">from then on</a> started coordinating with other organisations to safeguard users' freedom of choice. Finally, <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2016/news-20160725-01.html">a law comes into effect</a>: From August 1st in 2016 onward, all Internet Service Providers in Germany have to enable new clients to use alternative modems and routers to connect to the internet if they so choose. </p>
					 <img src="media/14848baa.201908-booth-at-cccamp-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/booths/201908-booth-at-cccamp-800px.jpg"/>
					 Router Freedom is a question about the freedom of choice and control of technology. (Picture: FSFE booth at the Chaos Communication Camp)
				Router Freedom in Europe<p>Now, the same debate reaches the European level, with Internet Service Providers (ISP) wanting to impose direct access to their modems and routers even after its selling to end costumers.  The problematic steppingstone for the implementation of Router Freedom in Europe relates to legal and technical aspects around the "Network Termination Point" (NTP) - a definition of where an ISP's infrastructure ends and the user's begins. If the NTP would be defined as behind the router, the user might not have the right to use their own equipment because it belongs to the ISP and would be covered by contract. This position subjugates users to contract restrictions that would effectively undermine their freedom to choose and use their own routers. To counteract this restriction of freedom and to protect users' control of technology, the FSFE has started monitoring the status of router freedom in several countries and has been preparing an <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/CompulsoryRouters/">"activity package"</a> for people and organisations willing to advocate for router freedom. This package compiles information about how to raise awareness among people, ideas on how to build alliances with organisations, the (counter-)arguments to be used in the discussions, as well as how to demand controls and supervision from the National Regulatory Agencies (NRA).</p>Europeans demand: "Public Money? Public Code!"<p>At the FSFE, we want legislation requiring that publicly financed software developed for the public sector be made publicly available under a Free Software licence. In 2017, we started a campaign to demand that software which is created using taxpayers’ money is published as public code as well. Code paid for by the people should be available to the people!</p>
					<a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate"/>
				<p>The <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">Public Money? Public Code! campaign</a> (PMPC) aims to make Free Software as the standard for publicly financed software. Public administrations following this principle can benefit from collaboration with other public bodies, independence from single vendors, potential tax savings, increased innovation, and a better foundation for IT security. Backed by more than 150 organisations, we have run and seen a mix of different awareness activities demanding public code this year.</p>Parliament of Asturias demands public code<p>In February, we were delighted to see the Parliament of Asturias become the first Parliament in Europe to vote in favour of signing our <a href="https://publiccode.eu/openletter/">open letter</a> demanding "Public Money? Public Code!". This was the result of nearly one year of intense advocating on a local level, mainly done by our friends at the <a href="http://www.picahack.org/">Pica Pica Hacklab</a>. We found Pica Pica's success story to be highly inspiring for local activists, and so we <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190514-01.html">conducted an interview</a> with Iyán Méndez Veiga from Pica Pica Hacklab who spoke about their actions and achievements during that time:</p>
	  
		  <img src="media/68dec8fa.2019-iyan-mendez-veiga-300px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/people/2019-iyan-mendez-veiga-300px.jpg"/>
		  <p>
			  "The idea behind was that they are totally different parties but we want them all to vote the same thing. So we tried to emphasise different benefits of Free Software to the different parties. [... Now] the proposal of the Parliament has three main items and the very first one is that the Parliament of Asturias supports the international "Public Money? Public Code!" initiative. [...] I think for the first time, a lot of politicians understood what Free Software is."
		  </p>
		  <p>
			  Iyán Méndez Veiga
		  </p>
	  
  
					 <img src="media/13075ef1.201903-pica-pica-hacklab-team-800px.JPG" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/201903-pica-pica-hacklab-team-800px.JPG"/>
					 Team from Pica Pica Hacklab in front of the Asturian Parliament, demanding Public Money? Public Code!
				Expert Brochure published<p>Why should governments develop Free Software? Where is Free Software already generating benefits in the public sector? What are Free Software business models? Answers to these questions and practical guidelines are given in the new expert policy brochure published in January by the FSFE. Produced with decision-makers in mind, the brochure is  a helpful source of information for them. The brochure features leading experts from various ICT areas and <a href="http://fsfe.org/campaigns/publiccode/brochure">is released in digital and print</a> under a CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. </p>Prominent support in D-A-CH countries<p>This year, our campaign got an extra boost as German media <a href="https://peertube.social/videos/watch/9f8f607f-5108-4438-bf43-611c60987c48">WDR</a> and <a href="https://t3n.de/news/sascha-lobo-breites-buendnis-code-1148918/">t3n</a> picked it up in April. Thanks to this, the FSFE's initiative received prominent support from various members of the German parliament, as well as digital politics activists and publicists embracing the the use of Free Software licenses for software development funded by the public sector.</p><p>On this occasion, t3n, <a href="(https://t3n.de/news/barcelona-touristen-hochburg-1139070/)">published an interview</a> (German) with the FSFE's EU Policy Manager, Alexander Sander, about how the public sector can go about deploying Free Software in its administration and city solutions -  like in the city of Barcelona. </p>Politics like satire<p>More than two years ago, Munich abandoned their strategy of developing an independent IT infrastructure built with Free Software and the free operating system GNU/Linux and went back to depending on proprietary software. We followed this process closely and <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190515-01.html">gave an update</a> about what has happened in Munich and in Europe in general since then. </p><p>In May, political satirist Christine Prayon was awarded the 10,000 Euro Dieter Hildebrandt Award of the City of Munich for demanding political or decidedly socio-critical political satire. Prayon donated the prize money to the Free Software Foundation Europe. Prayon <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190515-02.html">used her thank-you speech</a> to describe the former genius, progressive process of making Munich independent of the providers of proprietary software and letting the complete administration run on a Free Software system. Prayon then criticised the switch back to proprietary systems and pointed to our "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign.</p>
					<a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate"/>
				Explaining Free Software to business: Our FOSS4SMEs project<p>FOSS4SMEs is an EU-funded project, focused on building an e-learning platform teaching small and medium-sized enterprises and their employees how to migrate from proprietary software to Free Software. The FSFE has been part of the consortium, and together with five other partners from across Europe helped to realise this project and spread the word among business communities, encouraging them to learn more about Free Software and its numerous benefits for corporate environments.</p><p>The resulting e-learning course consists of five units. Starting with an introduction into Free Software, it continues with an overview of business models and a selection of Free Software products for different purposes. In the last two units, the participants will learn about how Free Software can be adopted in businesses, and how the migration strategies for the first small steps may look like.</p><p>The FOSS4SMEs project was finalised in September 2019, and its lessons are available <a href="https://www.foss4smes.eu/moodle/">in an online course</a> in four different languages and <a href="https://foss4smes.eu/wp-content/uploads/FOSS4SMEs_PDF_en.zip">as downloadable PDF files</a>, all under a free Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 license.</p>
						 <img src="media/94436fda.201906_Matthias_Kirschner_OW2con_Paris_800pxl.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/onstage/201906_Matthias_Kirschner_OW2con_Paris_800pxl.jpg"/>
						 Matthias Kirschner, president of the FSFE, promoting software freedom at OW2con in Paris.
					Saving Code Share in the European Copyright Directive<p>In March 2019, the European digital landscape changed when the European Parliament adopted the controversial Copyright Directive. In preparation of the adoption, heated discussions about the introduction of upload filters ended up with protests of hundreds of thousands of people in the streets all across Europe. </p><p>Thanks to our efforts, in a last minute action back in September 2018, the European Parliament adopted an amendment to <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190326-01">at least protect Free Software developing platforms</a> from having to install upload filters. This can be seen as a success of our campaign to <a href="https://savecodeshare.eu/">“Save Code Share”</a> that we started in 2017. More than 14,000 people supported our <a href="https://savecodeshare.eu/#research">open letter</a> which requests EU legislators to preserve the ability to collaboratively build software online under the new EU Copyright Directive proposal.</p><p>We are glad we were able to raise awareness and understanding of what drives software development in Europe nowadays among many policy makers. The exclusion of Free Software code hosting and sharing providers from this directive is a sign showing that the EU wants to keep Free Software development in Europe healthy, solid and alive. Yet, we are dismayed that the EU missed the opportunity to reform copyright to a reasonable extent.</p>
					 <img src="media/c4b1d838.201907-Alex-Sander-Church-Day_800pxl.JPG" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/onstage/201907-Alex-Sander-Church-Day_800pxl.JPG"/>
					 Our EU Policy Advisor Alexander Sander speaking at the protestant church assembly.
				Tearing down barriers introduced by the Radio Lockdown Directive<p>Since 2014, the FSFE has been working on the topic of <a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/radiodirective">Radio Lockdown</a>, which was introduced by a <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A32014L0053">European Directive</a> and is in effect hindering users to load Free Software on their "radio capable devices", such as smartphones, laptops or routers. </p>Users and environmental suffering<p>This is because so far the responsibility for compliance with applicable regulations used to lie with the users but since then has been shifted to the manufacturer. While this may sound convenient for users on first sight, it actually incentivises manufacturers to make it extremely difficult or impossible for any user to load alternative software, including Free Software, on their devices. But not having the right to install alternative Free Software systems has not only negative implications on users' rights but also on the whole Free Software ecosystem, on fair competition and innovation. </p><p>For users, this assessment also has negative impacts on security and the life cycles of their hardware: Often, the life cycles of radio devices such as mobile phones and routers decrease because manufacturers no longer release software updates to support old devices. From the day on which such support drops, these devices become insecure and unusable. If devices now have to be constructed in a way to prevent users from uploading their alternative but up-to-date software, then the user is put in a position to either live with a potentially insecure device, or to wastefully discard their older device and purchase a new one.</p>
					<a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate"/>
				European Commission still needs to understand<p>This year, the European Commission organised a feedback period in which citizens could share their thoughts on the Directive. The overwhelming majority of the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/initiatives/ares-2018-6621038/feedback_en?p_id=380919">276 comments collected</a> were critical of the impact of the directive on user rights, and largely reflected the <a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/radiodirective/radiodirective.en.html">stances adopted by the FSFE</a>. Despite this massive criticism, a meeting of the Commission Expert Group on Reconfigurable Radio Systems last June tragically showed that the full scope of the problem is likely <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190827-01.html">not understood by the European Commission</a>.</p><p>Further trying to improve the situation, the FSFE is helping regulators to understand the negative influence of the current Directive. We continue our efforts to make decision makers understand that Free Software is crucial for network security, science, education, and technical innovation - and that the right to install Free Software is at the beginning of it all. Our activities include encouraging users to participate in <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/initiatives/ares-2018-6621038_en">public consultations</a>, contact relevant political and business associations to demand that these worries be addressed, and getting more organisations to sign our <a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/radiodirective/statement.html">joint statement</a>. </p>Licensing consultancy for the Next Generation Internet<p>The <a href="https://www.ngi.eu/">Next Generation Internet</a> (NGI) is an initiative of the European Commission that aims to support developing technologies that can shape the internet into an interoperable platform ecosystem that embodies values such as openness, inclusivity, transparency, privacy, and protection of data. Operating under the NGI Initiative, the FSFE is part of a consortium of organisations collectively known as <a href="https://www.ngi.eu/about/ngi-zero/">NGI Zero</a> in two distinct grant giving programs. One is  the <a href="https://nlnet.nl/PET/">NGI PET</a> program for software projects that protect privacy and the other is the <a href="https://nlnet.nl/discovery/">NGI Discovery</a> program for software projects that enhance technologies involved in searching for and retrieving information on the internet.</p>Compliance with REUSE standards<p>The FSFE assists these software projects with any Free Software copyright and licensing issues that they may run into, checks their repositories for license compliance, as well as recommends their adoption of our <a href="https://reuse.software">REUSE specifications</a>. With over 150 software projects expected to be involved in NGI Zero, the FSFE can  ensure that a large number of developing software funded by the EC will be made available as Free Software, a goal also shared by the NGI Initiative. Compliance with REUSE standards will ensure that code from these projects can be easily reused and shared among the community.</p><p>2019 was an important year for the FSFE and the NGI Initiative. The NGI programs officially began accepting software projects in January, and the FSFE has developed for these projects <a href="https://download.fsfe.org/NGI0/">educational documents</a> on Free Software legal and licensing issues. Since August, we have also begun checking their repositories for compliance with licensing best practices, and giving them recommendations on how to do so. With more projects being accepted into these programs every 2 months, this endeavor is an ongoing one which the FSFE expects to be involved with until 2021.</p>
					 <img src="media/594a1438.201904-booth-at-linuxwochen-wien-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/booths/201904-booth-at-linuxwochen-wien-800px.jpg"/>
					 FSFE Booth at Linuxwochen Wien
				Spreading software freedom in Europe: Our policy advocacy<p>Throughout May, there have been elections to the ninth European Parliament. Even before the vote, it was clear that most of the digital rights supporters and Free Software experts among the Members of the eight European Parliament will not be re-elected. Therefore, we decided to <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/European_Elections_2019">run an election campaign</a> and motivate people to get in contact with their local candidates and raise the issue of Free Software by asking candidates on their position on Free Software and presenting them our "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign. Thanks to that, we were able to identify new Free Software advocates inside the new European Parliament. We have been establishing new contacts since then and will continue to reach out for alliances within the Parliament to foster Free Software advocacy work in Brussels.  </p>
					<a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate"/>
				<p>However, to broaden our impact it is also important to find alliances within the civil society. To find and advocate for common goals on the EU level, we have organised <a href="#oureuropeanpolicymeetings">two policy events in Brussels</a>. We also took part in a <a href="https://juliareda.eu/foss-workshop-ep-2019/">hearing of the European Parliament</a> on Free Software, and we had several meetings with decision makers from administrations and institutions all across Europe. In particular we took part in the Open Government Partnership process and the Internet Governance Forum and we started freedomvote.ch, an <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191007-01.en.html">election campaign in Switzerland</a> as well as numerous other local initiatives. </p>Our developer's best licensing friend: REUSE<p>If you want to grant users the freedom to use, study, share, and improve your software, you have to grant those freedoms in the license of the software. To encourage people to develop Free Software we help developers to understand and apply Free Software licensing. Our <a href="https://reuse.software">REUSE initiative</a>, started in 2017, contributes to this goal. Any project following the initiative's recommendations makes copyright and licensing information readable to both: humans and machines. This way, we want to ensure that individuals, organisations and companies who are re-using code are aware of the license terms chosen by the original author. </p>Reuse 3.0<p>In August, we have released an <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190807-01.html">updated set of best practices together with more assisting material and tools</a>. Now, in only three steps a project can become REUSE compliant:</p>
					<p>Choose and provide licenses</p>
					<p>Add copyright and licensing information to each file</p>
					<p>Confirm REUSE compliance</p>
				<p>A new tutorial helps understanding the fundamentals, and an FAQ answers basic questions about licensing, copyright, and more advanced use cases.</p>
					 <img src="media/49c0579e.201908-reuse-tool.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/201908-reuse-tool.png"/>
					 FSFE promotes REUSE compliance.
				<p>To ensure that developers can concentrate on their actual work, we have further developed the REUSE helper tool that automates and assists with some of these steps. It can be included in existing continuous integration (CI) workflows which can test different parameters of a project automatically. On top of that, the REUSE API, a new web service, can test repositories and offer a corresponding badge based on their REUSE compliance. Check out <a href="https://reuse.software/dev/">the website</a> for more information.</p>
					<a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate"/>
				We all love Free Software: IloveFS<p>Since 2010, our community has been celebrating 14th of February as the <a href="http://fsfe.org/campaigns/ilovefs/">"I love Free Software" Day</a>. This is the time when we invite all of you to share and express your appreciation and love for Free Software and its various contributors: developers, documentation writers, translators, designers, or testers of smaller as well as larger Free Software projects. </p>
					<a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#ilovefs"/>
				<p>In <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190329-01.html">2019 more people than ever joined us</a> from all around the globe. Overall, 667 distinct #ilovefs posts on Twitter and Fediverse were counted, made by 530 individual accounts, mentioning at least 231 projects and developers. Posts were coming in from at least 230 different locations from all over the world in 16 different languages. We look forward to even more people showing their love and appreciation to the Free Software in the coming February 14th in 2020. If you are inspired to join the celebration offline, you can <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword.en.html#ilovefs">get our #ilovefs package</a> free of charge and spread the love amongst your friends, family and colleagues.</p>Sustainability of Software<p>We have been participating with talks and a booth in the biggest conference so far that aimed at bringing together environmental communities and digital rights communities, called <a href="https://bits-und-baeume.org/">"Bits &amp; Bäume"</a>. On several other occasions and conferences we have been given presentations about the sustainability of software and as one of the main organisers of the <a href="https://events.ccc.de/camp/2019/wiki/Village:About:freedom">about:freedom cluster</a> at the Chaos Communication Camp, we merged for the first time digital rights and sustainability groups.</p>
					 <img src="media/0c7bf77c.201908-CCcamp-about-freedom-talk_800pxl.jpeg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/events/201908-CCcamp-about-freedom-talk_800pxl.jpeg"/>
					 Session inside the about:freedom cluster during the Chaos Communication Camp.
				<p>We also work together with the German ministry for environment to help fine-graining a new ecolabel for software that is designed to highlight low energy-consumption software. The label will be introduced in spring 2020. So long, stay tuned.</p>Our Community - we are the FSFE<p>It is no secret that even in the daily operations of the FSFE we rely on all the beloved people who help us continuously on different levels with their respective skills. It is only through working together with our community that the FSFE is able to form a movement across Europe to build a society based on users' and software freedom. A society in where users are empowered to control their technology. </p><p>Every day, we are happy to see that our community becomes stronger. In the last few years, we exceeded some ten thousand people from Europe and beyond who are supporting our cause by <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword">spreading our word</a>, signing our open letters, subscribing to our <a href="https://lists.fsfe.org/mailman/listinfo/newsletter-en">newsletter</a> or joining our <a href="https://lists.fsfe.org/mailman/listinfo/discussion">public discussions</a>. But as impressive as numbers are, they cannot  speak for the creative and engaged individual people behind them. And so we had the idea to let our community members speak for themselves and created a dedicated <a href="http://fsfe.org/about/people/testimonials">testimonials page</a>.</p>
	  
		  <img src="media/33356c11.2018-alexandra-busch-300px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/people/2018-alexandra-busch-300px.jpg"/>
		  <p>
			  "I believe that Free Software can help us change our society fundamentally for the better and I believe the best way to do so is together with other volunteers from all over Europe!"
		  </p>
		  <p>
			  Alexandra Busch
		  </p>
	  
  
	  
		  <img src="media/b40fb0bd.2014-hugo-roy-166px.png" data-original-source="https://fsfe.org/picturebase/people/2014-hugo-roy-166px.png"/>
		  <p>
			  "The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) brings together dedicated and engaged activists from all over Europe to seize the opportunities to secure our rights to use, share, study, and improve software because without Free Software, technology subjugates us instead of enhancing our freedom."
		  </p>
		  <p>
			  Hugo Roy
		  </p>
	  
  
				<a href="http://fsfe.org/about/people/testimonials">
					See more testimonials
				</a>
			<p>On this testimonials-page you will not only find quotes by our diverse community members from all over Europe, but also interviews with them. One example of many is <a href="http://fsfe.org/about/people/interviews/grun.html#interview">Erik Grun</a>, our local coordinator Berlin.</p><p>During our last <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/LSMandCommunityMeeting2018">community meeting in Strasbourg</a>, we even had the pleasure to make some short video interviews with some of our community members like the one from Vincent Lequertier: </p>
					
					
					
					
					
				<p>Have a look at our <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/people/testimonials">testimonials page</a> and find your personal favorite statement. Share it with your friends and beloved ones to show them why Free Software is important to you or why you support the FSFE. Or even let yourself be inspired to share your own testimonial with us.</p>Community health<p>In the recent months we have seen prominent people apologising, taking a break, resigning or being removed for their behaviour. Without talking about individual cases, in sum, there is probably one thing that can we can take out of this: That there is an ever growing importance, for many members inside larger Free Software communities, towards ensuring proper behaviour safeguarded by a proper code of conduct.</p><p>It has always been our goal at the FSFE to offer a safe and welcoming environment for everyone. For more than two years we have an official <a href="about/codeofconduct">Code of Conduct</a> in place "to offer a friendly and peaceful environment for every participant at the FSFE's events, online and offline". </p>
					 <img src="media/c6232528.201905-webathon-group-picture-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/events/201905-webathon-group-picture-800px.jpg"/>
					 Participants at a FSFE web-a-thon.
				<p>Meanwhile, hundreds of Free Software communities have their own codes of conduct, or they have signed the Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct. We appreciate that more people pay attention what effect certain behaviour might have and we continue to support the well-being of diverse Free Software communities to achieve our mission to empower people from all backgrounds to control technology without discrimination and thereby to create a better society for everyone. </p>How you can become a part of our movement<p>The FSFE would be nothing without our contributors. And it would be so much more with you! If you feel inspired  after reading our report, there are many ways to engage in our movement and you will surely find <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/">a way that fits your interests and  skills</a>. Some suggestions: </p><p>Spread the word about Free Software in public or among your friends with our <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword">promotion material</a> or directly show your love for Free Software wearing one of our <a href="http://fsfe.org/order/">inspiring clothes</a>. Follow our <a href="http://fsfe.org/events/">event announcements</a>, find an event that fits your interests and then go there to meet likeminded people. Don't be shy, most of us have been in your position once. Or see if you can even join <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups">regular meetings</a> in different cities of Europe. </p>
					 <img src="media/ee18b2c3.201906-booth-Veganmania-Vienna-June_800pxl.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/booths/201906-booth-Veganmania-Vienna-June_800pxl.jpg"/>
					 FSFE Booth at on the streets-festival of Veganmania
				<p>If you find no event near you, do not worry, you can also join us online. If you prefer to contribute with your <a href="contribute/web/web.fr.html">IT skills</a> or your <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/translators/translators.html">language skills</a>, you are more than welcome to join our respective online teams. Not yet sure where to start? Then look into our <a href="https://community.fsfe.org/">discourse-instance</a> and start to get to know our community and get inspired about what you can do.</p><p>Finally, advocating for freedom also costs money and we depend on people like you to <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">support us financially</a>. All support is used to improve our software freedom a bit more each day, step by step, bit by bit.</p>Events we organised and participated in<p>One of the FSFE's goals is to help individuals and organisations to understand how Free Software contributes to freedom, transparency, and self-determination. To this end, we reach out to the public by participating in events. Since our last annual report we participated in over 60 events in 11 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands), at many of which we gave public presentations and talks, most prominently about "Public Money? Public Code!", Sustainability of (Free) Software, Security with Free Software and Free Your Android. With the help of our local volunteers, we have even been able to also set up an information-booth in more than 20 of these events.</p><p>We also organize a lot of events ourselves, and we would like to highlight on some of them:</p>Our European Policy meetings<p>In January, we invited key Free Software groups of Europe to share public policy-related actions with each other - at both the EU and the national levels. And by the end of September we organised another policy meeting in order to discuss the goals of the Free Software movement during the next European Parliament term. This event was also attended by the Vice President of the European Parliament, Marcel Kolaja, and many European Commission officials. As an important milestone, we commonly agreed on an open letter with <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191002.html">“Free and Open Source EU Policy Recommendations”</a>.</p>
					 <img src="media/98070036.201904-llw-team-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/events/201904-llw-team-800px.jpg"/>
					 The team organising and running the FSFE's Legal Licensing Workshop.
				The FSFE's Legal &amp; Licensing Workshop<p>The FSFE continued organising its <a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/ftf/legal-conference.html">Free Software Legal and Licensing Workshop</a> (LLW), over the course of three days in Barcelona. In its 12th iteration of the event, the LLW served again as a meeting point for eligible legal experts in the field of Free Software licensing to discuss current issues and best practices. For this year, the loose theme of the LLW was "The Long Term View: Looking Back and Planning Ahead", to allow participants to reflect on the histories that have forged the current legal landscape, and provide opportunities to discuss the way forward to tackle the issues facing Free Software licensing.</p><p>As with the years before, the LLW 2019 took place under the <a href="https://www.chathamhouse.org/chatham-house-rule">Chatham House Rule</a>, allowing the 135 attendees to voice their viewpoints unencumbered. Some speakers waived their rights under the Chatham House Rule, which allowed journalist Jake Edge from LWN.net to write about a number of discussions that took place during the event. You can read more in <a href="https://lwn.net/Archives/ConferenceByYear/#2019-Free_Software_Legal__Licensing_Workshop">Jake Edge’s articles</a>.</p>Our web-a-thons<p>This year we organized both our <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/2018/1124-fsfe-hackathon">first</a> and <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/2019/0525-fsfe-web-a-thon">second</a> web-a-thons. These web-a-thons are happenings in which we bring together technologically interested volunteers from all around Europe with the intent to spend a weekend together, have a great time with each other and to collectively work on our homepage. You can see our achievements in the respective milestones in our git (<a href="https://git.fsfe.org/FSFE/fsfe-website/milestone/9?state=closed">milestone 1</a>, <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/FSFE/fsfe-website/milestone/10?state=closed">milestone 2</a>) but what you cannot see in there is the good mood and spirit that we experience on these occasions. That is why herewith we bring another big thank you to everyone who participated. If you feel motivated now, don't miss out on joining the next one! </p>
					 <img src="media/67b25608.201905-webathon-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/events/201905-webathon-800px.jpg"/>
					 Participants in our second web-a-thon, May 2019
				Our system-hacker meetings<p>Just as grateful as we are to all participants in our web-a-thons, we are also grateful towards the participants in the two system hackers meetings we had in the last year. Besides bringing together technical Free Software experts within our community, during these meetings we have achieved many improvements on our infrastructure. These improvements may be invisible to most of our users, but they keep our services working smoothly, and in a more stable and reliable manner. As a reminder: As an FSFE supporter you have access to a lot of nice features run by our sys-admins, namely XMPP, Git, Email forwarding, Kanboard, our wiki, Blogs and <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/TechDocs">many more</a>.</p><p>Another major event has been our participation at the Chaos Communication Camp where we aligned ourselves with other digital rights and sustainability groups to form together a cluster <a href="https://events.ccc.de/camp/2019/wiki/Village:About:freedom">"about:freedom"</a>, our participation at FOSDEM and of course all the others : )</p>Staffers, team and GA<p>Our staffers make sure to keep running the FSFE's administration and daily operations. From sending <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword">promotion material</a> to <a href="http://fsfe.org/support">donation receipts</a>, from selling merchandise to organising our larger community events. But they also represent the FSFE officially in talks and presentations or in different kind of meetings. </p><p>At the FSFE we currently employ six full-time staffers and two part-time employees. This permanent team has appreciated the help of our interns George Brooke-Smith, Lucas Lasota and Bonnie Mehring. With Minh Nguyen we also contracted our first <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190701-01.html">Federal Voluntary Service</a>.</p>
	  
		  <img src="media/df923389.2019-lucas-lasota-300px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/people/2019-lucas-lasota-300px.jpg"/>
		  <p>
			  "Legal and policy interns at the FSFE have an important role helping the team accomplishing a wide variety of tasks, campaigns and events. They are responsible for creating legal and policy documents, conducting researches, organizing events, collaborating with volunteers and backing up the team in daily organizational life. It is a great way to start a professional career in the Free Software world!"
		  </p>
		  <p>
			  Lucas Lasota
		  </p>
	  
  <p>All staffers are officially contracted with the FSFE as an association with charity status, registered in Germany. The charity is governed by its <a href="http://fsfe.org/about/team.html#general-assembly">formal members ("General Assembly")</a> who are responsible for planning, budgeting, setting the agenda, as well as electing and recalling the Executive Council and the Financial Officer. At this year's GA, the FSFE's President Matthias Kirschner, Vice-President Heiki Löhmus and Financal Officer Patrick Ohnewein <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191014-01.html">have been approved to run the FSFE</a> for another 2-years term.</p>Spreading the word of software freedom<p>The FSFE empowers users to promote digital freedom in the real world by offering a large set of promotion material. You can find inspiration about the <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#100-freedoms-black-sticker">100 freedoms of Free Software</a> and why <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#nocloud-sticker">There is no Cloud, just other people's computers</a>, or leaflets to help you explain <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#freedom">Free Software</a>, <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#gnupg-leaflet">Email encryption</a>, the dangers of <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#drm-leaflet">DRM</a> and how to <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#f-droid-leaflet">Free Your Android</a>. You can also find postcards, posters and stickers of our <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword.html#pmpc">Public Money? Public Code!</a> and <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword.html#ilovefs">I love Free Software campaign</a>. Order your own material now and help us to spread the word!</p>
				 <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword"/>
			
				  <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword">
					  Order our info material
				  </a>
			  <p>In the last 12 months, we sent out 819 information material orders around the world. This means literally thousands of stickers, leaflets, and posters have been given out to people, who are interested or are even hearing about Free Software for the first time. If you would like to support us in this direct action, consider <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate">supporting us financially or consider a donation</a> along with your personal order of information material. The right leaflet at the right time to the right person can be the start of long-lasting change. </p>Merchandise<p>In addition to our promotion material, we also offer you the chance to show your love for Free Software by using and wearing some of our <a href="http://fsfe.org/order/">merchandise items</a>. Free Software clothing is a great way of raising awareness within your local community, and each sale helps to fund critical FSFE projects. </p>
	  <a href="http://fsfe.org/order/">
		  
	  </a>
	  A shirt for our young Free Software supporters
  <p>In the last 12 months we sold over 1100 shirts and hoodies among which our  <a href="https://fsfe.org/order#tshirt-nocloud-black">"There is NO CLOUD"</a>, our <a href="https://fsfe.org/order#tshirt-pmpc-black">“Public Money? Public Code!”</a> and our <a href="https://fsfe.org/order#zipped-fsfs-black">zipped Hoodies</a> have been the most popular items. </p>Looking forward<p>New European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to solidify her European digital agenda after her first 100 days in office, in particular "legislation on the human and ethical implications of artificial intelligence". Also we expect an Open Source Strategy by the European Commission. The FSFE will keep a close eye on these proposals to guarantee a safe environment for Free Software in Europe. We will further focus on advocating for router freedom in Europe to help people stay in control of their technology and explain to European decision makers the dangers of the European Radio Lockdown Directive in how it locks down devices.</p><p>To help decision-makers better understand the impact Free Software has on security and digital sustainability, we are preparing analyses of these topics and their connection with Free Software. To help with our research you can already take part in a limesurvey regarding <a href="https://survey.fsfe.org/853518">Free Software and IT security</a>. For our research on digital sustainability we will keep working together with the German Ministry for the Environment and other organisations that will help us addressing this issue on the European level.</p><p>On November 15 to 17 there will be <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190927-01.html">this year's FSFE community meeting</a>. If you missed it so far, we still welcome your participation. Also preparations are already running for our annual legal conference, the "Legal Licensing Workshop" (LLW), as well as for our web-a-thons and hack-a-thons. And, besides our own events, we will of course be present again at various Free Software related events, from FOSDEM to FrOSCon, from SFSCon to BalCCon to the Chaos Communication Congress as well as many more all over Europe.</p><p>Last but not least, in 2020 the FSFE will continue with our public awareness campaigns and our political advocacy; with providing our expertise, and provide resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software in Europe. We have also recently introduced <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-1.html">our new Software Freedom Podcast</a> that we will continue working on, to deliver interesting insights into Free Software, with a diverse selection of guests, once a month. </p><p>All this work during the last 12 months would not have been possible without our contributors and our financial supporters; thank you to all of you.</p><p>To achieve our goals for the upcoming months we need you: Please <a href="http://fsfe.org/contribute/">contribute as a volunteer</a> or <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate">support us financially</a> to ensure that our message is heard in as many diverse parts of our society as possible.</p><p>Thank you so much,</p><p>Your Free Software Foundation Europe</p>
					 <img src="media/3422f165.201910-fsfe-ga-meeting-participants-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/events/201910-fsfe-ga-meeting-participants-800px.jpg"/>
					 Participants at the FSFE's General Assembly 2019
				About the Free Software Foundation Europe<p>The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a charity that empowers people to control technology by enabling access to software and its source code. The rights to use, study, share, and improve this software are essential to guarantee equal participation in democracies of the 21st century.</p><p>We work for a world in which everyone has access to the source code of the software that runs in the products we own, or that is essential to the public infrastructure and services of the society we live in. Access to this code should be embedded in a legal environment where people are able to change technologies in a way that fulfills their needs - individually or collectively. Therefore, any software that is used to run public infrastructure or is publicly financed has to be made publicly available.</p><p>Our mission is:</p>
				to help individuals and organisations to understand how Free Software contributes to freedom, transparency, and self-determination.
				to enhance users' rights by abolishing barriers to Free Software adoption.
				to encourage people to use and develop Free Software.
				to provide resources and enable everyone to further promote Free Software in Europe.
			<p>To help people understand our message, we use public campaigns and political lobbying, we provide expertise in talks and personal meetings, we set up informational booths and organise events, we produce promotion material and explanatory videos. To achieve our goals, we base our work and form our movement with the help of our community and friends, who ensure that our message gets out and is heard in as many diverse parts of our society as possible. We work in a transparent and cooperative way.</p><p>If you like to join our cause, <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute">contribute</a> or <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">support us financially</a>.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20191028-01.en.xml
title: Router Freedom: regaining sovereignty over your digital equipment
uri: Router-Freedom-regaining-sovereignty-over-your-digital-equipment
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191028-01.html
content:
Router Freedom: regaining sovereignty over your digital equipment<p>The right of choosing your own modem and router is a
basic precondition for a neutral, safe and healthy digital environment.
If you cannot control your router, it is not free and your digital
freedom is likely to be compromised. For years, the FSFE has been
successfully fighting for Router Freedom in Germany. Now the debate has
reached the European level with Internet Service Providers imposing
their specific routers to customers. The FSFE has prepared an activity
package for people and organisations interested in advocating for their
freedom of choice.</p><p><a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/routers/">Router Freedom</a> is the right of
customers of any Internet Service Provider (ISP) to choose and use a
private modem and router instead of a router that the Internet Service
Providers (ISP) forces them to use - for example by contract. Such an
enforcement comes with a series of problems because it essentially
denies freedom of choice, taking away control of technology from users.
In fact, our whole internet traffic, encryption, backups, communication,
shopping, writings, business interaction, and so on is transferred
through the router. If your router is not free, your digital freedom is
likely to be compromised. </p><p>In the period between 2013 and 2016, the Free Software Foundation
Europe (FSFE) has successfully worked for Router Freedom in Germany.
ISPs at the time were imposing by contract their equipment to consumers.
The FSFE stepped into the public debate with a statement towards the
Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) and started coordinating with other
organisations a campaign to defend and promote the right of equipment
choice. Our efforts culminated in the <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2016/news-20160725-01.html">approval of a law</a>, which
determined that from August 1st in 2016 onwards, all ISPs in Germany
have to enable new clients to use alternative modems and routers to
connect to the internet. In 2019, a regional court (level 2 of 4) <a href="https://www.golem.de/news/verbraucherschutz-1-1-darf-router-wahl-nicht-einschraenken-1906-142100.html">confirmed
Router Freedom (DE)</a>, ruling that the ISPs may not compel their
customers to choose their own provided router. It is a sign that this
basic freedom is understood by German courts. </p>Router Freedom in Europe<p>Since 2016, Router Freedom in Europe is protected by the Directive
2015/2120 - the so-called Net Neutrality Directive. Article 5 therein
determines that the National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) are
responsible for checking the application of the Directive’s rules
according to the technical guidelines of the Body of European Regulators
for Electronic Communications (BEREC).  The problematic stepping stone
for the implementation of Router Freedom in Europe relates to legal and
technical aspects around the "Network Termination Point" (NTP)  - which
establishes where the ISP's infrastructure ends and the user's begins.
If the NTP would be defined to extend downstream the router, the user might
not have the right to use their own equipment because it belongs to the
ISP and would be covered by contract.  </p>
  <img src="media/3d7f1d49.ntp-transp.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/routers/ntp-transp.png"/>
  
    Representation of the Network Termination Point
  
<p>To counteract this freedom restriction and to protect users' control
of technology, the FSFE has started monitoring the status of router
freedom in several countries and has been preparing an <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/CompulsoryRouters/">activity
package</a> for people and organisations willing to advocate for router
freedom. The package compiles information about how to raise awareness
among people, ideas on how to build alliances with organisations, the
(counter-)arguments to be used in the discussions, as well how to demand
controls and supervision from the National Regulatory Agencies (NRA).
</p>Get active<p>We encourage you to check out our <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/CompulsoryRouters/">activity
package</a> on how to start organising a strategy for raising awareness
among your community and political representatives.  With your help, we
can track which ISPs comply with the law and which do not, what the bad
contract practices are, and how to better refine the Router Freedom
panorama in Europe. Therefore, we would like to hear your experiences
with ISPs regarding Router Freedom. Please <a href="http://fsfe.org/contact/">contact</a> us to share your experience, or if you have
questions regarding the campaign.  </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/nl/.nl-201910.en.xml
title: FSFE Newsletter - October 2019
uri: FSFE-Newsletter-October-2019
url: http://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201910.html
content:
FSFE Newsletter October 2019<p>This month, we focus our attention on digital restrictions and the International Day against them. To this end, we launched our first episode of the monthly Software Freedom Podcast, this time starring Cory Doctorow talking about DRM. We have published our yearly report, summing up our activities of the past 12 months and shining light on the community we build our success on. As usual, you will also discover upcoming events with the FSFE, including our Annual Community meeting, as well as recordings and information from events we participated in.</p>Software Freedom Podcast: 100% DRM-free<p>On October 12, on the <a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/">International Day Against DRM</a>, we launched <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-1.en.html">our first Episode of the FSFE's new Software Freedom Podcast</a> starring Cory Doctorow - author and activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and extended usage of Creative Commons licenses. Doctorow's long time advocacy makes him an interesting person to address different issues included in Digital Restrictions Management (DRM). We discuss the differences between books and e-books with DRM and see how DRM changes our entire experience of reading and how that reverberates into our relationship with books and readings. Further, we dive into the economic and security aspects related to DRM and regulations of the so called Internet of Things.  Listen or download our <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-1.en.html">first podcast</a> absolutely DRM-free and explore with us some burning issues on digital restrictions and freedoms. Also be aware that starting with this episode, we will broadcast a <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/podcast.html">monthly Software Freedom Podcast series</a> in which we invite diverse people to speak with inspirational ideas related to software freedom.</p><p>In addition, we used the International Day Against DRM again to <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191012-01.html">explain the dangers of DRM in relation to Free Software</a>: While Free Software is software that puts users in control of their own  devices, DRM in contrast is technology that puts the user under the control of a third party. These two goals are fundamentally incompatible.  DRM contradicts the FSFE's mission to empower people to control technology.</p><p>You can find further information about this topic on our campaign website <a href="https://drm.info/">drm.info</a> and our <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword#drm-leaflet">printed leaflet</a>.</p>Software Freedom in Europe 2019<p><a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191022-01.html">"Software Freedom in Europe"</a> is our yearly report that gives you a breakdown of the important things the FSFE has done and achieved during the last 12 months. You will read about our ongoing work for router freedom in Europe, about the first Parliament in Europe to join our "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign, about our new version of REUSE tools to help Free Software developers with easy license compliance and about much more of our multi-faceted policy work - all together aiming to create a world in which users are in control of technology!</p><p>Besides our policy work and projects, we also shine light on our community and its members; because it is only through working together that the FSFE is able to form a movement across Europe to build a society based on users' and software freedom. To this end we also report about the events that we organised and participated in, from policy meetings to our web-a-thons.</p><p><a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191022-01.html">Enjoy the read</a> and discover your personal favourite of the FSFE's activities in 2019!</p><p>Join our community:<a href="https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-09">https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-10</a></p>Do not miss: upcoming events with the FSFE<p>As with every month, we are trying to spread the word and help individuals and organisations understand what Free Software is and how Free Software contributes to freedom, transparency, and self-determination. If you are interested in seeing us in action and joining our cause, keep in mind the following dates and locations in the coming weeks:</p>
				Between November 8 and 11, the FSFE programme manager Erik Albers will attend the digital rights dedicated event <a href="https://www.freedomnotfear.org/">Freedom Not Fear</a> where he will lead a workshop on European campaigns regarding digital sustainablity.
				Between November 15 and 16 the FSFE Community Meeting will unite forces with the <a href="https://www.sfscon.it/">South Tyrol Free Software Conference (SFScon)</a> in Bolzano, Italy. The FSFE will have its own track and you are kindly invited to join the expert and community talks, as well as the social activities.  You can find detailed information about the agenda and logistics on our <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/FSFECommunityMeeting2019">wiki page</a>
			What have we done? Inside and Outside the FSFE<p>Since the last newsletter we have been active in promoting the Free Software cause, by helping individuals and organisations have a better understanding of what Free Software is and encouraging them to develop and implement it in their lives. We want to share with you the events, that we have photos, videos or other recordings of below:</p>
				On October 3, the FSFE Rhein-Main Local Group participated at the MouseOpener Day <a href="https://www.wdrmaus.de/tuer_oeffner_tag/2019/">"Maustüröffner-Tag"</a> happening all over Germany. At this annual event, local organizations and companies open their doors to give kids insights into a broad range of topics. In Frankfurt, the <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/RheinMain">FSFE local group Rhein-Main</a> supported the local Linux user group with organizing the event and giving kids the opportunity to explore computers using Free Software. About 20 young "hackers" joined the event and got to know LibreOffice, LeoCAD and Scratch. To not forget their parents, there was an info corner to explain Free Software to them.
			
			
				 <img src="media/ba99eecd.201910-Mouseopenerday-Frankfurt_800pxl.jpeg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/events/201910-Mouseopenerday-Frankfurt_800pxl.jpeg"/>
				 Children creating their first presentations with LibreOffice with the help of the FSFE's Rhein-Main Local Group
			
			
			
			On October 4, the FSFE Policy Manager Alexander Sander was at the "Open Source Lisbon" conference where he <a href="https://peertube.social/videos/watch/a9f8fb42-fa9f-4736-b6f0-55bf803d5acd">spoke</a>  about our "Public Money? Public Code" campaign and also was part of the <a href="https://peertube.social/videos/watch/983582a4-c190-446c-b8ec-080b953e5cc3">discussion panel on Free and Open Source Software as a business model</a>.
			
			On October 6, the FSFE Local Group in Vienna, hosted an information booth at the annual Animal Welfare Run. The booth enjoyed a great share of attention, since it was a rather unexpected participation and runners and their friends and families were curious to find out more about Free Software. You can read more details about the event and the booth on <a href="https://blogs.fsfe.org/franz.gratzer/">the blog of FSFE supporters Vienna</a>.
			
			Just in time for the elections, the <a href="https://ch19.freedomvote.ch/">Swiss Freedomvote campaign</a> was <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191007-01.en.html">back again this year</a> - an initiative run and maintained with the support by the <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Zurich">Local FSFE Group in Zurich</a>. The aim of the campaign is to give voters guidance about the candidates who are running for election.
			
			The FSFE's General Assembly took place between October 11th and 13th in Essen. One part of the meeting was the <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191014-01.en.html">re-election</a> of the FSFE's president Matthias Kirschner, vice-president Heiki Löhmus and financial officer Patrick Ohnewein for another 2 years-term by its members. 
			
			
			   <a href="media/73c3dfc9.201910-fsfe-ga-meeting-participants.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/events/201910-fsfe-ga-meeting-participants.jpg"/>
			   Participants at the FSFE's general assembly meeting in 2019
			
			
			Our initative “Public Money? Public Code!” attracted the attention of the City Council of Kassel, Germany. They will discuss it as the guiding principle for any new software purchases. The <a href="media/2f6cd4ab.Antrag_FDP-FW-Piraten_101.18.1330.pdf" data-original-source="https://wwwsvc1.stadt-kassel.de/sdnet4/sdnetrim/UGhVM0hpd2NXNFdFcExjZdVAqtDsyk6NI6JGuDt3FofJuLfmVwORJMBbm95QJXFk/Antrag_FDP-FW-Piraten_101.18.1330.pdf">proposal</a> will be discussed on November 27 by the Municipality's Financial Committee, and final decisions on implementation are expected to be made on December 9.  To help implementing “Public Money? Public Code!” in the city of Kassel , we kindly ask you to send an e-mail to the members of the local Parliament and ask them to support this proposal. Their contact details can be found on <a href="https://wwwsvc1.stadt-kassel.de/sdnet4/fraktionen">Kassel's municipality page</a> under the "City Council fractions" section. If a member does not have a clear contact details, you can call the Parliament and ask for it.
		
			Get Active<p>Beginning this month we broadcast our monthly Software Freedom Podcast. Make sure you do not miss any by <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/podcast.html">subscribing</a> with your podcast player.</p>Contribute to our newsletter<p>If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, send them to us. As always, the address is <a href="mailto:newsletter@fsfe.org">newsletter@fsfe.org</a>. We're looking forward to hearing from you!</p><p>If you also want to support us and our work, join our community and support us with a donation or a monthly contribution: <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">https://my.fsfe.org/support</a></p><p>Thanks to our community, all the <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute">volunteers</a>, <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">supporters</a> and <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus">donors</a> who make our work possible. And thanks to <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/translators">our translators</a>, who enable you to read this newsletter in your native languages.</p><p>Best Regards,</p><p>The FSFE</p><p>Join our community:<a href="https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-09">https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-10</a></p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20191102-01.en.xml
title: Call for sessions "about:freedom" during 36C3
uri: Call-for-sessions-about-freedom-during-36C3
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191102-01.html
content:
Call for sessions "about:freedom" during 36C3<p>In the context of the 36th Chaos Communication Congress happening from December 27th to 30th in Leipzig, the FSFE is happy to host an assembly again inside the cluster "about:freedom". We offer attention and a stage for self-organised sessions by and for our community and friends, and this is our call for participation.</p><p>For our sessions at the FSFE assembly, we are looking for inspiring talks, hands-on workshops, community/developer/strategy meetings or any other public, informative or collaborative activities. Topics can be anything that is about or related to Free Software – from your private project to global community projects. While we welcome submissions on technical topics, we also further encourage non-technical talks that address philosophical, political, economical, and/or other aspects regarding Free Software, particularly for this year related to digital sustainability. As part of our <a href="https://signup.c3assemblies.de/assembly/c8c9adf9-0fb7-43a6-bc73-8e5d2201a3c1">cluster about:freedom</a>, we also look forward to sessions about related subjects that have a clear connection to Free Software, in particular privacy, data protection, encryption, the commons and internet policies.</p><p>For our friends, it is also possible to have informal meetings, announcements or other activities at our assembly. In this case, get in touch and we will see what we can do. If you are a musician and like to help with our Free-Software-song sing-along sessions, please also get in touch.</p>
	<img src="media/0f6b3f1e.g_a_session_about_secure_mobile_messengers_during_33C3-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/people/2016-12-Hannes_Hauswedell_giving_a_session_about_secure_mobile_messengers_during_33C3-800px.jpg"/>
 Formalities<p>If you are interested in hosting a session, please apply before</p><p>** Monday, November 18, 18:00 UTC **</p><p>by <a href="mailto:eal@fsfe.org">sending an email to Erik Albers</a> (<a href="http://http-keys.gnupg.net/pks/lookup?op=get&amp;search=0x1868FC2E8639DC81">OpenPGP</a>) with the subject “Session at 36C3” and use the following template:</p>
	Title: name of your session
	Description: description of your session
	Type: talk / discussion / meeting / workshop …
	Length: 30 / 60 / 90 / 120 min
	Tags: put useful tags here
	Link: (if there is a helpful link)
	Expected number of participants: 20 or less / up to 50 / up to 100 / beyond
	About yourself: some words about you/your biography 
	Time limitations: exclude days or times you are not able to present
	<p>You will be informed latest on Monday, November 25, if your session is accepted.</p>Good to know
Be aware that an acceptance in our call does not guarantee or offer you a ticket! Please check the CCC-announcements and proceed according to their requirements for the tickets.

If your session is accepted we will happily take care of its proper organisation, advertising and everything else that needs to be done. You are then welcome to simply come and host your session.

For your inspiration see our sessions during <a href="https://events.ccc.de/congress/2018/wiki/Assembly:Free_Software_Foundation_Europe">35C3</a>, <a href="https://events.ccc.de/congress/2017/wiki/Assembly:Free_Software_Foundation_Europe">34C3</a>, <a href="https://events.ccc.de/congress/2016/wiki/Assembly:Free_Software_Foundation_Europe">33C3</a> and <a href="https://events.ccc.de/congress/2015/wiki/Assembly:Free_Software_Foundation_Europe">32C3</a>.

<p>Please, share this call with your friends and/or your favourite channels.</p>
 <img src="media/f5056518.201812-booth-at-35c3-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/booths/201812-booth-at-35c3-800px.jpg"/>FSFE assembly at 35C3
 
 <p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20191112-01.en.xml
title: Get Active: “Public Money? Public Code!” in the Kassel city parliament
uri: Get-Active-Public-Money-Public-Code-in-the-Kassel-city-parlia
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191112-01.html
content:
Get Active: “Public Money? Public Code!” in the Kassel city parliament<p>
 Our EU-wide campaign "Public Money? Public Code!" has made it to the city parliament in Kassel (Germany). The parliamentary group, consisting of FDP, Freie Wähler (Free Voters) and Pirates, has proposed a motion "Public Money - Public Code as a Principle in Software Procurement". The motion calls on the magistrate to follow the principle of "Public Money, Public Code" when purchasing new software and to focus increasingly on Free Software as well as Open Standards.
 </p><p>
 The responsible committee on finance, economics and fundamental issues will vote on <a href="media/2f6cd4ab.Antrag_FDP-FW-Piraten_101.18.1330.pdf" data-original-source="https://wwwsvc1.stadt-kassel.de/sdnet4/sdnetrim/UGhVM0hpd2NXNFdFcExjZdVAqtDsyk6NI6JGuDt3FofJuLfmVwORJMBbm95QJXFk/Antrag_FDP-FW-Piraten_101.18.1330.pdf">the motion</a> on 27 November 2019, while a vote in the city parliament will take place later on 9 December 2019. A reason for us to take action: With a letter and our <a href="media/bf275550.PMPC-Modernising-with-Free-Software.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/PMPC-Modernising-with-Free-Software.pdf">expert brochure</a> we have approached the members of the parliament to convince them to approve the motion. However, there does not seem to be a majority for the motion so far, so we need your help to contact the politicians by e-mail or letter!
 </p>The political positions on Free Software in the Kassel city parliament<p>
The coalition of SPD, Greens and Liberale Liste, has written in their <a href="media/9d64f39d.Kassel-gemeinsam-gestalten-Koalitionsvertrag.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.gruene-partei-kassel.de/wp-content/uploads/sites/61/2016/03/Kassel-gemeinsam-gestalten-Koalitionsvertrag.pdf">coalition agreement</a> that they are in favor of a more transparent and informative digital presence for the city. Thus, according to the coalition partners, the "opportunities for citizens to participate, including by digital means, should be improved". 
</p><p>
Those goals could be reached through the use of Free Software in the public infrastructure. Free Software grants the user the rights
</p>
 to use the software for any purpose;
 to study the software and to observe how it works;
 to improve and adapt the software for their own needs
 and to share the software as well as any added improvements with others to benefit the community.
<p>
Therefore, the use of Free Software and thereby the guarantee of these four freedoms would allow more transparency in the digital infrastructure. Through the use of Free Software in the public administration, the government can also give something back to the citizens and, from a long-term perspective, support the local economy by allowing them to participate in the development and improvement of the digital infrastructure. In this way, the "opportunities for citizens to participate, including by digital means,” can be improved.
</p><p>
The Bündnis 90/Die Grünen Hessen, also approves of the use of Free Software. They wrote in their <a href="media/8c24b139.grundsatzprogramm_bundespartei_die_zukun.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.gruene-hessen.de/partei/files/2010/05/grundsatzprogramm_bundespartei_die_zukun.pdf">basic program:</a> "Free access to the possibilities of the new media also includes the increased use of Free Software. We therefore call for the use of open source systems in educational institutions and in public administration, where it makes sense."
</p><p>
Despite these examples for the commitment of the governing parties in the Kassel city parliament the proposal for “Public Money – Public Code” as a guiding principle has little chance of success so far.
Although the Greens are actually in favour of it, Green politician and group leader Boris Mijatovic has denied approval of the proposal. Mijatovic asserts that the Greens are in favor of the motion and the city is active in this topic, but says that the motion was introduced by the "wrong" parliamentarien group, who cannot convince in this topic. 
</p>
	<img src="media/79e9841b.2019-Boris-Mijatovic-Greens-Kassel-1.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/graphics/2019-Boris-Mijatovic-Greens-Kassel-1.png"/>"So far no. Sympathies for the cause are present, and the city is also active in the field. But the motion comes from a group that cannot convince in this point."
	
<p>
The Greens are also not willing to submit an alternative motion - so that it would come from the "correct" parliamentarian group - as they believe that there would be no majority in this legislature for a motion like the proposed one, and that politics is also a question of opportunities. Although the Greens are in the coalition, the coalition cannot get a majority for the use of Free Software. This seems surprising, especially as they cannot at the same time get themselves to vote in favor of the motion.
</p>
	 <img src="media/8b462bdd.2019-Boris-Mijatovic-Greens-Kassel-2.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/graphics/2019-Boris-Mijatovic-Greens-Kassel-2.png"/>"I am afraid there is no majority for this in this legislature. It is a pity, but politics is also a question of opportunities." 
        
<p>
To get a majority in the Kassel city parliament for the motion to implement “Public Money? Public Code!” as a guiding principle for new software purchase, we need your help.
</p><p>
Convince the coalition factions and parliamentarians to vote for this motion. Write a letter or an e-mail. You can find a template on our <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/ContactingAdministrationsForPMPC">wiki page</a>. The contact addresses can be found on the page of the <a href="https://wwwsvc1.stadt-kassel.de/sdnet4/fraktionen">Kassler City Parliament</a>
</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/podcast/.episode-2.en.xml
title: Software Freedom Podcast #2 about KDE with Lydia Pintscher
uri: Software-Freedom-Podcast-2-about-KDE-with-Lydia-Pintscher
url: http://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-2.html
content:
  Software Freedom Podcast #2 about KDE with Lydia Pintscher
<p>
 We are back with the second episode of our Software Freedom Podcast! 
 Once a month, we talk with people who have inspiring ideas about 
 software freedom. In this episode, we talk with Lydia Pintscher from 
 KDE about the development of the KDE community, the different KDE projects 
 and the issues they will be tackling over the next two years. 
</p><p>
 When we were planning this second episode of the Software Freedom Podcast,
 we were keen on inviting someone from the Free Software community. We 
 thought that Lydia, as the current Vice President of KDE, would be the 
 perfect person to join us for our second episode. This gives us the chance 
 to introduce to you the wonderful KDE community and all its different projects. 
 In this episode, we talk about how Lydia balances her day job with the 
 volunteer position of vice president of KDE. We also discuss some broader 
 topics like the development of the KDE community and the different projects 
 they are working on, as well as the future outlook of these projects. 
</p><p>Read more:</p>
  <a href="https://kde.org">About KDE</a>
  <a href="https://community.kde.org/Get_Involved">Join the KDE community</a>
  <a href="https://kde.org/goals">KDE Akademy goals</a>
<p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20191113-01.en.xml
title: How we fixed DRM in Portugal (and so can you)
uri: How-we-fixed-DRM-in-Portugal-(and-so-can-you)
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191113-01.html
content:
How we fixed DRM in Portugal (and so can you)<p>After 15 years of trying to solve the DRM problem, the Portuguese Association for Free Software <a href="https://ansol.org/">ANSOL</a> and the Association for Free Education <a href="http://ensinolivre.pt/">AEL</a> finally managed to get what they sought: a fix to the DRM situation in Portugal.</p><p>Digital Restrictions Management (originally introduced by the entertainment industry as Digital Rights Management), are technologies that prevent, control, or restrict the use of hardware, software, or other creative works like books, films, music, etc.. They are also known as anti-copy technologies. In 1998 in USA and in 2001 in Europe, these technologies were given legal protection by the lawmakers. Copyright holders convinced the lawmakers that they needed DRM to be protected by the law in order to stop file-sharing without commercial purposes. This legal protection meant that breaking the DRM started to be illegal or a crime. In Portugal, for example, breaking the DRM had a penalty of up to one year in prison, until 2017. Even if you did something legal. </p><p>In Europe, we have a set of copyright exceptions to guarantee fundamental rights. These are uses of the work we are allowed to do without having to ask permission to the rightholders and authors. Depending on the law in your country, you can make a private copy, use works or parts of works for education and scientific research, quotations for criticism or review. Libraries and other cultural heritage institutions have a set of exceptions that allow them to make available works to the public and to digitally preserve those works, and the press also has a set of exceptions to guarantee the right to information. These exceptions are described in article 5 of the <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32001L0029">InfoSoc European Directive</a>.</p><p>When lawmakers gave legal protection to DRM, they didn't really protect these exceptions, which meant that while citizens have these rights, they cannot exercise them, since there is no way to exercise most of them without breaking the DRM. For instance, if you bought a music CD and your country has a private copy exception[^1], you can make a digital copy to listen to its music on your mobile phone. But, if the CD has DRM, while you still have the right to make a copy, you cannot exercise it, since there is no way to make a private copy of a DRMed CD without breaking the DRM, which you are not allowed to do. </p><p>In Portugal, this is no longer a problem. In the next few paragraphs, we'll tell you about how we decided this situation wasn't acceptable, what did we do about it, and what did we achieve.</p>Document yourselfWhat is DRM and how does it work?<p>The first step is to understand what DRM is and how does it work. The science fiction writer Cory Doctorow has an extensive set of talks, articles, and books about the subject. His talk to the Microsoft Research Group in 2004, where he explains why DRM systems don't work and why they are bad for society, for business, and for artists is still, in our opinion, one of the best articles to understand the problem. You can find the text in his book "<a href="https://craphound.com/content/download/">Content</a>".</p><p><a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/">Defective by Design</a>, a campaign from Free Software Foundation, and <a href="https://drm.info/">DRM.info</a> from Free Software Foundation Europe are also important resources to get information from. On the International Day Against DRM, FSFE also published its <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-1.html">Software Freedom Podcast</a> with Cory Doctorow dedicated to DRM.</p><p>Keep in mind that the main goal of this step is for you to be able to explain the DRM problem to people that are not technological savvy. It is also a good idea to think about examples that users can face on a day to day basis and thus are easier to relate to.</p><p>Harder than learning all there is to know about DRM and how it works is to make others learn that too. However, only by getting our policy makers learn about it were we able to have them consider that this could be a problem they had to solve.</p>The arguments used by those in favour of DRM and how to deconstruct them<p>One important step is to know what arguments those that (apparently) defend DRM use. These arguments also change through time. </p><p>A common flaw of a conversation about DRM with rightholders is one where, at first, they say they need DRM to stop illegal copying. When faced with the fact that DRM law has been around for two decades without any impact on file sharing without commercial purposes, or when you explain that DRM puts both locks and keys in the hands of those they don't wish to get the lock open, rightholders start changing their arguments, saying things like that they are aware DRM does not stop those with knowledge to break the locks, but that the intention is to stop the common citizen from sharing the works (at which point you can note that once the DRM is broken, the only thing the "common citizen" needs to do is a search on the Web).</p><p>We say "apparently in favour", however, since at some point during this long battle, we got to a point where the arguments were simply "we don't even want legal protection to DRM either", or "we only have this because the European directive demands it".</p>What does the European Directive say?<p>The next step is to check what the European Directive say about DRM. You'll want to check <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32001L0029">articles 6 and 7 of the InfoSoc</a>. There you can find what the law defines as DRM and how Member States have or can transpose to their national law.</p><p>Usually, the law does not refer the term DRM, instead it refers "technological measures" or "protection measures".</p>What does your national law say?<p>After checking the European Directive, you will need to read the law in your own country to verify how was the directive transposed into national law. In particular, you need to check:</p>
What copyright exceptions has your country?
What is the definition of DRM in the law?
What happens when an user breaks the DRM?
Does the law offer some kind of solution for the cases where the user needs to exercise a copyright exception?
<p>Answering these questions will help you understand what is the case in you country regarding DRM, and after that you can design the best strategy to fix the problem. Although the European Directive imposes some level of harmonisation, the situation can be different from country to country. For example, Poland never implemented these rules.</p>Test the law<p>In the case of Portugal, the law considered that breaking DRM was a crime, but it also had an article saying the DRM should not prevent citizens from using the copyright exceptions, like private copying, or using an excerpt of a work for educational purposes, scientific research, etc. This is important because the European Directive, in its <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32001L0029&amp;from=EN">article 6.4</a>, mandates Member States to ensure users can benefit from the copyright exceptions, which means that other countries must have some kind of process in place to allow citizens to make copies of DRMed works. Of course, there is also a high probability that solution does not work. It was the case in Portugal.</p><p>The Portuguese law said that when DRM prevented a citizen from making use of a copyright exception, the citizen could contact the General Inspection of Cultural Activities (IGAC), a public institution from the Ministry of Culture, and ask for the "means" to make the copy, instead of breaking the DRM himself, because, the law also stated, rightholders had to deposit those "means" in IGAC. In summary: rightholders should deposit the "means" to open the DRM in IGAC, then citizens would ask IGAC for those "means" in order to exercise a legal use, like a private copy. We never knew what the law meant by "means" - it was assumed those would be the keys IGAC would be able to use in order to open the DRM locks.</p><p>Knowing how we were supposed to be able to exercise our rights, we decided to test the law: we got a DVD with DRM, contacted IGAC telling them we wanted to make a private copy (which is a copyright exception in Portugal, and thus a legal action), and asked them for the "means" to make that private copy without breaking the DRM (actually, the first request we made was for the means so we could legally watch a DVD with DRM on our GNU/Linux laptop, but IGAC didn't understand the request, so we used the private copy exception, which seems to be easier to understand).</p><p>After pointing IGAC to the law and which exact articles were we trying to exercise, they told us they couldn't give us what we asked since they didn't have those "means", as the rightholders had not deposit them, a situation the law didn't foresee (and as such, there was no penalty for rightholders that didn't make such a deposit).</p><p>We made sure to get a written statement from IGAC saying they didn't have those "means" (either to that DVD or anything else), which was important for us to use as proof that the law at that moment didn't work.</p>Raise awareness and educate<p>Since the beginning, it is important to raise awareness, have people talk about DRM, to show that citizens being prevented from exercising a copyright exception is not acceptable. The problem with DRM is mainly a legal one, not technical. As <a href="https://craphound.com/content/download/">Doctorow</a> says, "DRM systems are usually broken in minutes, sometimes days. Rarely, months. It's not because the people who think them up are stupid. It's not because the people who break them are smart. It's not because there's a flaw in the algorithms. At the end of the day, all DRM systems share a common vulnerability: they provide their attackers with ciphertext, the cipher and the key. At this point, the secret isn't a secret anymore".
Politicians will only fix the law if they know there are citizens voicing their concerns about it. If no one cares about a certain problem, why would they spend time fixing it?</p>The Public<p>We made several actions to raise public awareness, too many to list here. Some of the ones we believe helped the most are:</p>
Inspired by the Defective by Design campaign actions, we went to cinemas that were showing movies from pro-DRM majors and distributed flyers, talking about DRM to the people that went to see those movies. One example was the première of the movie "Pirates of Caribbean" in Portugal, back in 2007.  You can watch a small video by clicking in the image below and <a href="https://drm-pt.info/2007/05/25/accao-de-sensibilizacao-sobre-drm/">read about it here</a> (in Portuguese).
 
<a href="https://archive.org/details/drm_20070525"> </a>
DRM Action Video 

<p>We set up the <a href="https://drm-pt.info/">DRM-PT</a> website, where we published content about the problems of DRM, in Portuguese. Besides raising awareness, a blog or a website will be helpful for you to register developments, examples of problems faced by citizens when encountering DRM, and arguments, that you will need to use later on.</p>

<p>Also inspired by Defective by Design, we maintained in the website a <a href="https://drm-pt.info/como-descobrir-drm/">list of publishers and companies, including Portuguese ones, that use DRM</a>, recommending people to avoid those companies, brands or products.</p>

<p>We also wrote a bit about how to check if a product has DRM:</p>


     <img src="media/ce5f4a67.20191113-ANSOL-DRM-CD.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/20191113-ANSOL-DRM-CD.png"/>
     Example of a CD with DRM

<p>We also used the website to maintain a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) and a press section, where we gathered articles, presentations, and other media about the problems of DRM.</p>

<p>From the start we boycotted pro-DRM companies and, most importantly, talked about it. For example, when we were planning on buying something (CD, DVD, eBook, etc.) and then find out it had DRM, we would write about it on our personal blogs. On the other hand, each time we found something that could but didn't have DRM, we would also talk about the purchase, praising the author, the publisher, and the store.</p>

<p>We used social networks to discuss the problem. When someone asked which eBook e-reader or app should they buy or use, we would advise against those that had or promote DRM, explaining why and pointing to the DRM-PT website. We never encouraged anyone to break DRM, even for legal purposes, explaining instead that what they wanted was lawful, the way to get it was illegal, and that's why we wanted to see the law changed. </p>

<p>We also organised and participated in conferences and other events, taking every opportunity to talk about the DRM problem.</p>

Politicians<p>Because the main problem with DRM is legal, sooner or later you will have to start talking with politicians - the law makers, to make them aware of the problem and to convince them to change the law. </p><p>Again, here is a non-exhaustive list of the things we did to achieve this:</p>
<p>We sent emails to all political parties in the national Parliament explaining the problem, refuting the arguments from those that apparently defend DRM, pointing out the law didn't work, and asking them to consider changing the law. While some won't reply, others will, and, even if they aren't convinced, they are still open to listen to you, giving you another chance to present your arguments.</p>

<p>In events we organised or participated, we always tried to include a talk on DRM and invited politicians from all the political spectrum to talk about the issue. They started to show up. Likewise, when political parties had events on related subjects (like open education or open science) we would go and ask questions at the end, pointing out how DRM harms those activities. Of course, we would also attend and participate in events organized by other institutions.</p>

<p>DRM is an issue that has no political spectrum. Left or right, conservative or liberal, you can argue against DRM with parties positioned anywhere in the political compass. It is important to understand what kind of concerns the politician you are talking to has. Some will be more concerned with competition and the markets, others with education or science, others still with fundamental rights, public domain... But there is an argument for each of these topics: DRM destroys competition and distorts the market, harms the public domain and property rights (even on <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/11/drm-cars-will-drive-consumers-crazy">cars</a> or <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140227/06521826371/keurig-will-use-drm-new-coffee-maker-to-lock-out-refill-market.shtml">coffee machines</a>.</p>

<p>Eventually, if things go well, a law proposal will reach the Parliament. This is the time where you can send your contributions and arguments, and if you represent an association you can ask for meetings and to be heard. It is important to be aware that the law proposal isn't the end of the road: by now you created the space to debate the subject, but this is when it is time to have it debated, and you will need to convince a majority in your parliament that the law must be changed.</p>

<p>Before the discussion in the plenary took place, we made small books, with an hole in them, and a physical lock preventing the books from being opened. We sent the locked books and the keys to the members of the parliament. The book itself explained the DRM problem in the law, and the analogy with the item they were just reading.
During the plenary discussion, one of the members of the Parliament used the notebook to explain the problem with the DRM:</p>
     <img src="media/507cfd7b.20191113-ANSOL-DRM-Portuguese-Parliament.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/miscellaneous/20191113-ANSOL-DRM-Portuguese-Parliament.png"/>
     DRM Law Discussion in Portuguese Parliament

It also helps to get leverage from other laws. Between 2011 and 2015, Portuguese Governments tried to change the private copy exception levies, and each of those times we used the opportunity to point out that, because of DRM, citizens weren't even able to exercise the exception. Note that citizens pay to have the private copy exception every time they buy a computer, a mobile phone, or any other device that makes copies or have some kind of storage. If your country has a private copy exception there is a high probability you are also paying an extra in the devices you buy. 
Persist<p>First you need to know and care, then you need to get others to know and care. Afterwards, you raise awareness amongst policy makers up to a point where law proposals exist. Even then, there is work to be done. It will not be easy or quick. We had two political parties submitting proposals to change the law, twice. In 2013, both the proposals were rejected. Only in 2017, one of them was approved by the Parliament. But don't give up. If we did it, so can you!</p>Work within the framework<p>Legal justification for DRM is enshrined in an European directive, and it doesn't matter what you think about it: Member States need to comply with it. That can even work at your advantage: after all, the directive states that Member States need to ensure users can benefit from the copyright exceptions, for instance. But that also means that you will hear the argument that there is nothing to be done about this, since the directive mandates it.
It is important to make sure the proposed change doesn't go against what is in the Directive. The European Directive does not allow Member States to allow their citizens to break DRM, not even for legal purposes.
Fortunately, now that Portugal has found a fix, you might be able to point out to it, and propose the adoption of a similar solution.</p><p>Note that there is a difference between getting your law makers to accept that there is a problem, and working on a solution, and it will be helpful if you present them with both: "Hey, you have a problem here, and here's a way you can solve it".</p><p>The approach we found acceptable was to work the definition of the DRM, excluding copyright exceptions. In bold, the part that was added to the law:</p><p>"Article 217º […] the expression “technological measures” means any technology, device or component that, in the normal course of its operation, is designed to prevent or restrict acts, in respect of protected works, that are not exceptions to the copyright, provided in the nº 2 of the article 75º, in the article 81º, in the nº4 of the article 152º and in the nº1 of the article […]"</p><p>Making it clear: if a technology prevents a Portuguese citizen from making use of a copyright exception (private copy, education, commentary, critic, scientific research etc.), then that technology is not considered DRM by the law. Not having legal protection, it can be lawfully broken.</p><p>On the other hand, if a technology prevents a citizen from making an unlawful use (file-sharing, which is not permitted in Portugal, for example) then that technology is considered DRM by the law and cannot be broken.</p><p>So, the same technology can be considered both DRM and not DRM depending on the unlawful or lawful purpose the citizen has.</p>Make the (apparent) opposition talk<p>During the discussions in the Portuguese Parliament, we pointed out that the law at that time didn't work since IGAC didn't have the "means" needed. We gave one step further and claimed that, if they didn't want to change the law as we proposed, they had to at least change it to establish a punishment for the rightholders not handing those "means" over, and that the parliament should invite them to speak, and explain why they didn't do it.
Both IGAC and the rightholders were called to the Parliament. Both admitted they didn't have the keys, and the rightholders even added they would never get the keys from the companies that made the DRM systems.</p>Present your alternative<p>At this point, our feeling was that most members of the parliament knew we were right: the solution the law had didn't and couldn't work. So, they were ready to approve the change in the law. The approved law was proposed by the Left Bloc, with the votes in favour of the Socialist Party, the Communist Party, the Greens Party, and the Persons, animals, and Nature Party and was promulgated by the President of Portugal on 2nd of June of 2017.
The law also prohibited DRM in public domain works, in new editions of public domain works, and in works published by public entities or funded by public money.</p>Start acting at an European Level<p>If the European Directive made it clear that copyright exceptions were out of the scope of the DRM - after all it was never the intention of the lawmaker to remove fundamental rights - then it would be easier for all the Member States to solve the problem. 
At the beginning of the discussions regarding the recently approved Copyright Directive we met with the Member of the European Parliament, Ms. Julia Reda, and talked about what we did in Portugal and the possibility to propose an amendment regarding DRM in the directive, which she did. The proposal was to make sure copyright exceptions were out of the scope by adding to the definition of the DRM: and which are not authorised by national or Union law:</p><p>“For the purposes of this Directive, the expression "technological measures" means any technology, device or component that, in the normal course of its operation, is designed to prevent or restrict acts, in respect of works or other subject-matter, which are not authorised by the rightholder of any copyright or any right related to copyright as provided for by law or the sui generis right provided for in Chapter III of Directive 96/9/EC, and which are not authorised by national or Union law.”</p><p>The amendment was voted in the IMCO Committee (Internal Market and Consumer Protection), but it was rejected by one vote.</p>Conclusion<p>Awareness and knowledge are important for you to embrace and get yourself involved in something you want to change. But it is not enough: you need to make sure that those are transmitted, as you need to reach and catch the attention of those who can actually make the change happen. It is a process that involves persistence, but it can be achieved, and there are ways to make it easier. Make sure you have clear examples of what are the problems, and make it clear that even those benefiting from them admit there are problems. But don't present a problem without also presenting a potential solution.
This is an experience we are sure we will take a few lessons learned from into future challenges. But this particular topic isn't solved yet. There is now a directive transposition in Portugal that, we believe, makes more sense. It is time to take this one level further, and see other Member States following this steps.</p><p>Are you up to it?</p><p>This article was written by Paula Simões and Marcos Marado. They can be contacted at paulasimoes[at]gmail[dot]com and marcos.marado[at]ansol[dot]org , and they are available to discuss further about this subject, if you have any questions, or want to fix the DRM problem in your country too.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20191120-01.en.xml
title: Input for the BEREC's guidelines on Router Freedom in Europe
uri: Input-for-the-BEREC-s-guidelines-on-Router-Freedom-in-Europe
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191120-01.html
content:
Input for the BEREC's guidelines on Router Freedom in Europe<p>
  Router Freedom is the right of customers of any Internet Service
  Provider (ISP) to choose and use a private modem and router instead
  of a router that the ISP forces them to use. BEREC, the European
  regulators, drafted guidelines for national agencies how to deal with
  Router Freedom in their countries. The Free Software Foundation
  Europe (FSFE) provided mixed feedback to an ongoing public
  consulation.
</p><p>
  The status of <a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/routers">Router Freedom</a> in
  Europe differs from country to country as the <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/CompulsoryRouters/#Router_Freedom_in_Europe">FSFE's
  monitoring</a> shows. The core of the debate is the question of the
  location of the Network Termination Point (NTP). This defines where
  the network of the ISP ends and where the one of the user begins. If
  the modem and router belongs to the ISP's premises, user cannot take
  sovereignty of their communication and security.
</p><p>
  The patchwork rug of different rules may change soon as BEREC, the
  Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, has been
  commissioned to create guidelines for the National Regulatory
  Agencies (NRAs) and help them with implementing European regulation
  in a harmonised way. <a href="media/bfd7158c.8821-draft-berec-guidelines-on-common-approac_0.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/policy/routers/8821-draft-berec-guidelines-on-common-approac_0.pdf">BEREC's
  current draft of the guidelines</a> is up for public consultation
  until 21 November 2019. We analysed this and referencing EU
  Directives and Regulations, and provided our conclusion in a <a href="media/2425aabc.20191121-BEREC-Guidelines-Consultation.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/policy/routers/20191121-BEREC-Guidelines-Consultation.pdf">brief
  document</a>.
</p>
  <img src="media/5ddef0b5.BEREC-NTP-locations.png" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/campaigns/routers/BEREC-NTP-locations.png"/>
  
    The three discussed options for the location of the NTP. Source: BEREC
  

  
    The network termination point is at location A. This means that
    routers and modems are in the user's control who can decide which
    device to use – either the one recommended and provided by the ISP
    or one by a third party. That would result in Router Freedom.
  
  
    The NTP is at B. This means that only the modem (so the device
    connecting to the ISP) will be part of the ISP's network, but
    routers or media boxes will be in the user's domain.
  
  
    The NTP is at C. That's the most restrictive option as it results
    in the modem and router or a combined device being under the
    control of the ISP solely.
  
<p>
  Logically, we argued in favour of making point A the network
  termination point to establish and protect freedom of choice, privacy
  and data protection, fair competition of device manufacturers, and
  security. Furthermore, we made a few suggestions to improve the
  guidelines and their implementation by the National Regulatory
  Agencies:
</p>
  
    In this draft, the guidelines carefully weigh up the different
    possible locations for the NTP. Instead, it is clear from the
    arguments that only point A makes sense from a perspective of
    customers and businesses, and that no serious technological reasons
    speak against it. BEREC should take a more firm stand on this and
    discourage National Agencies from making any other choice to reduce
    a patchwork rug of different regulations.
  
  
    There is a whole section discussing the impact of the different NTP
    locations on ISPs and network operators, but users' necessities are
    only found inbetween the lines, although a EU Directive from 2008
    and a EU Regulation from 2015 clearly state that customers have to
    be able to enjoy Router Freedom. We ask BEREC to elaborate the
    different options also more prominently from the perspective of
    technology users.
  
Get active<p>
  You can still participate in the public consultation by just sharing
  your feedback on the draft BEREC guidelines <a href="https://berec.europa.eu/eng/news_consultations/ongoing_public_consultations/5912-public-consultation-on-draft-berec-guidelines-on-common-approaches-to-the-identification-of-the-network-termination-point-in-different-network-topologies">by
  sending an e-mail to them</a> before 21 November 2019 17:00
  CET. It's a short deadline, so feel free to use our <a href="media/2425aabc.20191121-BEREC-Guidelines-Consultation.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/policy/routers/20191121-BEREC-Guidelines-Consultation.pdf">full
  response</a> as an inspiration.
</p><p>
  If you need more arguments in favour of Router Freedom, please read
  our <a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/routers/">summary page</a>. For individuals
  and groups who want to become even more active for Router Freedom, we
  have created an <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/CompulsoryRouters/">activity
  package</a> with more background information, experience reports of
  how the FSFE managed to change the situation by 180° in Germany, and
  other tips and tricks.
</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/2019/.news-20191125-01.en.xml
title: FSFE welcomes CDU decision to make Free Software mandatory
uri: FSFE-welcomes-CDU-decision-to-make-Free-Software-mandatory
url: http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191125-01.html
content:
FSFE welcomes CDU decision to make Free Software mandatory<p>The Free Software Foundation Europe welcomes the CDU's
  party convention resolution on the use of Free Software. At its 32nd party
  conference this weekend, the CDU resolved to join FSFE in demanding that
  software developed with public money should be publicly available as Free
  Software. This decision aligns with our "Public Money, Public Code!"
  campaign, which is supported by over 170 organisations and 26,000
  individuals.</p><p>Matthias Kirschner, President of FSFE, states: "Free Software
  gives everyone the right to use, study, share and improve programs for any
  purpose.  These freedoms strengthen other fundamental rights such as freedom
  of speech, freedom of the press and the right to privacy. Digital sovereignty
  can only be achieved through Free Software. We are pleased that our campaign
  has now gotten through to the governing CDU party and that the conservatives
  support our demand "Public Money? Public Code!". We now expect the CDU to
  immediately work within the government to create the legal basis for publicly
  funded software to be released under a Free- and Open-Source Software
  license."</p><p>The <a href="https://www.cdu.de/system/tdf/media/images/leipzig2019/2019-11-23-digitalcharta-innovationsplattform-d-beschluss.pdf?file=1">CDU's party convention resolution states</a>:</p><p>"The open and jointly developed standards of the Internet and open interfaces are the principles from which we advance the digitisation of Germany. It is only through openness that competition can be created; only through openness can new players in competition challenge the top dogs. This is why the following will apply to all (public) digitisation projects in Germany in the future: the awarding of contracts and funding will be subject to compliance with the principles of open source and open standards. Software financed by public funds should serve all citizens. In addition, free and open APIs should facilitate access for independent developments." (Translation provided by FSFE)</p><p>Further background information can be found on the <a href="https://publiccode.eu">campaign website</a>. The video and other
  content found there are available for free distribution under a CC BY SA 4.0
  license.</p>
      
      
  <p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: /srv/www/fsfe.org_git/news/nl/.nl-201911.en.xml
title: FSFE Newsletter - November 2019
uri: FSFE-Newsletter-November-2019
url: http://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201911.html
content:
FSFE Newsletter November 2019<p>This month, we present our Portuguese friends from ANSOL and their success story on solving the problems DRM creates in their country and gives tips on how you can take similar actions in your country. Episode 2 of the FSFE's Software Freedom Podcast is out and we dedicate it to the KDE Community and the transformations and updates they are currently undertaking. You can discover upcoming events and interesting stories with visuals from the events where our community promoted Free Software across Europe. We offer a sneak peak into this year's FSFE Annual Community Meeting in Bolzano, Italy before the official report. In the Get Active section, we ask for your help with the new "Public Money? Public Code!" initiative. We need more municipalities and public sector bodies to embrace the principles and become part of the signatories.</p>How DRM was fixed in Portugal<p>DRM technologies restrict individuals from doing things with their media that  are otherwise perfectly legal. For example we might not be able to put together a mix of  music files we bought legally or to lend an e-book to a friend. Even backups can be restricted. 
Following up with the Day against DRM, in November we <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191113-01.html">published a guest article</a> by our friends from the Portuguese Association for Free Software (ANSOL), Paula Simões and Marcos Marado. Together with the Portuguese Association for Free Education (AEL) they were working towards resolving the DRM policies  in Portugal for 15 years. They finally accomplished the solution they sought and in their article they shared with you the insights of that success. ANSOL and AEL have been able to show policy makers what was wrong with DRM and how its implementation hinders citizens and other actors from exercising their rights and take advantage of the legally foreseen copyright exceptions. Their story may inspire you to do the same in your country or simply learn insights on how policy-making can be influenced for the better. </p>Podcast Episode 2 -  A closer look at the KDE community with Lydia Pintscher<p>The November episode of the newly launched Software Freedom Podcast is dedicated to the international Free Software Community KDE. At the FSFE we have some  history of working together with KDE, whereof one of the biggest projects was the <a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/ftf/fla.html">Fiduciary License Agreement (FLA)</a>, a topic that we also discuss in this Podcast. Our guest Lydia Pintscher is KDE's Vice President, and in this episode she shares how the KDE community developed and changed throughout time and how their team managed solving some of the most pressing social and generational challenges the KDE community is facing. </p><p>In addition, Lydia Pintscher talks about KDE's priorities. For example, their work on making their applications more consistent, so they run smoothly on your machines. <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-2.html">Listen to the second Episode of the Software Freedom Podcast</a> to learn how KDE sees their involvement with relation to Android and the mobile area. You will also hear how KDE places themselves in terms of technological sustainability or scenarios where the connected device is no longer a phone, tablet or desktop.</p><p>Support our work with a donation:<a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=nl-201911">https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=nl-201911</a></p>Do not miss: upcoming events with the FSFE<p>As with every month, we are trying to spread the word and help individuals and organisations understand what Free Software is and how Free Software contributes to freedom, transparency, and self-determination. If you are interested in seeing us in action and to join our cause, keep in mind the following dates and locations in the coming weeks:</p>
On November 28th, the Local Group of FSFE in Zurich will host <a href="https://www.digicomp.ch/events/it-professionals-events/referat-free-software-foundation-europe-fsfe-self-hosting#8">a workshop</a> under the name "There is no cloud, just other people's computers". People who decide to participate will learn how to run their own cloud to store and share files, photos, contacts, calendars and more, and have the opportunity to try different cloud services. The session is free of charge, but it requires a pre-registration.
What have we done? Inside and Outside the FSFE<p>Since the last newsletter we have been active in promoting the Free Software cause by helping individuals and organisations have a better understanding of what Free Software is and encouraging them to develop and implement it in their lives. We want to share with you the events we have photos, videos or other recordings below:</p>
Between October 11th and 12th, the Greek FSFE Community joined the annual Free and Open Source Software Conference - FOSSCOM. This year the Greek town of Lamia took turn in hosting it and attracted Free Software enthusiasts from the area. The FSFE's booth attracted people interested in what Free Software technology could offer in comparison to the proprietary. Most questions were addressing the conversion into a more privacy-oriented use of cloud solutions and asked about Free Software alternatives to famous apps and services for their Android phones.


     <img src="media/d9463c2e.201910-booth-FOSSCOM-Greece-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/booths/201910-booth-FOSSCOM-Greece-800px.jpg"/>
     The local FSFE group in Greece joined FOSSCOM in Lamia with an infobooth


On 18 October the FSFE Local Group from Zurich was present with an infobooth at the 3rd Dinacon conference in Bern. People were visiting the FSFE stand to discuss and ask questions on Free Software Licensing and taking informative leaflets and stickers. 


     <img src="media/daaa9f4f.201910-Giammi-Dinacon-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/people/201910-Giammi-Dinacon-800px.jpg"/>
     Gian-Maria Daffré, coordinator of the FSFE's Local Group Zurich, talking about Free Software Licensing with a visitor


The FSFE Community in The Netherlands hosted an information booth and gave a presentation at the LocHal Open Source event in Tilburg on 2 November. The Dutch FSFE coordinator Nico Rikken also gave a talk about the four freedoms we hold so dearly. He explained the concepts of each freedom, each illustrated with a cooking recipe analogy ,a software user example, and a business example.


     <img src="media/67bcc4a1.201911-booth-LacHol-Tilburg-800px.jpg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/booths/201911-booth-LacHol-Tilburg-800px.jpg"/>
     The FSFE's stand at the LacHol conference in Tilburg, The Netherlands


This year, the FSFE's Community Meeting joined the SFScon - one of Europe's most established annual conferences dedicated to Free Software. The FSFE ran a fully dedicated track on Saturday, 16 November, that covered various topics:The policy activities FSFE works on and is developing further, such as the new action item part of the “Public Money? Public Code!” campaign.  As part of this session we shed a light on how we contact mayors and municipalities across Europe. The Router Freedom session discussed the consultation we responded to, where we explain to Regulators why it is important for the users to be able to fully control their own routers. More practically oriented talks also gave insights to new knowledge about the use and benefits of Free Software and Open Standards in tourism, legal basics for Free Software Licenses and many more. The presentations from the talks are already available for downloading at the <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/FSFECommunityMeeting2019#Agenda">event's wiki page</a>. We are publishing a full report with pictures from our Annual Meeting soon, so long stay tuned. 


   <img src="media/c1139a03.201911-SFScon-FSFE-Community-Meeting-Bolzano-800px.jpeg" data-original-source="http://fsfe.org/picturebase/events/201911-SFScon-FSFE-Community-Meeting-Bolzano-800px.jpeg"/>
   Pizza lunch at the 2019 FSFE Community Meeting at SFScon in Bolzano, Italy


Lucas Lasota prepared an activity package for people and organisations interested in Router Freedom, so they can advocate their own freedom of choice. To learn more about it, read his article <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191028-01.html">Router Freedom: getting back the control over your own router</a>.
The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications(BEREC) wrote guidelines for the National Regulators across EU on Router Freedom. The FSFE provided them with a <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191120-01.html">feedback on their public consultation</a>, telling them why it is essential for users to have control over their own Routers.
Editor's choice
<a href="https://www.schiessle.org/articles/2019/11/17/new-challenges-for-free-software-business-models/">"New challenges for Free Software business models"</a> is an article by Björn Schiessle, who gives useful information to  people who want to make money with Free Software and build sustainable and strong Free Software companies.
In their last <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/joinup/newsletter-specific-archive-issue.cfm?archtype=specific&amp;newsletter_service_id=832&amp;newsletter_issue_id=18462&amp;page=1&amp;fullDate=Wed%2013%20Nov%202019&amp;lang=default">newsletter</a>, The Open Source Observatory (OSOR) explains how France and Italy work on linking their source code repositories with others and provides a picture of the current state of the Federation of EU repositories - a project launched and promoted by OSOR and the EU Commission.
Get Active<p>The "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign launched an <a href="http://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/ContactingAdministrationsForPMPC">initiative</a> looking for more publicly funded bodies (administrations, schools, hospitals and etc) to <a href="https://publiccode.eu/openletter/">sign our open letter</a>. This month, we kindly ask you to join the cause by sending emails and letters to mayors, municipalities, or any other head of administrations across cities in your country. You can use the <a href="http://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/ContactingAdministrationsForPMPC#Example_letter">example letter</a> as a template, calling public sector administrations to sign in the campaign.</p>Contribute to our newsletter<p>If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter@fsfe.org. We're looking forward to hearing from you!</p><p>If you also want to support us and our work, join our community and support us with a donation or a monthly contribution: <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=nl-201911">https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=nl-201911</a> </p><p>Thanks to our community, all the <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute">volunteers</a>, <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">supporters</a> and <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus">donors</a> who make our work possible. And thanks to <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/translators">our translators</a>, who enable you to read this newsletter in your native languages.</p><p>Best Regards,</p><p>Galia Mancheva</p><p>Support our work with a donation:<a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=nl-201911">https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=nl-201911</a></p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


