# articles

feed_id: nl-202110
title: Till Jaeger +++ Youth Hacking 4 Freedom +++ SFScon 2021
uri: Till-Jaeger-Youth-Hacking-4-Freedom-SFScon-2021
url: https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202110.fr.html
content:
<h1>Till Jaeger +++ Youth Hacking 4 Freedom +++ SFScon 2021</h1><p>
	  In our October Newsletter read about Till Jaeger, who knows 
	  first-hand what it takes to enforce Free Software licenses. Find 
	  out about the contest we just launched: Youth Hacking 4 Freedom. Learn 
	  about the donations by a high school yearbook team. Follow our 
	  latest activities and write down the dates of the upcoming 
	  SFScon.
  </p><h2>New podcast: How can we prevent violations against Free Software licenses?</h2><p>
	  Till Jaeger shared his insight on <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-12.html">how can 
	  we enforce Free Software licenses</a>. In a podcast hosted by 
	  Matthias Kirschner he recalled the beginning of this effort in 
	  2004. This was the first time when a violation of the GNU General 
	  Public Licence (GNU GPL) led to a court case and a settlement. 
	  The person behind this initiative was Harald Welte who afterwards 
	  created a project to rectify <a href="https://gpl-violations.org/">GPL violations</a>.
  </p>
      <img src="media/d0ad676e.f1bdc9b8f6624096d659036a7d6a5589.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/f1bdc9b8f6624096d659036a7d6a5589.png"/>
      Till Jaeger has been working alongside Harald Welte in enforcing the GNU GPL in court cases in Germany.
  <p>
	  17 years after the first court case we now have many more tools 
	  to prevent violations against Free Software licenses. Compliance 
	  information is clearer, and workshops such as the ones offered by 
	  the FSFE Legal Network are available. Still, Till suggests 
	  further simplification of licences, interoperability, and licence 
	  compatibility. Finally, Till thanks everyone doing GNU/Linux 
	  distributions for their crucial work.
  </p><h2>Youth Hacking 4 Freedom: coding contest for teenagers</h2><p>
	  Software development is a powerful, and often self-taught, skill; 
	  people who started programming in a young age deserve 
	  encouragement. To this end, we are organising a coding 
	  competition for teenagers around Europe,  <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/">Youth Hacking 4 Freedom</a>.  From 1 November 
	  2021 to 31 March 2022, you can code any type of software you 
	  want, as long as it is Free Software. The winners will be awarded 
cash prizes (2 x 4096€, 2 x 2048€, 2 x 1024€) and a trip to 
	  Brussels. The <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/jury.html">evaluation</a> 
	  phase will be carried out by Free Software experts.
  </p>
      <img src="media/10fb6723.d80c12c4384329bc2396789ccac25f81.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/d80c12c4384329bc2396789ccac25f81.png"/>
  <p>
	  Are you between 14-18 and have already started programming? Join 
	  us! Just make sure you <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/">register</a> 
	  until <strong>Sunday, 31 October</strong> 2021. Our <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/faq.html">FAQs</a> might help. We are 
	  dedicated to offering an inclusive environment in the YH4F, and 
	  we encourage people of all genders to join! We will make sure 
	  everyone will enjoy the process and will leave this competition 
	  with a smile. <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202110.html#share-yh4f-opportunity-with-teenagers-in-your-community">Spread the word</a>!
  </p><h2>Hittfeld high school shows its support to Free Software projects and the FSFE</h2><p>
	  The 2021 <a href="https://mastodon.social/@protabletcomputer/106895644060491971">yearbook</a> 
	  of a high school was successfully completed using Free Software, 
	  and the editorial team donated all profits from the sale to Free 
	  Software projects and the FSFE. This is the story of Hittfeld high school in Seevetal, in the German state of Lower Saxony.
  </p>
     <img src="media/d5277eb9.0d6cf5051ade30de60de4d463da46d01.jpeg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/0d6cf5051ade30de60de4d463da46d01.jpeg"/>
     This yearbook was created using Free Software like 
	  LibreOffice, GNOME-Desktop, Ubuntu, Nextcloud, gThumb, darktable, 
	  PDF Arranger, LimeSurvey, Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, 
	  MailMerge, Jitsi Meet, OpenStreet, Inkscape, and 
	  GIMP.
  <p>
	  The editorial team mentions that it is beneficial for the school 
	  to avoid paying expensive subscriptions to proprietary programs. 
	  We deeply thank the pupils and everyone involved in the donation 
	  decision. This kind gesture is a nice reminder that we should 
	  support those who provide us great tools without restricting our 
	  freedom. We encourage everyone to support Free Software projects, 
	  just as the Hittfeld high school did.
  </p><p>This year the FSFE celebrates its 20th anniversary. <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=nl">Support our work for the next 20 years to come</a></p><h2>Sustainability track at South Tyrol Free Software Conference</h2><p>
	  The South Tyrol Free Software Conference, SFScon, is one of 
	  Europe’s most established annual conferences on Free Software. 
	  Save the date! <a href="https://www.sfscon.it/">SFScon 2021</a> 
	  is coming up on Friday 12 November and Saturday 13 November 
	  2021.
  </p>
      <img src="media/c9b9212d.6b622e60ddaf68698e9a79ce8721315b.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/6b622e60ddaf68698e9a79ce8721315b.png"/>
  <p>
	  This year the FSFE will participate in the conference by 
	  organising a Sustainability track with five 20-minute talks:
  </p><ul>
  <li>
	  '<strong>Software Heritage</strong>: The Great Library 
	  of Source Code' by <em>Stefano Zacchiroli</em> from the Software 
	  Heritage project.
  </li>
  <li>
	  '<strong>Blauer Engel 
	  Eco-Certification</strong>' by <em>Joseph P. De 
	  Veaugh-Geiss</em> from KDE e.V.
  </li>
  <li>
	  '<strong>Measuring the Sustainability of AI</strong>: 
	  towards a Sustainability Index for Artificial Intelligence' 
	  by <em>Anne Mollen</em> from AlgorithmWatch.
  </li>
  <li>
	  '<strong>The role of software for a universal Right to 
	  Repair</strong>: can free software help us fix software 
	  obsolescence?' by <em>Ugo Vallauri</em> from the Restart 
	  Project and the European Right to Repair Campaign.
  </li>
  <li>
	  '<strong>4 directives for a sustainable digital 
	  society</strong>: designing circular digitisation with upcyling 
	  software and reusing hardware' by <em>Erik Albers</em> from 
	  the FSFE.
  </li>
</ul><p>
	  The FSFE will also support three additional talks. 'REUSE: 
	  Gold standard for Free Software licensing' part of the Legal 
	  track, by Max Mehl; 'Protecting Router Freedom' part of the
	  IoT &amp; Cybersecurity track, by Lucas Lasota; 'Public 
	  Money? Public Code! During Corona: What role did Free Software 
	  play during the crisis' part of the Public Administration &amp; 
	  GIS track, by Alexander Sander. We are looking forward to see our 
	  readers at the SFScon!
  </p><h2>What we have done</h2><p>
	  During the final week before the German federal election we 
	  reached out to politicians asking their stance on Free Software, 
	  in line with our <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/elections/index.html">electoral 
	  activities</a>. Alexander Sander, FSFE Policy Consultant, and 
	  Karl Krüger from our associated organisation OSB Alliance 
	  conducted <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210920-01.html">5 
	  interviews</a> (DE) with representatives of German political 
	  parties from 20 to 24 September. From CDU we spoke with 
	  Nadine Schön, MdB, CDU Deputy Chairwoman of the CDU/CSU 
	  parliamentary group in the Bundestag. We interviewed three 
	  members of the Digital Agenda Committee: Elvan Korkmaz-Emre from 
	  SPD, Manuel Höferlin from FDP, and Anke Domscheit-Berg from Die 
	  Linke. From the Greens, we spoke with Margit Stumpp, MdB, 
	  member of the Committee on Cultural and Media Affairs. The 5 
	  videos are available in German. Also we released our <a href="https://digitalezivilgesellschaft.org/digitalvisionen/">vision 
	  for the upcoming decades and concrete demands for the next 
	  government</a> and analyzed the <a href="https://digitalezivilgesellschaft.org/wahlpruefsteine/oeffentliches-gut/">election
	  programs</a> of the parties.
  </p>
      <img src="media/f709c0d3.37b33beb98731493a1678f777af61f9e.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/37b33beb98731493a1678f777af61f9e.png"/>
  <ul>
  <li>
	  Lina Ceballos, FSFE Project Manager, gave an <a href="https://empodera.org/impact/en/experiences/experience/empowering-citizens-to-control-technology-for-a-more-transparent-and-fair-society">interview</a> 
	  to Empodera.org presenting the mission of the FSFE, the PMPC 
	  demands, and the need for Router Freedom. Lina stressed the need 
	  for a more ethical but also a more sustainable digital 
	  environment.
  </li>
  <li>
	  Matthias Kirschner, president of the FSFE, was invited to a 
	  podcast <a href="https://radiocitylab.podigee.io/5-open-source-als-baustein-europaischer-innovationspolitik">episode</a> 
	  of Radio Citylab Berlin. It dealt with Free Software 
	  as a foundation for a democratic technology policy. This 
	  enlightening and fun discussion is available in German.
  </li>
  <li>
	  The Bavarian Radio (Bayrischer Rundfunk) <a href="https://www.br.de/mediathek/podcast/iq-wissenschaft-und-forschung/30-jahre-linux-der-stille-siegeszug-der-freien-software/1838722">published 
	  a 26 minute radio feature (in German)</a> about the 30 year 
	  anniversary of Linux. Matthias Kirschner was also interviewed for 
	  that, and talked about how Linux as a Free Software kernel 
	  contributed to the Free Software movement and how this changed 
	  the world.
  </li>
  <li>
	  On 12 September, the FSFE Netherlands <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/Netherlands/2021-09-15">met</a> 
	  online.
  </li>
  <li>
	  On 13 September, the <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Bonn">FSFE Community 
	  Bonn</a> had its local group meeting and Johannes reported about 
	  GNURadio. The meetings are open to all who are interested in Free 
	  Software.
  </li>
  <li>
	  On 17 September, the campaign framework "Public Money? 
	  Public Code!: A campaign framework to promote software 
	  freedom" was presented at the Kieler Open Source and Linux 
	  Days by Bonnie Mehring.
  </li>
  <li>
	  On 19 September, the FSFE Vienna provided an information booth at 
	  Tierschutzlauf.
  </li>
  <li>
	  On 19 September, Max Mehl introduced REUSE and its benefits for 
	  Free Software developers and users, especially for package 
	  maintainers of operating system distributions. The presentation 
	  is part of <a href="https://2021.eurobsdcon.org/home/speakers/#simplify">EuroBSDCon</a>.
  </li>
  <li>
	  On 23 September, the local <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Berlin">FSFE Berlin</a> 
	  group celebrated 20 Years of FSFE together with the FSFE's 
	  president by eating cake around a campfire.
  </li>
  <li>
	  On 27 September, the FSFE Women group had its monthly meeting. 
	  Antje analysed three papers about women in computer science and 
	  <a href="https://ntj.github.io/posts/2021-09-15-gender/">gender 
	  aspects of learning to code</a>, and Fani Partsafyllidou 
	  presented the Youth Hacking 4 Freedom competition.
  </li>
  <li>
	  On 5 October, Gabriel Ku Wei Bin, the FSFE's Legal 
	  Coordinator, participated in a <a href="https://nlnet.nl/events/20211005/workshop/index.html">webinar 
	  on open source copyright and license management</a> organized by 
	  the NLNet Foundation for the benefit of various <a href="https://www.ngi.eu/">NGI projects</a>. The webinar helped software projects with understanding various aspects the law as it relates to software, as well as 
	  to introduce the FSFE's REUSE initiative to a wider 
	  audience.
  </li>
  <li>
          On 9 October, our associated organisation ANSOL (Associação Nacional
          para o Software Livre) celebrated its 20th anniversary. FSFE's president,
          Matthias Kirschner, gave a short talk about the FSFE's work during the
          last 20 years and highlighted joint activities with ANSOL.
  </li>
  <li>
	On 10 October, the <a href="http://yh4f.org/">Youth Hacking 4 
	Freedom</a> hosted its opening event to explain the rules of the 
	competition and to answer questions from people who had 
	already registered.
  </li>
</ul><h2>New bag</h2><p>
	  For our 20th anniversary, we now present a new bag! Blue and 
	  double-faced, it comes with two slogans, the newest: 'FSFE 
	  since 2001', to remember when it all started and our 
	  evergreen: 'There is no cloud, just other people's 
	  computers'. A sustainable solution for a shopping bag. Get it 
	  from the FSFE <a href="https://fsfe.org/order/">web shop</a>.
  </p>
    <a href="https://fsfe.org/order">
      
    </a>
  <h2>Share 
  the YH4F opportunity with teenagers in your community</h2><p>
	  Would you like to help us spread the message, and help young 
	  hackers spot the opportunity to join YH4F? Then please contact 
	  teenagers you know, former schools, hacker spaces, youth 
	  facilities, or mailing lists. Share with them our <a href="yh4f.org">call for registration</a> through a post on your 
	  website, a mention in your Newsletter, or a social media post. 
	  Also, you can freely use the <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/media.html">illustrations</a> 
	  in our media kit, as well as our <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210928-01.html">Press 
	  Release</a>. Both are available in English and translations.
  </p><p>
	Your contribution is valuable to make sure that young people will take part — and hopefully connect more with the software freedom movement.
  </p><h2>Contribute to our newsletter</h2><p>
    If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, please 
    send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter@fsfe.org. 
    We're looking forward to hearing from you! If you also want to 
    support us and our work, join our community and support us with a 
    donation or a <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=newsletter">monthly 
    contribution</a>. Thanks to our community and all the volunteers, 
    supporters, and donors who make our work possible. And thanks to 
    our translators, who enable you to read this newsletter in your 
    native languages.
  </p><p>Your editor, Fani Partsafyllidou</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211015-01
title: Ecodesign Directive: FSFE calls for Device Neutrality and Upcycling of Software
uri: Ecodesign-Directive-FSFE-calls-for-Device-Neutrality-and-Upcycling-of
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211015-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Ecodesign Directive: FSFE calls for Device Neutrality and Upcycling of Software</h1><p> 
    As contribution to the revisal of the EU ecodesign directive and to help understand the impact of software obsolescence, the FSFE publishes a study on the sustainability of software. The findings of the study culminate in five core demands for a more sustainable digitisation, covering the interplay of devices, software, and infrastructure.
  </p><p>
    In the European Union we currently see a strong desire to make digitisation more sustainable with the European Commission aiming at making products more resource-efficient as well as circular economy methods applicable. The ecodesign directive from 2009 shall be updated in this regard with the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12567-Sustainable-products-initiative_en">"Sustainable Products Initiative"</a> (SPI) that aims "to make products placed on the EU market more sustainable". The SPI will then serve as the main European product policy instrument, in the electronic sector additionally complemented by the <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-a-european-green-deal/file-circular-electronics">"Circular Electronics Initiative"</a> (CEI). 
  </p>
    <img src="media/a2ad2a50.6101b685d12ecfdc41b57213e295749a.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/6101b685d12ecfdc41b57213e295749a.jpg"/>
  <p>"Circular electronics", symbolized with <a href="media/91a923ab.FileArduino_Robot_Top.jpg" data-original-source="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arduino_Robot_Top.jpg">Arduino Robot Top.jpg</a> by Arduino SA, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en">CC-BY-SA 3.0</a></p><p>
    It will be for the first time that phones and tablets are included in the ecodesign criteria of the European Union's market. The CEI directly asks for new "regulatory measures for electronics and ICT including mobile phones, tablets, and laptops under the Ecodesign Directive;" and addresses among other things the devices' "shortcomings in durability, [...] reparability, [...] upgradability, e-waste [...], reuse and recycling."</p><p>
    The European Commission is expected to publish its final proposal for the new SPI by the end of 2021 and the proposal for the CEI by the second quarter of 2022. In August this year, however, several news magazines already reported about what details to expect from the new ecodesign criteria regarding electronic devices. Among other things, it has been consistently written that the Commission wants manufacturers of smartphones and tablets to provide security updates for five years and function updates for three years free of charge.
  </p><h3>FSFE demands the upcycling of software</h3><p>
    Although an extended support time is one step forward in helping durability and lifetime of devices, the obligation of offering several years of security and functional updates is not sufficient enough for a real game change towards a more sustainable (re-)use of our devices. For a critical, long-lasting, and sustainable change and extension of our hardware usage lifetimes, products need to be designed with <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#id-device-neutrality">device neutrality</a> in mind from the beginning. Until we are there, however, and with the current debates about updating the ecodesign directive in mind, the FSFE asks for truly opening up the circular reuse of electronics by enabling an <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#upcycling-of-software">upcycling of software</a>. Such an upcycling will be possible with the manufacturers obligation to publish a device's underlying source code under a Free Software licence at the end of support for any software necessary to run or modify the initial functioning of the device. 
  </p><p>
    The downsides of extending support obligations for proprietary software in contrast to directly opening up aftermarket economies and reuse possibilities through the publication of source code under a Free Software license is manifold: what time span of support seems appropriate for electronic devices in general and others in particular? Is it three years, five years, seven years? Will the decision of today still be valid and up to date at the end of this decade? Even worse, this approach does not fundamentally help one of the core problems of our digital societies which is an e-waste overflow of often still pretty well-working devices that have only been thrown away because a proprietary manufacturer decided to stop support of the device. An extended support obligation does not solve this problem at its core - it just postpones the often unnecessary growth of e-waste for a certain time. Last but not least it takes away the freedom of manufacturers to not continue support for a certain device if, for example, it does not sell well enough.
  </p>
    <img src="media/929f4530.05a2918272b10cfb4148f461d5334283.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/05a2918272b10cfb4148f461d5334283.png"/>
    The graphic demonstrates how the "upcycling of software" can ideally help to extend usage lifetimes and to grow aftermarkets after the end of support by the initial manufacturers.
  <p>Icons reused from sources available on <a href="https://freepik.com">Freepik.com</a></p><p>
    The obligation of publishing a device's underlying source code under a Free Software licence at the end of support instead solves many of these problems in its core: manufacturers can stop the support of a certain device any time and instead of directly de-valuating affected products with the end of support, an aftermarket is enabled to further continue the development and reuse of certain devices. This will not happen as a law of nature, but begin with some popular devices that will experience a second life which got enabled by the publication of their source code as Free Software. And as we can see with the rise of other markets, the more this happens and the more success stories there are, the more competitors and imitators will join and further help creating a market of reuse and cicular electronics. Releasing source code as Free Software thus is the most efficient way to steer the European digitisation from a market of linear hardware production towards circular electronics devices. You can read more about the upcycling of software, the background and its derivation in our <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html">in-depth study about software obsolescence and sustainability of Free Software</a> that the FSFE has been able to produce with the support of the German Environment Agency.
  </p><h3>In-depth study about the sustainability of Free Software</h3><p>
    The study starts with a <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#about-the-sustainability-of-free-software">definition of software sustainablility</a> and shows from there how <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#conservation-and-loss-of-resources-a-question-of-reproducibility">the inherent characteristics of Free Software enable a sustainability of software</a> as well as their <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#free-software-and-it-infrastructures">positive impact on the sustainability of IT infrastructures</a>. <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#software-obsolescence">Software obsolescence is explained</a> and the benefits of using Free Software in saving natural resources by <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#hardware-production-and-usage-times">extending hardware usage lifetime</a> and through <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#energy-consumption">saving energy cunsumption</a> of software. Finally, based on the findings, <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#what-can-politics-and-society-do-for-a-more-sustainable-digitization">five politically demands</a> for a more sustainable digital society are outlined: 
  </p>
    For a European shift from linear production and ewaste producion towards a circular electronic economy full <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#id-device-neutrality">device neutrality</a> must be established that includes the <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#general-purpose-computers">Right to use alternative operating systems and software</a> with <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#general-purpose-computers">full access to hardware</a> and <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#general-purpose-computers">freedom of choice</a>. Until then, the <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#general-purpose-computers">upcycling of software</a> will help in the transition as well as the obligation for any <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#public-infrastructure-public-code">public smart infrastructure to be set up with Free Software and public code.</a>
  <p>
    Erik Albers, the FSFE's Programme Manager on Sustainability says: "It has been long time overdue for the European Union to apply ecodesign critera for the currently most selling electronic products, phones, and tablets. The FSFE welcomes the initiative by the European Commission to finally update the European Directive on this. Now it is crucial to do it right from the beginning. Our study explains the benefits of upcycling software in detail but can only be the start of a long time process and transition. In the next months we concentrate on explaining decision takers that we can only overcome linear product waste by an upcycling of software through its final publication under a Free Software licence."
  </p><p>
    If you are curious now to learn more about the sustainability of Free Software, we invite you read our study <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html">"On the sustainability of Free Software"</a> and to watch <a href="https://fsfe.org/events/events.html#event-20211112-01">the upcoming FSFE's track about sustainability at the SFSCon</a>. If you like to support our work in the upcoming months and help us to influence legislation <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate">please help us with a financial support</a>. 
  </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211027-01
title: Router Freedom at risk: Latvia allows restrictions to consumers' rights
uri: Router-Freedom-at-risk-Latvia-allows-restrictions-to-consumers-right
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211027-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Router Freedom at risk: Latvia allows restrictions to consumers' rights</h1><p>
Latvia's reform of the telecom law weakens Router Freedom in the country. The national regulator, SPRK, has allowed ISPs to restrict the use of personal routers on the grounds of "technological necessity". We explain why this is problematic and what impact it can have for end-users' rights. 
</p><p>
<a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/routers/routers.html">Router Freedom</a> is the right end-users have to choose and use their own modems and routers to connect to the Internet. Since 2020, European countries have been in a <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2020/news-20200601-01.html">process of implementing</a> this right within a reform of EU telecommunications law. In this context, Latvia has created a risky  precedent against end-users' rights by allowing internet service providers (ISPs) to determine restrictions on the use of personal routers and modems based on "technological necessities". The FSFE has engaged with the Latvian regulator, <a href="https://www.sprk.gov.lv/en">SPRK</a>, to stress the necessity to change the law as it represents a big loss for consumer rights.   
</p><h2>What are "technological necessities" against Router Freedom?</h2><p>
Routers and modems are terminal equipment. They are located in the region where the ISP's and end-user's  networks meet. In order to determine which network the router should be part of, the reform  of the telecom law has focused on localization of the network termination point (the NTP). The European regulator BEREC has identified three positions, called points A, B, and C (see picture below) where routers and modems could be considered as part of the end-user domain or part of the public network. The standard position should be point A. This means that the router and modem are under the control of the user, who can decide which device to use - either the one recommended and provided by the ISP or one from a third party. Position A would result in Router Freedom. 
</p> <img src="media/5ce93e5c.37c03c4a34cb2a6c58d347c0b29f0a4d.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/37c03c4a34cb2a6c58d347c0b29f0a4d.png"/> Latvian ISPs can now determine the NTP based on technological necessity. Picture source: BEREC. <p>
However, BEREC has allowed the national regulators to identify any justifiable technological necessity to set the NTP at positions B or C, considerably limiting Router Freedom. The <a href="media/69a1672d.9033-berec-guidelines-on-common-approaches-to_0.pdf" data-original-source="https://berec.europa.eu/eng/document_register/subject_matter/berec/download/0/9033-berec-guidelines-on-common-approaches-to_0.pdf">assessment criteria</a> for such necessities include:      
</p><ul>
	<li>Interoperability between the public network and the terminal equipment;</li>
	<li>Simplicity of operation;</li>
	<li>Network security;</li>
	<li>Data protection;</li>
	<li>Local traffic;</li>
	<li>Fixed-line services based on wireless technology.</li>
</ul><p>
The FSFE <a href="media/bf4d5529.fsfe-router-freedom-activity-summary.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/routers/fsfe-router-freedom-activity-summary.pdf">has been advocating</a> that Router Freedom is the only way to safeguard end-users' interests and comply with EU legislation. The European experience has demonstrated that no such necessities were identified by the regulators. The allowance of discretionary power to set the NTP at three different positions can impose significant barriers to end-users' effectively using their equipment. Such criteria open a dangerous precedent for discretionary and unfair measures against Router Freedom. ISPs'  political and economic influence could easily override the high thresholds for these necessities in order to shift the router or modem out of end-users' domain. Moreover, when national regulators provide little information on how such necessities were identified, proving them wrong becomes excessively hard.      
</p><h2>Latvia allows ISPs to determine technological necessity</h2><p>
The FSFE <a href="media/a9efd752.fsfe20latvia20ntp20consulation.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/routers/fsfe%20latvia%20ntp%20consulation.pdf">stressed to SPRK</a> how this decision could not be compliant with EU law and could seriously hamper end-users' rights. We argued that the best way to achieve compliance with the BEREC guidelines would be the regulator determining by itself any precondition to the public infrastructure related to terminal equipment that would justify Positions B or C (see picture above). We emphasised that ISPs should not establish the criteria by themselves. However, in response, the authority <a href="media/9fcdb8d1.iekc5a1likumu20un20komentc481ru20apkopojums20VA20un20Reg_not.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/routers/Projekts%20-%20Priek%c5%a1likumu%20un%20koment%c4%81ru%20apkopojums%20VA%20un%20Reg_not.pdf">affirmed</a> (Latvian) that they will check whether necessities identified by the ISPs would be compliant with BEREC guidelines, and approve them or not.
</p><p>
We at FSFE understand that such workflow would create a layer of opacity and difficulty for consumers who could have their rights held up until a decision by the regulator would be taken on specifics of the necessity criteria. In the end, ISPs would have much greater liberty in creating situations where such necessities would be easy to prove and hard to counter, although other EU countries have not found any evidence in favour of them. 
</p>
      <a href="media/bf4d5529.fsfe-router-freedom-activity-summary.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/routers/fsfe-router-freedom-activity-summary.pdf">
      
      </a>
      Router Freedom is future-proof. So far, no technological necessity has been found against it.
<h2>What can Latvian consumers do? </h2><p>
The new regulations make it very hard for consumers to counteract when their ISPs limit Router Freedom on the ground of a technological necessity. Unfortunately, the regulator has chosen not to acquiesce in our demands by allowing ISPs to create by themselves arguments against Router Freedom. Nevertheless the regulator has at least imposed on ISPs the duty to publish on their websites information about the alleged necessity, so consumers have access to this information, and the authority can perform an assessment and make a final decision. 
</p><p>
To help us monitoring the future developments in the country, Latvian consumers are encouraged to report their experience in our <a href="https://survey.fsfe.org/index.php/628449?lang=en">Router Freedom survey</a>. This will enable us to check what ISPs have listed as arguments and which rulings the Latvian regulator has made against Router Freedom. By comparing with what other EU countries have implemented, we can escalate the issue to BEREC and substantiate a request for reviewing this framework. Countries like <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210629-01.html">Finland</a> and <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210805-01.html">the Netherlands</a> successfully implemented Router Freedom without listing any restriction based on technological necessities. Besides, a fragmented terminal equipment market plays against the interests of end-users and European router manufacturers. Such a disparity in determining a basic right can be brought to the European Commission's attention when performing a fit for purpose check on the national legislation. 
</p> <a href="https://survey.fsfe.org/index.php/628449?lang=en">  </a> Latvian ISPs should publish on their websites why they restrict Router Freedom. Help reporting these practices in our survey. <h3>The Router Freedom initiative</h3><p>
<a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/routers/routers.html">Router Freedom</a> is the right that consumers of any Internet Service Provider (ISP) have to choose and use a private modem and router instead of equipment that the ISP provides. Since 2013, the Free Software Foundation Europe has been successfully engaged with Router Freedom, promoting end-users' freedom to choose and use their own terminal equipment in many European countries. Join us and learn more about the several ways to <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210330-01.html">get involved</a>. Please consider becoming a <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate">FSFE donor</a>; you help make possible our long-term engagement and professional commitment in defending people's rights to control technology.
</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211102-01
title: Software shapes society. Free Software improves it.
uri: Software-shapes-society-Free-Software-improves-it
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211102-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Software shapes society. Free Software improves it.</h1><p>
    Watch our new video demonstrating how different practices in software lead
    to different models of society. Software is intangible, but its results
    often are not. The decisions we make about what type of software we use have
    real-life effects. There is a type of software that benefits the common
    good, and that is Free Software.
  </p>
    
      
      
      
      

      
      
      
    
    
      If you ever looked for a video that explains the values of Free Software
      in three minutes, look no further.
    
  <p>
    The transparency and adaptability of <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/index.html">Free
    Software</a> enhance cooperation, inclusivity, and self-determination. This
    leads us to a society with stronger democratic procedures and community
    spirit. "The difference between Free and proprietary software is that Free
    Software always grants us four rights: <strong>any person may freely use,
    study, share, and improve the software</strong>. If software is developed
    under a free license, then anyone can use it without restrictions,
    anytime and anywhere. Since the source code can be read by anyone, this
    allows for more transparency and can lead to more security. People can work
    together across borders on problems that affect humanity; they can share the
    software, discuss it, and improve it collectively."
  </p><p>
    For our <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/20years/20years.html">20th anniversary</a> we
    have produced this video so more people can learn what software freedom
    entails. If you want to dive deeper into this, the script of the video is based on
    a <a href="https://archive.fosdem.org/2020/schedule/event/software_freedom/">talk
    at FOSDEM 2020</a> given by Matthias Kirschner, President of the FSFE. It
    reflects the core values of software freedom and pleads for more respect and
    diversity in Free Software communities.
  </p><p>
    Please share the video with your friends so that they can also learn what
    Software Freedom is about.
  </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211110-01
title: Software Freedom in Europe 2021
uri: Software-Freedom-in-Europe-2021
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211110-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Software Freedom in Europe 2021</h1><p>
	Cancelling of large events, limitations in meetings, and travel 
	restrictions: none of this stopped the FSFE from advancing software 
	freedom in 2021. From Router Freedom to new podcast episodes to 
	co-organising the Legal and Policy devroom at FOSDEM, we keep 
	empowering people to control technology.
  </p><p>
	 'Public Money? Public Code!' online workshops were offered to 
	 volunteers, and an online Legal and Licensing Workshop for legal 
	 experts was organised. The FSFE assisted software projects to 
	 become REUSE compliant with our new initiative, REUSE Booster. We 
	 created a monitoring map to demonstrate the developments of 
	 Router Freedom rights in Europe. The FSFE presented suggestions 
	 and demands to support sustainable software. Meanwhile, a two-year 
	 court case initiated by FSFE supporter Luca Bonissi successfully 
	 came to an end, unequivocally recognising the right to a Windows 
	 licence refund. Overall, significant accomplishments for software 
	 freedom marked 2021, the year <strong>FSFE is celebrating its 20th 
	 anniversary</strong>.
  </p>
	<img src="media/073fc97f.757e1cb6599c1e9f76b202fa52033a73.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/757e1cb6599c1e9f76b202fa52033a73.jpg"/>
  <p>
	While this yearly report corresponds to our work during November 
	2020 - October 2021, many of our activities last for many years. We 
	are celebrating our 20-years milestone because ultimately 
	<strong>it is our long term presence that allows us to advance 
	software freedom</strong>. Initiatives become more robust every 
	year, as we have seen with the growing adoption of 'Public Money? 
	Public Code!' and REUSE.
  </p><p>
	In 2017, we launched the 'Public Money? Public Code!' campaign, 
	convincing several public administrations to change their IT 
	strategy. Since then, the accompanying open letter has been signed 
	by over 200 civil society organisations and several public 
	administrations like the city of Barcelona and the Swedish JobTech 
	Development center. The same year, we also initiated REUSE to 
	provide a set of recommendations that make licensing Free Software 
	projects easier for developers. Since then, REUSE has been adopted 
	by well-known projects such as the German Corona Warn App and 
	KDE. 
  </p><p>
	Likewise, informing the public about the benefits of Free Software 
	is a core activity that builds up over time. We inform people in 
	information booths, we run workshops and give talks, we send out a 
	monthly Newsletter and publish a podcast episode every two months to 
	help the Free Software community grow and stay connected. Our "I 
	Love Free Software Day", which started over a decade ago, is 
	celebrated around the globe every year on 14 February. Still, 
	sometimes our endeavors succeed after an entire journey which 
	brings us in parliaments or to courts, as the <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/ms-vs-eu/ms-vs-eu.html">Microsoft v. EU case</a> 
	did. This is why <strong> continuous engagement for software 
	freedom matters</strong>.
  </p>
  <p>Table of contents</p>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="#20-years-fsfe">Celebrating 20 Years FSFE</a></li>
    <li><a href="#policy">Policy advocacy</a></li>
      <ul>
        <li><a href="#pmpc"> 1. Raising 'Public Money? Public Code!' demand</a></li>
        <li><a href="#sustainability">2. Discovering the sustainability of Free Software</a></li>
        <li><a href="#router-freedom">3. Supporting Router Freedom in the EU</a></li>
        <li><a href="#international-development-cooperation"> 4. Promoting Free Software in international development cooperation</a></li>
        <li><a href="#radio-lockdown">5. Preventing a Radio Lockdown</a></li>
        <li><a href="#german-warning-system">6. Suggesting improvements to the German warning system</a></li>
        <li><a href="#electoral-activities">7. Running electoral activities</a></li>
      </ul>
    <li><a href="#legal-support">Legal support</a></li>
      <ul>
        <li><a href="#reuse-booster">1. Launching REUSE Booster</a></li>
        <li><a href="#landmark-court-case">2. Celebrating win in landmark court case </a></li>
        <li><a href="#llw">3. Organising Legal and Licensing Workshop</a></li>
        <li><a href="#ngi0">4. Assisting projects in Next Generation Internet Initiative</a></li>
        <li><a href="#licensing-questions">5. Answering licensing questions</a></li>
      </ul>
    <li><a href="#pa">Public awareness</a></li>
      <ul>
        <li><a href="#fosdem-devroom">1. Co-organising FOSDEM Legal and Policy devroom</a></li>
        <li><a href="#podcast">2. Publishing podcast episodes</a></li>
        <li><a href="#further-outreach">3. Thanking creators behind Free Software</a></li>
        <li><a href="#sfscon">4. Participating in SFSCon</a></li>
      </ul>
    <li><a href="#inside-the-fsfe">The FSFE community</a></li>
    <li><a href="#join">Join our movement</a></li>
    <li><a href="#looking-forward">Looking forward to 2022</a></li>
    <li><a href="#about">About the FSFE</a></li>
  </ul>
<h3>Celebrating 20 Years FSFE</h3><p>
	   Long before the first smartphone was introduced, it was evident 
	   to the FSFE's founders that it is the people who should be in 
	   control of technology. In 2001, Free Software 
	   experts around Europe therefore created the Free Software 
	   Foundation Europe e.V. In 2021, the <strong> <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/">Free Software Foundation Europe</a>  
	   turned 20</strong>. This means two decades of empowering users to control 
	   technology. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use, study, share, and improve software. This way, Free Software contributes to freedom, 
       transparency, and self-determination. 
  </p> 
    
	  
	  
	  
	  
    
    
		Prolific Sci-fi author Cory Doctorow sends birthday wishes to the FSFE.
	
  <p>
	  The FSFE was founded in <a href="https://lists.fsfe.org/pipermail/press-release/2001q2/000003.html">April 
	  2001</a>, so this year in April 2021 we started having a look <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/20years/20years.html">at our community and 
	  previous work</a>. We contacted people who paved the way of the 
	  FSFE since its beginning, such as long term volunteers and past 
	  staffers. We have interviewed <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210204-01.html">Georg Greve</a>, <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210625-01.html">Torsten Grote</a>, <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210305-01.html">Reinhard Müller</a>, <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210420-01.html">and Fernanda Weiden</a>, 
	  and we received a video message from <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210529-01.html">Cory Doctorow</a>. We shared 
	  the FSFE <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/20years/20years.html#Highlights-from-the-last-20-years">highlights 
	  from the last 20 years</a>, and Matthias Kirschner, President of 
	  the FSFE since 2015, <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/2BiZdZjoM7oy4Jo4fRvVKJ">presented</a> 
	  the work of the organisation since its founding. To mark this 
	  important milestone, we produced a <a href="https://fsfe.org/order/index.html#bag-since2001-blue">bag</a> and 
	  a <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword.html#fsfe-since-2001-sticker">sticker</a>.
  </p><p>
	Although technology is ever-changing, our values have been 
	consistent throughout the last twenty years. The core of our work 
	is, in a nutshell: highlighting the sociopolitical implications of 
	Free Software, simplifying its legal preconditions, and educating 
	people on the nature of Free Software. Therefore, we divide our 
	work into three areas: Policy Advocacy, Legal Support, and Public 
	Awareness. Matthias Kirschner explains this in his own words in a 
	short video:
  </p>
    
        
        
        
             
    
    We divide our work into three areas: policy 
	advocacy, legal support, and public awareness.
   <h2>Policy advocacy</h2><h3>1. Raising 'Public Money? Public Code!' demand</h3><p>
	Why is software created using taxpayers’ money not released as Free 
	Software? The 'Public Money? Public Code!' initiative was launched 
	in 2018. Its popularity demonstrates that our continuous effort 
	through the years can make a difference. More than 200 organisations and 
	administrations support our call for action by signing our <a href="https://publiccode.eu/openletter/">open letter</a>. Good news 
	of municipalities embracing Free Software keeps coming in. 
	In 2021, PMPC progressed in a variety of sectors, ranging from EU 
	policy to public health related apps.
  </p><h3>Examining the EU Open Source Strategy</h3><p>
	The FSFE <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2020/news-20201023-01.html">examined</a> 
	the new 'Open Source Strategy' of the EU for the period 2020-2023 and 
	raised its concerns. The benefits of Free Software are fully 
	emphasised and the Commission is on paper ambitious in its future 
	use of Free Software. However, concrete goals are rare and a clear 
	commitment to the use of Free Software is lacking. The strategy 
	mainly repeats previous commitments and activities; sustainable and 
	verifiable approaches are sought in vain.
  </p>
	<img src="media/46044cd3.e03669d329cb650b7e36a9a5ba70ae3b.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/e03669d329cb650b7e36a9a5ba70ae3b.jpg"/>
	The EU Open Source Strategy 2020-2023 is ambitious but lacks concrete goals.
  <p>
	  In February 2021, we <a href="https://archive.fosdem.org/2021/schedule/event/ecoss/">interviewed</a> 
	  Evangelos Tsavalopoulos, Head of Sector of the European Commission Open Source Software Unit, and addressed the most important 
	  questions about this strategy.
  </p><h3>Offering PMPC Workshops</h3><p>
	  In the framework of its campaign 'Public Money? Public 
	  Code!', the FSFE has launched a workshop series, '<a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/ContactingAdministrationsForPMPC">Contact 
	  your administrations</a>'. Its target audience is volunteers and 
	  supporters from all over Europe who want to become active in 
	  reaching out to their local representatives. This workshop aims 
	  to share best practices when addressing public administrations to 
	  discuss Free Software in the public sector, while empowering 
	  volunteers to become more active within their own communities. 
	  During 2021, Lina Ceballos, an FSFE Project Manager, and 
	  Alexander Sander, Policy Consultant of the FSFE, held online 
	  sessions of this workshop for our Italian and Spanish 
	  communities. Alexander Sander and Bonnie Mehring, Translations 
	  Coordinator, held the online session for this workshop in German.
  </p><h3>Conceptualising a code repository for the public sector</h3><p>
	  Together with our associated organisation the 'Open Source 
	  Business Alliance', the federal working group of municipal IT 
	  service providers and other experts, FSFE has developed a first 
	  concept for a code repository for the public sector (<a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2020/news-20200910-01.html">EN</a>, <a href="media/b6f18e15.20200910-Ein-Ort-fuer-oeffentlichen-Code.v1.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/policy/papers/20200910-Ein-Ort-fuer-oeffentlichen-Code.v1.pdf">DE, 
	  .pdf</a>). In the proposal, we clarified the potential of Free 
	  Software for use in public institutions and how such a repository 
	  can contribute to the further development of the digitalisation 
	  of administrations. This concept is already being tested with a 
	  pilot project in the German states of <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202103.html#what-have-we-done-inside-and-outside-the-fsfe">North 
	  Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg in cooperation with the 
	  Ministry of Interior</a>.
  </p>
	<img src="media/4a3611f2.2882a7897a476a702d8cbbcb950411d3.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/2882a7897a476a702d8cbbcb950411d3.jpg"/>
	The FSFE conceptualised a code repository for the public sector. It is being tested in a pilot project.
  <h3>Demanding Free Software in Public Health related apps</h3><p>
	  Amid the difficulties of the pandemic, the FSFE identifies a 
	  crucial aspect: that apps related to public health should be Free 
	  Software. This way they will be transparent, trustworthy, and 
	  available to people who consciously avoid proprietary software. 
	  Throughout this challenge <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2020/news-20200402-02.html">our demands focus on user 
	  rights</a>, and this is reflected in our work. In December of 
	  2020, the FSFE stood in favour of coronavirus tracing apps to be 
	  Free Software and thanked the volunteers who <a href="https://codeberg.org/corona-contact-tracing-germany/cwa-android">liberated</a> 
	  the German Corona Warn app (CWA). The FSFE <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2020/news-20201208-01.html">appealed</a> to 
	  governments and administrations to publish developed software as 
	  Free Software, to break dependencies on proprietary app stores 
	  and instead make their apps installable from independent sources 
	  like F-Droid, and to renounce proprietary dependencies. This also 
	  helps to protect fundamental rights such as the right to privacy.
	</p>
	<img src="media/2bdad420.3682bd7fc37ede3df39501126bf84c7f.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/3682bd7fc37ede3df39501126bf84c7f.jpg"/>
	Example of Corona Tracing app
  <p>
	  In August 2021, we witnessed the same 
	  problematic pattern in Germany: volunteers once more had to step 
	  in to take over the government's task in order to make the 
	  CovPass app available to everyone. The FSFE <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210830-01.html">urges</a> 
	  the government to quickly adapt its practices and make sure 
	  everyone can use such apps without any restrictions from the 
	  start. Furthermore, if it is ensured that solutions are published as 
	  Free Software, they can be adjusted and reused by other 
	  institutions around the world.
  </p><h3>Demanding accessibility to political participation apps</h3><p>
	In the Netherlands, the official application for parliamentary debates is not 
	available under a Free Software license.  
	 In 2018, FSFE supporter Jos van den Oever noticed that the 'Debat Direct' app 
	could not be downloaded to his Firefox OS phone. Jos' request to get the 
	app's source code was denied, and he brought the case to court. The 
	Council of State ruled on 31 March 2021 that the Parliament does 
	not have to publish the source code. The FSFE therefore <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210611-01.html">calls 
	upon the Dutch Parliament</a> to impose rules on itself, to act 
	transparently, and to publish the source code of such applications 
	under a Free Software licence in the future.
  </p>
    <img src="media/f2d93df2.530aa5d4c4403f5a23c1df4f65525f21.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/530aa5d4c4403f5a23c1df4f65525f21.jpg"/>
    The FSFE calls upon the Dutch Parliament to publish the source code of political participation apps.
  <p>	
	 Moreover, the FSFE calls on the Dutch government to <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210521-01.html">stand firm and get a grip 
	 on their digital security and autonomy by adhering to Open 
	 Standards and Free Software</a>, in line with their earlier 
	 commitment to use Free Software by default. The Netherlands is 
	 becoming dependent on a digital infrastructure that is dominated 
	 by a small number of monopolistic companies. Although the Dutch 
	 Cyber Security Council recognises the consequent risk, their 
	 report neglects focusing on Open Standards and Free Software, the 
	 proven best practices to face this problem. 
  </p><h3>Spreading the word</h3><p>
	  In 2021 we translated our 'Public Money? Public Code!' 
	  video into <a href="https://publiccode.eu/sv/#about">Swedish</a> and
	  <a href="https://publiccode.eu/nl/#about">Dutch</a>.
	  Apart from those translations, the PMPC video is available in 
	  English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and 
	  Slovenian. We also translated the PMPC brochure into Spanish.
  </p><h3>Bringing Free Software to local governments</h3><p>
	On May 2021, we contributed to a report on the use of Free Software 
	in <a href="https://www.kgst.de/documents/20181/34177/KGSt-Bericht-5-2021_Open-Source.pdf/994d10d0-ec25-f8ed-91af-1a12518c27d3">local 
	administrations</a> (DE)(.pdf) which was released by the German 
	association for municipal government. </p>
    <img src="media/16772117.900719f3ded7729bef6a039d9726e350.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/900719f3ded7729bef6a039d9726e350.jpg"/>
    Dortmund embraces Free Software
  <p>	
	With an overwhelming 
	cross-faction majority, <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210331-01.html">Dortmund</a> committed itself to the use of 
	Free Software in a groundbreaking <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210331-01.html">resolution</a> 
	(DE) in February 2021. The case of Dortmund, where the motion 
	passed unanimously, proves that all sides can appreciate the 
	practical benefits of Free Software. The result was made possible 
	by the consistent efforts of the DO-FOSS initiative, which also 
	supported the "Public Money? Public Code!" campaign of the 
	FSFE. The Council's decision means that there is now 
	political backing to gradually break down dependencies on 
	proprietary vendors. The FSFE will follow the implementation and 
	at the same time call on other administrations in Germany and 
	Europe to follow Dortmund's example.
  </p><p>	
	The Swiss cantons of <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210318-01.html">Bern and Uri</a> 
	embraced Free Software and the FSFE met online with the people 
	behind this process. Bern followed the steps of another Swiss 
	canton, Uri, trailbrazer for the use of Free Software in 
	administration. For years, the Free Software app 'Caluma' has 
	been successful in Switzerland. The example of the cantons of Uri 
	and Bern shows that the principle of "Public Money? Public 
	Code!" benefits everyone: citizens, the administration, and 
	also the economy.
   </p><h3>2. Discovering the sustainability of Free Software</h3><p>
	 We recently published a study <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html">'On the 
	 Sustainability of Free Software'</a> that includes five core demands about <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#what-can-politics-and-society-do-for-a-more-sustainable-digitization">What 
	 can politicians and society do for a more sustainable 
	 digitization?</a> Among them are:
  </p><ul>
    <li>
		When the software of a device is not supported any more, the 
		manufacturers should publish the source code of the software 
		under a Free Software license.
    </li>
    <li>
		Users must be given the right to install the operating system 
		of their choice on their own devices, as well as any software.
   </li>
   <li>
	   Devices should be produced with open standards, drivers, 
	   and interfaces, to ensure a sustainable use of hardware 
	   resources.
    </li>
  </ul>
    <img src="media/929f4530.05a2918272b10cfb4148f461d5334283.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/05a2918272b10cfb4148f461d5334283.png"/>
    
		The "upcycling of software" can extend usage lifetimes and grow 
		aftermarkets after the end of support by the initial 
		manufacturers.
	
  <p>Icons reused from sources available on <a href="https://freepik.com">Freepik.com</a></p><p>
	Erik Albers, Program Manager of the FSFE, also gave a <a href="https://media.ccc.de/v/wk04-7557-von-freier-software-zu-nachhaltiger-software-und-wieder-zurck">talk</a> 
	(DE) about the subject of software sustainability at this 
	year's Winterkongress, the annual conference from the Swiss Digital Intiative, and in the second round table <a href="https://www.greens-efa.eu/en/article/event/how-do-we-shape-and-grow-a-green-tech-sector">"How 
	do we shape and grow a green tech sector?"</a>, organised by 
	the Greens/EFA in the European Parliament. In February, Erik
	co-published the <a href="https://www.oekologisches-wirtschaften.de/index.php/oew/article/view/1788">paper</a> 
	"Design Options for Long-lasting, Efficient and Open Hardware 
	and Software" in "Ökologisches Wirtschaften: 
	Digitalisation and Sustainability". In January we <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12797-Designing-mobile-phones-and-tablets-to-be-sustainable-ecodesign/F1465695_en">participated</a> 
	in the European Comission's consultation about "Designing 
	mobile phones and tablets to be sustainable – ecodesign". </p><h3>3. Supporting Router Freedom in the EU</h3><p>
	  Since 2013 the FSFE has been a leading voice in promoting 
	  end-users' right to use their own personal modems and 
	  routers. Router Freedom is not a one-time achievement. As the 
	  regulations change, our work is continuous to defend this digital 
	  right. Our long-term engagement for Software Freedom is needed, 
	  and it makes a difference.
  </p><p>	  
	  2021 represented a milestone for the implementation of Router 
	  Freedom in Europe. We exerted great efforts to protect Router 
	  Freedom on the European level. We have been involved in 
	  legislative processes and implementation of technical rules  in 
	  diverse jurisdictions in the EU. Also, we provided to communities 
	  and individuals all necessary elements to engage in initiatives 
	  so that they can push the agenda on a political level.
  </p>
    <img src="media/e692699b.1cf36799352693a18b21c33db066c0fb.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/1cf36799352693a18b21c33db066c0fb.png"/>
    We have been promoting Router Freedom all over Europe. SFSCon, 2019. 
  <p>
	  This year demonstrated that although the regulatory framework 
	  remains fragmented in the EU, Router Freedom is emerging as a 
	  prospective reality. We empowered people to defend their right to 
	  use their own internet equipment all over Europe.
  </p><h3>Informing and empowering the public</h3><p>
	  In response to the EU reform of telecommunications law (EECC), we 
	  explained that <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2020/news-20200601-01.html">Router 
	  Freedom is fundamental for security and privacy</a> and 
	  summarized the current status in an <a href="media/bf4d5529.fsfe-router-freedom-activity-summary.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/routers/fsfe-router-freedom-activity-summary.pdf">Activity 
	  Summary</a>. Router Freedom is essential for fair competition in 
	  markets and sustainability by promoting compatibility among 
	  devices and the right to repair.
  </p><p>
	  In March 2021, when EU countries started to implement the telecom 
	  reform, we launched an <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210330-01.html">Engagement Package</a> so 
	  that anyone can organize supporting activities for Router 
	  Freedom. The included <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/CompulsoryRouters/">wiki 
	  page</a> helps the volunteers of the initiative identify 
	  interested people, collect information, and set up courses of 
	  action. To involve the maximum number of people, we promoted 
	  Router Freedom in several events, gave talks, and organised expert 
	  meetings with stakeholders all over Europe. Our demands have been 
	  shared by several groups in public consultations and official 
	  hearings.
  </p><h3>Pushing the Router Freedom demand in each country</h3>
	<a href="media/bf4d5529.fsfe-router-freedom-activity-summary.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/routers/fsfe-router-freedom-activity-summary.pdf">
    </a>
    Router Freedom is emerging as a reality in the EU. Photo credit: Tom, CC-BY-2.0. 
  <p>
	  We followed closely the positive developments in the <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210805-01.html">Netherlands</a>, 
	  which confirmed our demands for consumer rights. In June 2021, we 
	  talked with a representative of the <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210629-01.html">Finnish 
	  regulator</a>, who explained why Router Freedom is essential for 
	  net neutrality. Our coordinated activities in <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210505-01.html">Greece</a> 
	  in May 2021 supported that regulator's preliminary decision to 
	  secure Router freedom. We worked closely with consumer 
	  organisations, digital groups, and business representatives to promote and leverage the 
	  agenda, demanding clear rules for consumers, as in the beginning 
	  of the legislative process in <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210506-01.html">Austria</a>.
  </p><p>
	On another hand, we have monitored issues with implementations 
	which could harm Router Freedom. We raised our concerns when <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210505-01.html">Germany</a> 
	decided to step back from the positive experience the country has 
	built since 2016 by allowing the national regulator to determine a 
	regulatory framework against consumers. <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211027-01.html">Latvia</a> opened an extremely dangerous precedent by 
	allowing ISPs to determine by themselves technological issues to 
	prohibit the use of personal routers.
  </p><h3>Collecting Data</h3><p>
	  Router Freedom is undergoing a rapid development in Europe, so we 
	  created a <a href="https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/router-freedom-tracker_581123#4/53.12/18.37">monitoring 
	  map</a> to help everyone keep track of the Router Freedom status 
	  in their countries.
  </p>
    <img src="media/61704327.07dc0f987728eae33777eebd53e6cc0e.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/07dc0f987728eae33777eebd53e6cc0e.png"/>
    Monitoring map for Router Freedom
  <p>
	To understand better the issues end-users are facing with ISPs' 
	abusive commercial practices, we started a <a href="https://survey.fsfe.org/index.php/628449?lang=en">survey</a>. 
	With this research, which is unique in the EU, we aim to 
	gather data about end-user experience, so we can highlight the 
	issues to regulators and decision makers. Our survey is still open 
	and you are welcome to answer our questions.
  </p><h3>4. Promoting Free Software in international development cooperation</h3><p>
	  In December 2020, the FSFE published an <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/developmentcooperation/index.html">analysis</a> 
	  of the benefits of using Free Software in international 
	  development cooperation. In this increasingly digitised sector, 
	  Free Software is becoming an indispensable fundamental technology 
	  that guarantees legally compliant international cooperation and 
	  reuse. With Free Software, global scaling is possible, as well as 
	  local adaptability. New monopolies and dependencies are avoided, 
	  which is a major UN sustainability goal.
  </p>
    <img src="media/8793cced.954d4f464602dd534ab90dd976e2547c.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/954d4f464602dd534ab90dd976e2547c.png"/>
    Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations
  <h3>5. Preventing a Radio Lockdown</h3><p>
	  Since 2015, we have been monitoring the possible unpleasant 
	  effects of the European Radio Equipment Directive, for which we coined the term 
	  <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/radiodirective/">Radio Lockdown</a>. 
	  Although the FSFE has warned the European Commission multiple 
	  times of the disastrous consequences Article 3(3)(i) can have for 
	  users, organisations, and the whole communication equipment 
	  market, the regulators did not give in. However, in the past 12 
	  months the Commission did not propose any concrete draft 
	  regulations, so we are in limbo. The FSFE will continue to 
	  monitor the situation closely.
  </p><h3>6. Suggesting improvements to the German warning system</h3><p>
    Already in November 2020, the FSFE flagged that <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2020/news-20201112-01.html">Germany's warning system is 
	unstable and ineffective</a> and pointed out pragmatic improvements 
	that can guarantee that a warning message can reach every person 
	needed while respecting software freedom and privacy. 
	Unfortunately, our suggestions were not implemented in time: 
	the German warning system once again failed in July 2021 during a 
	number of heavy regional floodings, after which the FSFE <a href="https://www.thelocal.de/20210730/germany-knew-its-disaster-warning-system-wasnt-good-enough-why-wasnt-it-improved-2/">repeated</a> 
	that the more effective alternatives must be adopted as soon as 
	possible to prepare for the next serious events. The commentary 
	received several republications. 
	Since this wake-up call, it seems the responsible administrations 
	have been giving this crucial change the necessary attention and 
	traction.
  </p>
    <img src="media/2fb810dd.75f193238b2c1e38e36550a6ab20877a.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/75f193238b2c1e38e36550a6ab20877a.png"/>
    
		The FSFE points out pragmatic suggestions that can guarantee 
		that a warning message can reach every person needed while 
		respecting software freedom and privacy.
    
  <h3>7. Running electoral activities</h3><p>
	  Prior to the German elections we raised our <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210427-01.html">PMPC demand</a>, in line 
	  with our <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/elections/index.html">electoral 
	  activities</a>. During the final week before the German federal 
	  election we reached out to politicians asking their stance on 
	  Free Software. The FSFE and the Open Source Business Alliance conducted <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210920-01.html">interviews with 
	  representatives of all political parties with a prospect of government participation</a>. The 
	  videos are available in German. Also we released our <a href="https://digitalezivilgesellschaft.org/digitalvisionen/">vision 
	  for the upcoming decades and concrete demands for the next 
	  government</a> (DE) and analyzed the <a href="https://digitalezivilgesellschaft.org/wahlpruefsteine/oeffentliches-gut/">elections 
	  programs</a> (DE) of the parties.
  </p>
    <img src="media/97d50978.994b1d8750b7469aa8d7ffaa51b621b9.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/994b1d8750b7469aa8d7ffaa51b621b9.png"/>
    Interview with Manuel Höferlin, MdB, FDP Chairman, Digital Agenda Committee. October 2021.
  <h2>Legal support</h2><h3>1. Launching REUSE Booster</h3><p>
	 REUSE has facilitated the licensing of Free Software projects. 
	 Developers are given standardised ways to mark all files in a 
	 project with their chosen license and copyright notice. A 
	 tutorial, a set of FAQs, a helper tool, and an API have been made 
	 available to lower the threshold and save time.
  </p>
	<img src="media/dead22c4.0027eafb7bb2fdb1ec479675c1070ae2.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/0027eafb7bb2fdb1ec479675c1070ae2.png"/>
  <p>
	With <a href="https://reuse.software/booster/">REUSE Booster</a>, 
	launched in 2021, the FSFE takes this initiative one step further. 
	This progress was possible thanks to the support the FSFE has 
	received, which enables the implementation of long-term activities. 
	REUSE Booster enables Free Software projects to seek tailored 
	support by our legal experts. As the name suggests, this will boost 
	the process of adopting the best practices as well as general 
	understanding of licensing and copyright. Each project is evaluated 
	individually and the recommendations apply to its particular 
	situation.
  </p><p>
	  Max Mehl joined a <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-11.html">podcast</a> episode to 
	  present REUSE Booster and talk about the recent developments of 
	  the whole initiative. For example, REUSE was adopted by the KDE 
	  community as the standard best practice to communicate all 
	  projects' licensing and copyright situation. To learn how a large 
	  community like KDE managed this step, we interviewed <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2020/news-20201215-01.html">Andreas 
	  Cord-Landwehr</a>, long-term developer at KDE, to discuss this 
	  implementation.
  </p><h3>2. Celebrating win in landmark court case initiated by Luca Bonissi</h3><p>
	  On March 2021, FSFE supporter Luca Bonissi <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210302-01.html">won a 
	  court case he initiated against Lenovo</a>. Ιn a historic judgment in Italy, 
	  Lenovo was 
	  ordered to pay 20,000 euros in damages for abusive behaviour in 
	  refusing to refund the price of a pre-installed Windows licence. 
	  In a motivating gesture for the Free Software cause, Luca donated 
	  15,000 euros to the FSFE. 
  </p>
	<img src="media/babbd56e.dd3557bac3956a64521d172e32569377.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/dd3557bac3956a64521d172e32569377.jpg"/>
	"The Monza decision demonstrated that is possible to 
	reverse the unacceptable behaviour of big techs. What was taken 
	away from the Free Software community has now been returned to it. 
	I encourage everyone to fight back for their legitimate rights!" -- 
	Luca Bonissi.
  <h3>3. Organising the Legal and Licensing Workshop</h3><p>
	  In 2021, we organised and supported the first online edition of the 
	  <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/ln/llw.html">Legal and 
	  Licensing Workshop</a>. The FSFE's Free Software Legal 
	  and Licensing Workshop (LLW) has been held annually for the <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/ln/llw.html">FSFE's Legal Network</a> 
	  since 2008, and serves as a conference for <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/ln/ln.html">legal experts</a> in the field 
	  of Free Software to debate over issues and share best practices 
	  surrounding Free Software licenses. Instead of a physical one-time 
	  conference, this year, from March to July, LLW offered online 
	  presentations, discussion panels, and workshops continuously.
  </p>                       
    <img src="media/e941cc05.0418b6e4006c22d87b08165ce16d6621.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/0418b6e4006c22d87b08165ce16d6621.png"/>                       
	Miriam Ballhausem has been kindly involved in 
	organising the LLW. Don't miss her <a href="news/podcast/episode-6.fr.html">podcast on copyright 
	enforcement</a>!       
  <p>
	   Discussions ranged from the recently concluded Google v. Oracle 
	   <a href="media/653eed9b.18-956_d18f.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/18-956_d18f.pdf">case</a> 
	   in the US Supreme Court to legal considerations of Open 
	   Hardware. The LLW provided workshops on improving the quality of 
	   Free Software licensing information, including those specific to 
	   copyleft licenses. As with all online discussions of the Legal 
	   Network and its associated events, the <a href="https://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/chatham-house-rule">Chatham 
	   House Rule</a> applied to this year's edition of the LLW. 
	   Next year we plan to organise LLW again as a physical meeting to 
	   continue building a robust Free Software legal community.
  </p><h3>4. Assisting projects in Next Generation Internet Initiative</h3>                       
   <img src="media/29bfc05a.0beb7b64a605d2c6b3132ff31baeac96.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/0beb7b64a605d2c6b3132ff31baeac96.png"/>                       
   Free Software is key for the future of the Next Generation Internet.       
  <p>
	2021 marks the 3rd and final year of FSFE's involvement in the 
	European Commission's Next Generation Internet Zero Initiative. Our 
	work <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210504-01.html">has been 
	praised</a>  by the European Commission and the projects which we 
	have been working with.  The FSFE has been a partner organisation 
	of <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/ngi/index.html">Next Generation Internet 
	Zero (NGI0)</a>.
  </p>
    <p>
	  “Our Free Software developer needs were understood and met with 
	  minimal frictions. With audits, this NGI0 support went further 
	  than just allowing us to spend more time working on the project, 
	  they taught us how to improve it. The FSFE REUSE team even 
	  contributed actual code with a regular merge-request, in a 
	  perfect illustration of ‘them’ teaming up with us!”
    </p>
    <p>
	  Simon Descarpentires, <a href="https://www.meta-press.es/">Meta-Press.es Project</a>
    </p>
  <h3>Supporting Free Software Developers Through NGI0</h3><p>
	  The FSFE  provided guidance on how to communicate the components, 
	  licences, and copyrights associated with software packages. We 
	  assisted software projects with their legal and licensing needs, 
	  and convinced them to adopt our REUSE standards as best practices 
	  for displaying licensing and copyright information.
  </p><p>
	 We have guided over 100 NGI0 software projects to implement the 
	 REUSE standards on their workflow. This has included working 
	 directly with their repositories to better improve how the 
	 licensing and copyright information contained in their 
	 repositories is displayed, so that any adopters of their work in 
	 the future can more easily comply with these licence and 
	 copyright obligations.
  </p>
	<p>
	  "Regarding REUSE, we have learnt a lot. We realise that the 
	  idea behind REUSE is simple, clear, and powerful. Nowadays, 
	  Free Software projects become more and more complicated, and 
	  many components/files of a single project have different 
	  license/copyright information. REUSE helps a lot on tracking 
	  the status of this information in our project.”
	</p>
	<p>
		Xianjun Jiao, <a href="https://github.com/JiaoXianjun/openwifi">OpenWifi 
		Project</a>
	</p>
  <h3>Making Copyright and Licensing Easier for Everyone</h3><p>
	  Together with another NGI0 partner organisation, the <a href="https://www.ifross.org/">Institute for Legal Issues 
	  regarding Free and Open Source Software, or ifrOSS</a>, we have 
	  included in our website a set of educational FAQs about Free 
	  Software legal and licensing issues. These <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/legal/faq.html">FAQs</a> tackle topics 
	  useful to any Free Software developer, such as the <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/legal/faq.html#copyright">basics of 
	  copyright</a>, <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/legal/faq.html#license">licensing issues 
	  with Free Software</a>, and issues with <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/legal/faq.html#compatibility">licence 
	  compatibility</a>. In total, we have created <a href="https://download.fsfe.org/NGI0/V2/">eight educational PDF 
	  documents</a> that explain these topics more, in greater depth.
  </p>
    <p>
	  "Being involved in NGI0 has been a nurturing experience. On one 
	  hand, it has been very interesting to work closely with and 
	  learn from projects that are reshaping the future of the 
	  internet. On the other, being part of the FSFE team has 
	  provided me with the necessary technical and legal skills to 
	  feel comfortable to contribute directly to projects' 
	  repositories through merge-requests; a task that was completely 
	  new for me in the beginning. All the positive feedback from 
	  these projects only encourages me to keep up the good 
	  work.”</p>
	<p>
	  Lina Ceballos, FSFE Legal Trainee at the time, meanwhile FSFE project manager</p>
  <h3>5. Answering licensing questions</h3>                       
   <img src="media/d0ad676e.f1bdc9b8f6624096d659036a7d6a5589.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/f1bdc9b8f6624096d659036a7d6a5589.png"/>                       
   Till Jaeger is one of the kind expert volunteers of the License Questions team. Don't miss his <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-12.html">podcast on GPL enforcement</a>!       
  <p>
	  The FSFE runs a group for <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/licence-questions/licence-questions.html">License 
	  Questions</a>, composed of several volunteer legal experts from 
	  around Europe who continuously help projects and individuals 
	  with topics concerning Free Software licensing. In 2021 the 
	  department was busy dealing with inquiries related to licence 
	  violations, contribution policy, relicensing and even the NASA 
	  license over photos, video, and content.
  </p><h2>Public awareness</h2><h3>1. Co-organising FOSDEM Legal and Policy devroom</h3><p>
	  On February 2021, the FSFE participated in <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210311-01.html">FOSDEM</a>. This year it 
	  took place online, and according to the main FOSDEM organisers it 
	  had a peak of 33,600 attendees. Also, the FSFE co-organised the 
	  Legal and Policy Devroom for the first time. 
  </p><p>
	  In the Legal and Policy Devroom we aimed to cover the most 
	  crucial current issues, such as the proprietary software 
	  monopolies which were formed within the rapid digitization after 
	  the outbreak of the pandemic. This issue was also related to the 
	  intentional <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2020/news-20200330-01.html">misuse of 
	  the term Free Software</a> for marketing purposes. The 
	  panels covered three ongoing EU policies, the <a href="https://fosdem.org/2021/schedule/event/ecoss/"> 'Open Source 
	  strategy'</a>, the <a href="https://fosdem.org/2021/schedule/event/digitalmarketsact/">Digital 
	  Markets Act</a>, and the regulations connected to <a href="https://fosdem.org/2021/schedule/event/netneutrality/">Router 
	  Freedom</a>.
  </p>
	<img src="media/d87d7eb7.92c64a86637e832242d90b8622cde894.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/92c64a86637e832242d90b8622cde894.png"/> 
	
		The organizers of the Legal and Policy DevRoom for FOSDEM 2021 discuss together the issues they have seen over the last year in FOSS.
	
  <h3>2. Publishing podcast episodes</h3><p>
	  In addition to our regular news stories and monthly newsletter, 
	  the FSFE regularly publishes the Software Freedom Podcast. We 
	  talk once a month with people deeply involved in software freedom. Podcasts facilitate community building around 
	  Free Software. In 2021 we created five new episodes: <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-12.html"> "Enforcement of the 
	  GNU GPL" with Till Jaeger</a>, <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-11.html">"REUSE Booster and our 
	  update on REUSE" with Max Mehl</a>, <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-10.html">"How to support Free 
	  Software and a sustainable digital infrastructure" with 
	  Elisa Lindinger</a>, <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-9.html">"I love Free 
	  Software"</a>, and <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-8.html">"How to tell my mother 
	  that Free Software can cost money?"</a>.
  </p><h3>3. Thanking creators behind Free Software</h3><p>
	  Free Software often benefits from the generous work of individuals 
	  who work to develop and maintain Free Software 
	  projects. By making software available to everyone, they help us 
	  chat with our friends in privacy, share our notes, save our 
	  passwords -- you name it! Their valuable contributions should not 
	  go unnoticed. In the FSFE we celebrate 'I Love Free Software 
	  Day ' every 14 February thanking creators of Free Software 
	  and we invite others to join us in doing so. Our <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210317-01.html">I Love Free Software Day 
	  2021</a> received a lot of attention. We counted 411 tweets on 
	  Twitter and 210 toots in the Fediverse using the hashtag 
	  #ilovefs. People from all over the world joined I Love Free 
	  Software Day via social media and tweeted and tooted from at 
	  least 328 different places.
  </p>
	<img src="media/cd0e2ab1.09c38ab455a853df90a04bc166064f53.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/09c38ab455a853df90a04bc166064f53.png"/>
	In the FSFE we celebrate I Love Free Software 
	  Day every 14 February thanking creators of Free Software 
	  and we invite others to do so.
  <h3>4. Participating in SFSCon</h3><p>
	The South Tyrol Free Software Conference, SFSCon, is "one of 
	Europe’s most established annual conferences on Free Software". In 
	recent years we have been represented with talks, workshops and our 
	information booth. In November 2020, the FSFE organised several <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2020/news-20201019-01.html">talks</a> in which legal 
	issues and current political developments were analysed. The FSFE 
	will also participate in <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202110.html">SFSCon 
	2021 </a>with several talks, and we will organise a sustainability 
	track. If you cannot attend, you can follow our track online this year.
  </p><h2>The FSFE community</h2><h3>Educational activity by Local Group Zurich receives award</h3><p>
	  On December 2020, our Local Group Zurich members <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2020/news-20201211-01.html">received a DINAcon 
	  award</a> and we interviewed them. The local FSFE group created a 
	  website called "<a href="https://lernenwiedieprofis.ch">Learning like a 
	  pro</a>" (original German: "Lernen wie die 
	  Profis") which they use to explain why Free Software matters 
	  in education. It proceeds describing individual Free Software 
	  solutions and how these solutions in particular can be used to 
	  make school learning efficient and easy.
  </p>
    
	  
	
	
	  Ralf Hersel, Coordinator of the FSFE local group Zürich, accepting the DINACon Special Award 2020. (in German)
	
  <h3>FSFE Women group formed in 2021</h3><p>
	  In 2021, the <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Teams/Women">FSFE 
	  Women</a> group was created to help women and everyone who 
	  identifies as female build connections with each other while 
	  discussing technological issues. Starting out as a 
	  German-speaking group, the FSFE Women turned to English in May to 
	  welcome new members from around Europe. FSFE Women meets every 
	  month online and covers aspects related to Free Software. In June 
	  2021, Irmhild Rogalla gave a talk about the accessibility of 
	  video conferencing tools, supporting a conferencing platform for 
	  all. In July 2021, Bonnie Mehring presented 'Public Money? Public 
	  Code!' in relation to the German elections. In August 2021, Loria 
	  presented how maps are created in a 2D workadventu.re world. <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Teams/Women">FSFE Women</a> is open 
	  to everyone who identifies as female; it gladly welcomes new 
	  members.
  </p><h3>There is nothing that System Hackers cannot fix</h3><p>
	The fact that you can read this report is also thanks to our 
	volunteers who call themselves System Hackers. <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Teams/System-Hackers">This group</a> is 
	responsible for the development and maintenance of the FSFE's 
	technical infrastructure: servers, connectivity, virtual machines, 
	DNS, services, backups; a hundred of things can break in between, 
	but they keep it running. In 2021, there have too many exciting 
	changes to list them here, which is why they will write an article about 
	their activities within the next weeks.
  </p><h3>Translators remove language barriers</h3><p>
	  The FSFE Translators team <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211011-01.html">removes language 
	  barriers</a> for Software Freedom. During the past year the team 
	  has worked tirelessly on creating new translations and improving 
	  old ones. Since November 2020, the translators team has created 
	  376 new translations. Most of them are in Italian (189), followed 
	  by Dutch with 79 new translations. The translators team has also 
	  worked on improving the translation processes. 
  </p>
	<img src="media/98fc45de.faae0f4b83a6227b5021900843bfe39b.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/faae0f4b83a6227b5021900843bfe39b.png"/>
	Since November 2020, the translators team has created 376 new translations.
  <h3>Staffers run day-to-day activities of the FSFE</h3><p> 
	  Besides its dedicated volunteers, the FSFE also relies on its 
	  employees for its daily operations. At the FSFE we currently have 7 people working full-time, 5 working part-time, and 2 interns. 
  </p><p>
	In 2021 we welcomed 6 new staffers. Since November 2020, Linda Wagener completes 
	bookkeeping and accounting tasks, offering a helping hand when 
	needed. Lina Ceballos completed her internship in the FSFE last year, 
	and she has now joined our permanent 
	team. Lina is a Project Manager focusing on PMPC, REUSE, and Router 
	Freedom. Also, she helps the FSFE to reach our Spanish-language audience.
  </p><p>	
	Linus Sehn is our new System Administrator; he makes sure our 
	systems run smoothly and solves any problems that come up. Since 
	May 2021, Fani Partsafyllidou has been our new Project Manager and 
	Newsletter Editor, supporting the implementation of Youth Hacking 4 
	Freedom, 20 Years FSFE, and Upcycling Android. Fani makes sure that 
	the work of the FSFE is accurately communicated to our community. 
	</p><p>
	In September 2021, Marlene Kietreiber joined our team and brings 
	the magic of graphic design to the FSFE. At the same time, 
	Niharika Singhal joined our Legal team as an intern. Would you like to join our team? We are always interested in <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/jobs/internship.html">internship applications</a>.
  </p><h3>The General Assembly guides the progress of the FSFE</h3><p>
	The FSFE is governed by its formal members, the <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/team.html#general-assembly">"General 
	Assembly"</a>, who are responsible for planning, budgeting, 
	and setting the agenda, as well as electing the Executive Council 
	which currently consists of the FSFE's President Matthias 
	Kirschner, Vice-President Heiki Löhmus, and Financial Officer 
	Patrick Ohnewein.
  </p><p>
	The FSFE complies with the guidelines set out in <a href="https://www.transparency.de/Initiative-Transparente-Zivilg.1612.0.html">“transparent 
	civil society” by Transparency International Germany</a> with <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/transparency-commitment.html">our transparency 
	commitment</a>. Besides our constitution and minutes from our 
	general assemblies, you will find information in our general 
	reports, name and functions of decision makers and staff, our 
	connections with other organisations, <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/funds/funds.html">how we use our money</a>, and <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus.html">who our donors are</a>.
  </p><h3>Spreading the word</h3><p>
	  We offer gratis <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword">information 
	  packages</a>, so that people can raise awareness about software 
	  freedom in their communities. From 1 November 2020 until now we 
	  have sent 263 information packages. Thank you to all of you who 
	  spread the news and help us to reach more people about Free 
	  Software. The FSFE <a href="https://fsfe.org/order/">T-shirt collection</a> is 
	  beloved; we have sold 700 T-shirts since 1 November 2020. Also, 
	  we introduced two new products to celebrate 20 Years of the FSFE: 
	  a bag, which you can see below, and a sticker.
  </p>
	<img src="media/7c4ffa60.50909cb78d5fe1b599b4f00e719abfd8.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/50909cb78d5fe1b599b4f00e719abfd8.jpg"/>
	FSFE since 2001 bag
  <h2>Join our movement</h2><p>
	  In the last few years, we exceeded ten thousand people from 
	  Europe and beyond who are supporting our cause by <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword">spreading our word</a>, signing 
	  our open letters, subscribing to our <a href="https://fsfe.org/contact/email-updates.html">community mails</a> and <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/newsletter.html">newsletter</a>, or joining our <a href="https://lists.fsfe.org/mailman/listinfo/discussion">public 
	  discussions</a>. If you ever wondered who all these people are 
	  and what a FSFE supporter looks like, we have created a dedicated 
	  <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/people/testimonials">testimonials page</a> for 
	  you, where several of our supporters have left a quote, an 
	  interview, or a video.
  </p><p>
	  <strong>The FSFE would be nothing without our contributors. And 
	  it would be so much more with you!</strong> If you feel inspired 
	  after reading our report, there are many ways to engage in our 
	  movement. We have a dedicated <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute">contribution 
	  page</a> to help you find a way that best fits your interests and 
	  skills.
  </p><p>
	One of the easiest entrance levels is to spread the word about Free 
	Software in public or among your friends with our <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword">promotion material</a> or directly 
	show your love for Free Software by wearing <a href="https://fsfe.org/order/index.html">some of our inspiring merchandise 
	items</a>. Follow and share our <a href="https://fsfe.org/events/events.html">event 
	announcements</a>, find an event that fits your interests, and then 
	go there to meet like-minded people. Don't be shy; most of us 
	have been in your position once.
  </p><p>
	  If you find no event near you, you can also join us online. If 
	  you want to contribute with your <a href="https://fsfe.org/contribute/web/web.html">IT skills</a> or your <a href="https://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 <a href="https://community.fsfe.org/">our discourse-instance</a> and 
	  start to get to know our community and get inspired about what 
	  you can do.
  </p><p>
	<strong>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 European software 
	freedom a little more each day, step by step, bit by bit.</strong>
  </p><h2>Looking forward to 2022</h2><p>
	In 2022, the FSFE will continue its activities while undertaking 
	new ones. The following paragraphs are not an exhaustive account of 
	our future activities, but a glimpse of what is coming up.
  </p><p>
	In 2022 we are going to monitor the implementation of our PMPC 
	demands, protect Router Freedom in countries where the respective 
	legislation is coming up, and advocate to prevent a Radio Lockdown. 
	We plan to have a physical Legal and Licensing Workshop 2022 in 
	Gothenburg, Sweden, and will continuously evaluate the current 
	conditions there to ensure the safety of all participants. We are 
	currently preparing two exciting projects for the next year, Youth 
	Hacking 4 Freedom and Upcycling Android.
  </p><p>
	 <a href="https://yh4f.org">Youth Hacking 4 Freedom</a> is a coding competition to inspire young 
	 people to Software Freedom. It is open to teenagers 14-18 
	 from around Europe. Participants will compete in Youth Hacking for 
	 Freedom by creating programs of their choice licensed as Free 
	 Software. This hacking competition is a great opportunity for 
	 young people to receive inspiration and to network with important 
	 people of the field. For the winners, the cash prize might turn 
	 into an investment for their own project. 
  </p>
	<img src="media/91e4aa16.8bd7f4e70ea6a8d1cc2dca7a7581fe4b.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/8bd7f4e70ea6a8d1cc2dca7a7581fe4b.png"/>
	Looking forward to the Youth Hacking 4 Freedom project
  <p>	
	Upcycling Android will be a campaign with a web presence and 
	practical workshops to overcome software obsolescence on Android by 
	installing Free Software. It will aim to achieve users' freedom and 
	care for the environment at the same time. 
  </p><p>
     Overall, the next year 
	of the FSFE is exciting and promising as we plan to reach out to a 
	younger audience and to highlight the importance of software 
	sustainability. If you are interested in following our future projects 
	make sure you <a href="https://fsfe.org/contact/email-updates.html">subscribe</a> to our mail updates.
  </p><h2>About the FSFE</h2><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> 
	  Thanks to the trust of our supporters, the FSFE counts 20 years 
	  of promoting software freedom in Europe. Our stable presence in 
	  this field enables us to succeed in lengthy endeavours for 
	  software freedom, and to be ready at all times to respond to 
	  related developments. We are grateful for the trust of our 
	  supporters, and we will keep on empowering people to control 
	  technology.
  </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: nl-202111
uri: Recyclage-des-logiciels-Traducteurs-de-la-FSFE-La-Liberté-des
url: https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202111.fr.html
title:
Recyclage des logiciels +++ Traducteurs de la FSFE +++ La Liberté des Routeurs en danger en Lettonie

content:
<h1>Recyclage des logiciels +++ Traducteurs de la FSFE +++ La Liberté des Routeurs en danger en Lettonie</h1><p>
    Dans notre infolettre de novembre, apprenez pourquoi la neutralité des appareils et le recyclage des logiciels sont essentiels pour rendre la (ré)utilisation de notre matériel plus efficace en fonction des ressources. Lisez des informations sur le rôle clé que les traducteurs jouent dans la FSFE et sur la perte de la Liberté des Routeurs en Lettonie. Regardez une nouvelle vidéo sur les valeurs fondamentales des Logiciels Libres, et suivez nos évènements communautaires.
  </p><h2>Les Logiciels Libres aident à étendre la durée de vie des matériels</h2><p>
    Dans l'Union européenne, nous voyons actuellement un désir fort de mettre le passage au numérique plus durable, avec la Commission européenne qui cherche à rendre les cycles des produits plus efficaces en fonction des ressources ainsi que les méthodes économiques circulaires applicables. Les appareils technologiques doivent être conçus de sorte à durer le plus longtemps. L’initiative Circular Electronics reconnait qu'un problème commun est que les fabricants cessent constamment de mettre à jour les logiciels d'un appareil, ce qui pousse l'utilisateur de l'appareil à s'en acheter un nouveau. Une solution qui gagne du terrain dans l'initiative Circular Electronics est que les fabricants de smartphones et de tablettes doivent fournir des mises à jour de sécurité pendant cinq ans et des mises à jour de fonctionnalités pendant trois ans, gratuitement.
  </p>
      <img src="media/a2ad2a50.6101b685d12ecfdc41b57213e295749a.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/6101b685d12ecfdc41b57213e295749a.jpg"/>
  <p>
    Dans une étude approfondie, la FSFE <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211015-01.html">explique</a> que la publication du code source après la fin du support est un moyen plus efficace d'étendre la durée de vie des appareils, plus que se fier au support étendu des fabricants. Si les fabricants publient le code source sous-jacent à un appareil sous une licence de Logiciels Libres à la fin du support, les logiciels de l'appareil peuvent être modifiés. De cette manière, l'appareil peut continuer d'être utilisé et son matériel a une seconde vie. La réutilisation des logiciels peut aider à diriger la numérisation européenne d'un marché de production linéaire vers des appareils électroniques circulaires. Nous demandons une véritable ouverture de la réutilisation circulaire de l'électronique par l'activation du recyclage des logiciels. Pour un changement critique, durable et viable dans l'extension de la durée de vie de l'utilisation de notre matériel cependant, les produits <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#id-device-neutrality">doivent être conçus avec la neutralité de l'appareil à l'esprit dès le départ</a>.
  </p><h2>Le rôle clé des traducteurs</h2><p>
    <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211011-01.html">Les traducteurs donnent aux gens le moyen</a> d'en savoir plus sur les Logiciels Libres dans une variété de langues. Depuis la fondation de l'organisation en 2001, l'équipe de traduction a été une partie intégrante de la FSFE. Aujourd'hui, nous avons plus de 280 membres sur la liste de diffusion des traductions, qui nous aident dans leur temps libre à traduire pour la liberté des logiciels. Nous avons 40 langues représentées sur notre page d'accueil, avec presque 7 000 traductions.
  </p>
      <img src="media/98fc45de.faae0f4b83a6227b5021900843bfe39b.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/faae0f4b83a6227b5021900843bfe39b.png"/>
  <p>
    « J'adore traduire les textes sur les Logiciels Libres principalement parce que j'adore les Logiciels Libres et je veux que toutes les personnes italiennes puissent facilement avoir connaissance des intérêts des Logiciels Libres dans leur langue. De plus, puisque le processus de traduction implique généralement plusieurs personnes, j'en apprends aussi plus sur l'anglais et l'italien ! » a dit Luca Bonissi, Coordinateur adjoint des traducteurs.
  </p><h2>La régulation en Lettonie élimine la Liberté des Routeurs</h2><p>
    <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211027-01.html">La Lettonie a créé un précédent dangereux contre les droits des utilisateurs finaux</a> en autorisant les fournisseurs d'accès à Internet (FAI) à restreindre l'utilisation de routeurs et modems personnels, en se fondant sur les « nécessités technologiques ». Lorsque l'Agence de régulation lettone (SPRK) a demandé des commentaires publics sur la régulation, la FSFE a partagé ses préoccupations et s'est engagée avec le régulateur. En mai 2021, nous avons soumis une <a href="media/a9efd752.fsfe20latvia20ntp20consulation.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/routers/fsfe%20latvia%20ntp%20consulation.pdf">consultation</a> expliquant à la SPRK que son approche limite la Liberté des Routeurs et serait en désaccord avec les lois européennes. Malheureusement, le régulateur a décidé de conserver sa position.
  </p><p>
    Les FAI peuvent maintenant renier aux personnes le droit d'utiliser un routeur ou modem personnel en Lettonie, au prétexte de problèmes techniques. S'ils le font, ils doivent justifier sur leurs sites web respectifs pourquoi ils restreignent la Liberté des Routeurs. Même ainsi, la SPRK a refusé la possibilité d'évaluer ces réclamations des FAI, qui pourront avoir le dernier mot sur les nécessités réclamées. En plus d'entraver les droits des consommateurs, la situation lettone crée une friction non nécessaire pour un cadre de travail fonctionnel et harmonisé sur le marché des équipements terminaux, affectant négativement les fabricants et vendeurs de routeurs européens.
  </p><p>
   Aucun autre pays de l'UE a identifié de telles nécessités technologiques jusqu'à présent. Nous encourageons, par conséquent, le consommateur letton à rapporter les pratiques des FAI dans notre <a href="https://survey.fsfe.org/index.php/628449?lang=en">enquête</a>, de sorte que nous puissions obtenir des données et apporter cela à l'attention du BEREC et de la Commission européenne pour défendre les droits des utilisateurs finaux.
  </p><p>Cette année, la FSFE célèbre son 20e anniversaire. <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=nl">Soutenez notre traivail pour les 20 années à venir</a></p><h2>Nouvelle vidéo sur les valeurs des Logiciels Libres</h2><p>
    Pour l'anniversaire de nos 20 ans cette année, nous avons livré notre nouvelle vidéo sur les valeurs de la liberté des logiciels. Vous pouvez regarder la vidéo de trois minutes sur notre nouvelle instance de Peertube hébergée par nous-mêmes en <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/eh5oAFR9VNwqPzUtBzm8sb">anglais</a> et en <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/ppsx3FMVyYyDtjxa6f4WX4">allemand</a>. Elle est sous licence Creative Commons BY Share-Alike, ainsi vous pouvez la partager avec les autres ou l'inclure dans vos sites internet afin d'expliquer les Logiciels Libres à une audience plus large.
  </p>
      <img src="media/81bbc6a8.158289ca99c36fa2fc73ed51401fdd7d.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/158289ca99c36fa2fc73ed51401fdd7d.png"/>
  <p>
    Vous pouvez également vous inscrire sur <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/">notre nouvelle instance Peertube</a>, afin de ne pas manquer nos vidéos à venir.
  </p><h2>Argent public ? Code public ! Maintenant en japonais</h2><p>
    Le code payé par le peuple doit être accessible par le peuple ! Cette demande a été formulée dans de nombreuses langues, et maintenant elle est également formulée en <a href="https://publiccode.eu/ja/">japonais</a>. Après être devenue de plus en plus populaire, l'initiative de la FSFE « Public Money? Public Code! » (PMPC) a bénéficié de traductions en japonais de son site web et sa vidéo. <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/oiUmbjjiQKudwpWouPXEy1">La vidéo</a> a été réalisée par la même équipe qui a créé la vidéo précédemment citée à propos des valeurs fondamentales de la liberté des logiciels.
  </p><p>
    Maintenant, avec les traductions en japonais, la vidéo PMPC est disponible en 10 langues : allemand, anglais, espagnol, français, italien, néerlandais, portugais, russe, suédois, et japonais.
  </p><h2>Évènements à venir</h2><ul>
  <li>
    Le samedi 11 décembre, heure à confirmer, Lina Ceballos, gestionnaire de projet de la FSFE, participera à la <a href="https://www.gnuhealthcon.org/2021/">GNUHealthCon2021</a>. Lina jettera un œil au rôle que les Logiciels Libres ont joué dans la dernière crise et comment ils peuvent aider à vaincre les crises futures, en pointant le principe « Argent public ? Code public ! » et le rôle que les gouvernements, personnalités publiques et administrations ont là-dedans. » Plus d'informations seront partagées sur notre site web bientôt.
  </li>
  <li>
    Le lundi 13 décembre à 19 h (CEST), la réunion mensuelle de la <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Bonn">communauté FSFE de Bonn</a> aura lieu. Les réunions communautaires de la FSFE à Bonn sont des réunions régulières qui ont lieu chaque deuxième lundi du mois pour les soutiens de la FSFE ou en général les personnes intéressées par les Logiciels Libres.
  </li>
  <li>
    Le lundi 13 décembre à 18 h CET, Lina Ceballos, gestionnaire de projet de la FSFE, hébergera l'évènement de lancement de notre brochure « Argent public ? Code public ! » récemment traduite en espagnol. Nous discuterons de la situation actuelle et des défis futurs pour la liberté des logiciels en Espagne. Nous compterons sur la participation de Pica Pica Hacklab, GNUHealth, KDE et d'autres. Cet évènement sera conduit en espagnol. Plus d'informations seront partagées sur notre site web bientôt.
  </li>
</ul><h2>Évènements passés</h2>
    <img src="media/bf512acc.869c139132388ad63d5d6b191454b874.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/869c139132388ad63d5d6b191454b874.png"/>
    
      Le 6 novembre, la FSFE a organisé le <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211008-01.html">Legal Education Day</a> (jour d'éducation juridique). De gauche à droite : Lina Ceballos, Gabriel  Ku, Lucas Lasota, Niharika Singhal, ont fait partie des orateurs.
    
  <ul>
  <li>
    Le 20 octobre, la FSFE des Pays-Bas a eu sa <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/Netherlands/2021-10-20">réunion en ligne</a>. Sur la formation d'un nouveau gouvernement néerlandais,
    l'équipe FSFE des Pays-Bas a débattu des moyens de diffuser la demande « Argent public ? Code public ! ». Une discussion sur d’autres sujets d'actualité a suivi, tel que la nouvelle que la Belgique offre un nouveau porte-feuille numérique à ses citoyens.
  </li>
  <li>
    Le 20 octobre, Lucas Lasota, coordinateur juridique adjoint, a organisé à l'université Humboldt de Berlin un <a href="https://box.hu-berlin.de/f/ebbcc214ceeb4b2e978c/">séminaire d'hiver sur la loi des logiciels</a>, incluant des éléments de licence de logiciel, de droit de reproduction et de droit des contrats.
  </li>
  <li>
    Le 28 octobre, le Berlin Fellowship Group a tenu sa <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/Berlin/2021-10-28">réunion</a> habituelle (en ligne).
  </li>
  <li>
    Le 6 novembre, la FSFE a organisé le <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211008-01.html">Legal Education Day</a> (jour d'éducation juridique). Cela s'est présenté comme une session sur les bases du droit de reproduction (copyright) et d'une introduction au concept de gauche de reproduction (copyleft). Des sujets utiles pour les développeurs de logiciels ont suivi, comme la compatibilité de licences, les marques déposées, et les conteneurs. Notre objectif est d'aider les développeurs de Logiciels Libres à comprendre ces sujets légaux de sorte que leurs projets de logiciels puissent atteindre leur plein potentiel.
  </li>
  <li>
    Les 12 et 13 novembre, la FSFE a participé à la SFSCon en organisant une session sur la durabilité et en fournissant trois discussions. Erik Albers, gestionnaire de programme, a défini <a href="https://www.sfscon.it/talks/4-directives-for-a-sustainable-digital-society/">4 principes pour une société numérique durable</a> ; Max Mehl, gestionnaire de programme, a présenté REUSE comme le <a href="https://www.sfscon.it/talks/reuse/">standard d'or pour les licences de Logiciels Libres</a> ; Lucas Lasota, gestionnaire de projet, a montré quels efforts nous faisons pour <a href="https://www.sfscon.it/talks/protecting-router-freedom-within-the-eu-reform-of-telecom-law/">protéger la Liberté des Routeurs avec la réforme des télécommunications de l'UE</a> ; et Alexander Sander, consultant politique, a présenté <a href="https://www.sfscon.it/talks/public-money-public-code-during-corona/">Argent public ? Code public ! pendant la pandémie</a>. En plus de cela, nous avons tenu un atelier de flashage de téléphone. Plus sur ce sujet dans nos prochaines publications.
  </li>
</ul><h2>Activez-vous</h2><p>
    Aidez-nous à traduire la nouvelle vidéo sur les valeurs fondamentales des Logiciels Libres dans plus de langues, comme nous l'avons fait avec la vidéo PMPC. Le coût d'une traduction professionnelle est de 850 euros, incluant l'édition du script, un orateur professionnel externe, et des couts de studio potentiels.
  </p><p>
    Nous voulons offrir notre nouvelle vidéo dans beaucoup d'autres langues pour aider les gens à comprendre pourquoi il est important pour la société que les logiciels fournissent les libertés d'être utilisés, étudiés, partagés et améliorés. Cette demande nous concerne tous en tant qu'utilisateurs de la technologie, peu importe la langue que nous parlons. Vous pouvez soutenir notre effort de traduction comme nos autres travaux pour les Logiciels Libres en <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate?">devenant un soutien</a>.
  </p><h2>Contribuer à notre infolettre</h2><p>
    Si vous voulez partager des pensées, images ou actualités, veuillez nous les envoyer. Comme toujours, l'adresse est newsletter@fsfe.org. Nous avons hâte de vous entendre ! Si vous voulez aussi nous soutenir et soutenir notre travail, rejoignez notre communauté et soutenez-nous avec un don ou une <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=newsletter">contribution mensuelle</a>. Merci à notre communauté et à tous les volontaires, soutiens et donateurs qui rendent notre travail possible. Et merci à nos traducteurs, qui vous permettent de lire cette infolettre dans votre langue maternelle.
  </p><p>Votre éditeur, Fani Partsafyllidou</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211118-01
title: Dutch government formation: open letter on Free Software and Public Money? Public Code!
uri: Dutch-government-formation-open-letter-on-Free-Software-and-Public-Mo
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211118-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Dutch government formation: open letter on Free Software and Public Money? Public Code!</h1><p>The Dutch government is about to form itself and setting up goals for
the next term. With an open letter, the FSFE urges the coalition parties to
implement the "open, unless" policy of 2020 and thus the principle of
Public Money? Public Code!</p><p>
Free Software gives everybody the right to use, study, share, and improve
software. This right helps support other fundamental freedoms like
freedom of speech, press and privacy. With the principle of "Public Money?
Public Code!" implemented, the government will improve the transparency and
digital sovereignty.</p>
  <img src="media/f325e092.6c8d43ffc1013f647affa17d8f0929d5.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/6c8d43ffc1013f647affa17d8f0929d5.jpg"/>
<p>
Also it will help educational institutions with
digital skills, information literacy, and improving the privacy of students
and staff. At the same time it will stimulate the IT market and thus others
like the labour market. Open code encourages cooperation with
governments at home and abroad.
</p><p>First attempts to promote Free Software among public bodies, like the
"open, unless" policy of 2020, need to be followed, implemented, and
extended. We urge for legislation requiring that publicly financed
software developed for the public sector be made publicly available
under a Free Software license. Code paid by the people should be
available to the people!</p><p>
  You can read the full open letter in <a href="media/5fb234c4.FSFE_letter_20211116_NL.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/FSFE_letter_20211116_NL.pdf">Dutch</a>
  and in <a href="media/9456e590.FSFE_letter_20211116_EN.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/FSFE_letter_20211116_EN.pdf">English</a>.
</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211122-01
title: Digital Markets Act - the FSFE calls for Device Neutrality
uri: Digital-Markets-Act-the-FSFE-calls-for-Device-Neutrality
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211122-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Digital Markets Act - the FSFE calls for Device Neutrality</h1><p>
  On the imminent voting of the Digital Markets Act - the latest EU proposal on
  internet platform regulation - the FSFE demands device neutrality as a
  fundamental element for safeguarding consumer protection in open, fair, and
  contestable digital markets.
</p><p>
  While digital devices are a ubiquitous reality in all aspects of 
  life, control over the hardware and software running on them is increasingly
  being limited by internet platforms, digital services providers, hardware
  manufacturers, and vendors. The European Commission's <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/digital-markets-act-ensuring-fair-and-open-digital-markets_en">Digital
  Markets Act (DMA)</a> is a regulatory instrument for targeting large internet
  companies that act as gatekeepers in digital markets. Such gatekeepers may be
  internet platforms, service providers, manufacturers, and vendors satisfying
  criteria defined by law. This regulatory initiative is an attempt to
  create fairer and more competitive markets for online platforms in the EU. On
  November 22, the European Parliament's leading IMCO committee will vote on its
  position.
</p><p>
  The FSFE urges the Members of the European Parliament in the upcoming vote to
  safeguard device neutrality principles based on <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/standards/">Open Standards</a> and interoperability,
  securing the interest of consumers for a contestable, open, and competitive
  digital market in the EU.
</p><h2>Free Software and Device Neutrality</h2><p>
  <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#id-device-neutrality">Device
  neutrality</a> translates as non-discrimination of services and apps by
  providers, manufacturers, and vendors. The objective of device neutrality
  is to enable consumers to bypass gatekeepers and enable a fair and
  non-discriminatory use of Free Software in the application and operating system
  layers of devices. The FSFE demands the inclusion of the following
  principles in the DMA legislation:
</p>
  <img src="media/4b021fd9.f89675066d947ef90df6e20c1d42213b.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/f89675066d947ef90df6e20c1d42213b.png"/>
  Device neutrality principles
<ul>
  <li>
    Strict end-user consent for pre-installed apps. The DMA must impose on
    gatekeepers the obligation to allow their customers to uninstall any
    pre-installed software applications they provide on their services or with
    their hardware. This means more restrictive rules for pre-installed apps,
    providing users the same access privileges for both pre-installed and
    alternative apps, and the possibility to uninstall pre-loaded apps;
  </li>

  <li>
    No vendor lock-in. The DMA should enable side-loading of apps in
    dominant operating systems, so consumers can install any compatible software
    on their devices. The DMA shall require gatekeepers to permit third-party app
    stores and code repositories that compete with their own. The law must
    prohibit gatekeepers limiting the ability of end-users to switch between and
    subscribe to different software applications and services. This prevents
    gatekeepers from locking users into specific service providers;
  </li>

  <li>
    Interoperability of services based on <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/standards/">Open Standards</a>. It is urgent
    for the DMA to require gatekeepers to provide free of charge access to and
    interoperability with the same hardware and software features accessed or
    controlled via an operating system. This includes communication apps and
    social media platforms. Interoperability should be defined by Open
    Standards;
  </li>

  <li>
    Real-time data portability. The DMA should require gatekeepers to provide
    real-time data portability for devices, so that consumers can switch from
    one device to another - including operating systems - as smoothly as
    possible.
  </li>

</ul><h2>Next steps</h2><p>
  After the committee voting on Monday, 22 November, the proposal will incorporate the
  approved amendments. Next up is the plenary voting to achieve the
  final position of the European Parliament, planned for December. The FSFE will
  continue to monitor the whole process closely and demand device neutrality to the full extent in
  the legislative text, so users are empowered to control technology.
</p>
  "The digital markets will benefit by the regulatory proposal of the DMA.
  Device neutrality is fundamental for a fair, competitive, and contestable
  market. We demand stricter consent rules for pre-installed apps, no vendor
  lock-in, full interoperability, and real-time data portability. Free Software
  and Open Standards are key to achieve these goals", says Lucas Lasota, the FSFE's
  Deputy Legal Coordinator.
<p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211123-01
title: 20 Years FSFE: Interview with Nico Rikken on country teams' activities
uri: 20-Years-FSFE-Interview-with-Nico-Rikken-on-country-teams-activities
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211123-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>20 Years FSFE: Interview with Nico Rikken on country teams' activities</h1><p>
	In our fifth birthday publication we are interviewing Nico Rikken, 
	and we focus on the FSFE Netherlands country team. Through our 
	discussion you can also get a glimpse of how FSFE country teams 
	work. And if there is no FSFE team in your country, this is a great 
	opportunity for you to see how one forms.
  </p><p>
	Nico Rikken, an electrical engineer and programmer, is one of the 
	Coordinators of the <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/BNL">FSFE Netherlands country team</a>. 
	His interest in technology, combined with his 
	appreciation for community and disdain for central control, led him 
	to the FSFE in 2014. Since then, he has helped the FSFE with his 
	technical skills while contributing greatly to community building. 
	With this interview, you do not only get to meet Nico Rikken, but 
	also the FSFE Netherlands country team.
  </p><h3>Interview with Nico Rikken</h3><p>
    <strong> FSFE: Do you remember the first contact you had with the 
    FSFE? How did it evolve from there? </strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <strong>Nico Rikken:</strong> I do remember most of my 
    'firsts' I had with the FSFE. Strictly my first contact was 
    reading the FSFE website and becoming a Fellow (the construct at 
    that time). But after this quite formal arrangement I was looking 
    for more informal contact and a feeling of community. So I still 
    have good memories how Felix Stegerman, then Deputy Coordinator 
    Netherlands, invited me to the <a href="https://linuxnijmegen.nl/">Linux Nijmegen</a> User Group to 
    get to know each other and learn more about the FSFE. Up until that 
    evening my efforts in Free Software were a solo effort and that 
    changed in that evening. I became part of a larger community of 
    like-minded people, thanks to Felix.
  </p>

    <img src="media/8f45cc89.9a408b5ca6564ccb1702149f1dd47603.jpeg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/9a408b5ca6564ccb1702149f1dd47603.jpeg"/>
    FSFE booth at T-Dose. The Netherlands, 2016.
  
    Up until that evening my efforts in Free Software were a solo 
    effort and that changed in that evening. I became part of a larger 
    community of like-minded people, thanks to Felix.  
  
  <p>
    Later that year I attended my first Free Software conference, <a href="https://blogs.fsfe.org/flx/tag/t-dose/">T-Dose,</a> and a few 
    months later my first FOSDEM. From there my FSFE journey evolved 
    with events, booths, presentations, community events, political 
    efforts, and meeting ever more community members along the way. In 
    2019, André and I took over Coordinatorship from Maurice Verheesen 
    and Felix with the goal to give a new impulse to the local group. 
    We have a growing group of active supporters with multiple ongoing 
    activities, which I feel proud to be a part of.  
  </p>    

  <p>
    <strong>Together with André Ockers you coordinate the <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/BNL">FSFE's country 
    team in the Netherlands</a>. Can you describe to us a typical month 
    in terms of activities and engagement within the 
    community?</strong>
  </p>

  <p>
    Since the pandemic, the monthly online get-together has become the 
    heartbeat of the Netherlands country team. The lack of travel has 
    enabled us to meet more frequently and have a great attendance. 
    Before we would meet in the center of the Netherlands at the NLLGG 
    Linux User Group, but that required travel and so the turnout was 
    quite low. During our online get-togethers, we discuss a variety of 
    topics, from recent news and personal findings, to more strategic 
    opportunities to present the topic of Free Software, and ongoing 
    efforts. André and I facilitate by acting as a bridge to the rest 
    of the FSFE and to other organizations.
  </p>

  <p>
    <strong>In the last months we have seen <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202106.html">rising demands 
    for digital autonomy in the Netherlands</a> followed by <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210805-01.html">positive 
    developments regarding Router Freedom</a>. How do you see these 
    developments? What was the role of the FSFE Netherlands 
    country team?</strong>
  </p>

  <p>
    I'm very concerned about the lack of Free Software and Open 
    Hardware adoption in the Netherlands, and the whole of Europe and 
    the world for that matter. Increasingly we rely on computer systems 
    rather than humans. This automation does bring a lot of benefits, 
    but also comes with risks of losing transparency, losing privacy, and 
    centralizing control. With the wide-scale adoption of cloud 
    services, AI, and algorithms and an increase in cyber attacks, more 
    and more people become aware of the need for better solutions and 
    more regulation. I see Free Software, Open Standards, and Open 
    Hardware as ways to improve technology itself and the social 
    structures around it, and so I think we need more of them and they
    need to be prioritized by our governments.
  </p>
  
 
  <img src="media/bd1677d6.33cb24a31832f99bd9be19df12840810.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/33cb24a31832f99bd9be19df12840810.jpg"/>
  Nico Rikken, FSFE Netherlands team coordinator, talks about <a href="https://wiki.sha2017.org/w/Session:Free_Software_in_the_Dutch_public_sector">Free Software in the Dutch public sector</a>
  at Still Hacking Anyway. The Netherlands, 2017.
 
        
  
    I see Free Software, Open Standards, and Open Hardware as ways to 
    improve technology itself and the social structures around it, and 
    so I think we need more of them and they need to be prioritized by our 
    governments.
  


  <p>
    The issue of the Netherlands (citizens, companies, and government) 
    becoming too reliant on specific vendors and solutions is not new 
    and has been discussed many times over the last years. In that sense, 
    this <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210521-01.html">report 
    by the Dutch Cyber Security Council</a> was just another call for 
    change. As this report comes from an organization closer to 
    government and the call has urgency to it, hopefully we will see 
    some more action from companies and government. When called upon to 
    vote, Dutch PM's generally are in favor of adopting Open 
    Standards and Free Software, but in practice it is low on the 
    priority list and so the government is not held accountable to 
    follow up. The role of the country team in this 
    respect is limited. Rijk Ravestein wrote an article reviewing the 
    report and suggesting the adoption of Free Software as a viable 
    solution to this issue. Outside of the article, we have been 
    speaking with various government bodies on the topic of Free 
    Software to highlight opportunities and discuss ways to improve the 
    situation. I find it important that we not only follow the 
    developments critically but that we also constructively engage in 
    discussions where we can.
  </p>

  <p>
   The topic of router freedom is quite different. The Router Freedom 
   campaign has made our members take a closer look at the situation in 
   the Netherlands. This included André writing Internet Service 
   Providers (ISP's) about their practices and Kevin Keijzer 
   informing us how router freedom works out for him in practice. Kevin 
   has some of his findings documented on his <a href="https://wiki.quietlife.nl/doku.php">wiki page</a>. Router 
   Freedom in the Netherlands in practice wasn't too bad, but 
   there are now stronger guarantees in 
   place. I think the practical freedom that was already in place stems 
   from the tech-savvy community in the Netherlands that would already 
   install their own router rather than the one provided by the ISP. 
   These new more formal guarantees can be attributed to the lobbying 
   of the FSFE in Europe and not to the country team in the 
   Netherlands. The FSFE contributed to the BEREC Guidelines on the 
   Implementation of the Open Internet Regulation, which were quoted as 
   the reason for the new rules. In the Netherlands, we missed the 
   opportunity of the consultation on the new rules 
   as this was not on our news radar. The consultation was 
   mostly by ISP's opposing the new rules, but regardless the rules 
   were put in place in accordance with the BEREC Guidelines.
  </p>

  <p>
   <strong>
     What do you see as the most rewarding activities or biggest 
     achievements of the Dutch team? 
   </strong>
  </p>

  <p>
    This question is difficult to answer because our activities have 
    been diverse and some have been in collaboration with people 
    outside of the country team. I think our biggest achievement has 
    been the level of translation of the FSFE website and marketing 
    material. André has been a persistent translator and together with 
    other valued contributions from other community members we now have 
    most of the information material and news in Dutch for an increased 
    reach and impact.
  </p>
  <p>
    I think our biggest impact came from our involvement with the 
    recent court case by Jos van den Oever about getting the source 
    code of the <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210611-01.html">Debat 
    Direct App</a>. This was not strictly a country team effort, but we 
    were involved and also got support from the FSFE. The final verdict 
    didn't result in public source code, but through the court case 
    Jos showed that source code can be requested via a Freedom Of 
    Information (FOI) request. The success will depend on the specific 
    situation and country-specific implementation of the EU directive. 
    Inspired by this request, Daniel Joffe has also filed a request for 
    source code and I'm pretty sure this will not be the last legal 
    request for source code in the Netherlands.
  </p>

  <img src="media/d8a315d8.a61362c7d81161d3c48bffb1a08e37c3.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/a61362c7d81161d3c48bffb1a08e37c3.jpg"/>
  FSFE spot in a non-profit hacker camp. The Netherlands, 2017.

  <p>
    <strong>
      What would you say are peculiar factors that challenge or 
      facilitate the advance of Free Software in the Netherlands?
    </strong>
  </p>

  <p>        
    Please take my answer with a pinch of salt, as this comes down to 
    personal convictions and generalizations. I think for a start the 
    broader tech-savvy community in the Netherlands is helpful. There 
    are plenty of system administrators and programmers who value 
    control over technology from a do-it-yourself perspective and so 
    have an inherent preference for Free Software, Open Standards, and 
    solutions that protect user privacy. This group follows 
    developments or regulation and company offerings with a critical 
    eye on forums like <a href="https://tweakers.net/">Tweakers</a> or 
    technology podcasts which helps move forward the discussion on 
    these FSFE-related topics. There is also a smaller but active group 
    that shares our concerns from an ethical non-technical perspective 
    by questioning our reliance on big tech and the privacy violations 
    that typically go along with it. Both groups move the debate of 
    user control and digital sovereignty forward and nudge politics, 
    government, and companies in the right direction.
  </p>

  
    I think this critical view on technology is strengthened on the 
    level of the European Union where these countries align and do 
    favor a more strategic play for which Free Software makes a lot of 
    sense.
  

  <p>
    Possibly our biggest factor is our participation in the European 
    Union, as it seems to me that the European Union has more capacity 
    to develop policies to protect civil rights and regulate digital 
    infrastructure. On a national level this topic doesn't win deciding 
    votes in the election, so it is hardly discussed in public. Also 
    there is a general lack of knowledge about technology and its 
    social constructs in parliament to question current policy and 
    develop a new one. I get the impression that a large part of the IT 
    solutions in the Netherlands are centered around US vendors. And so 
    regulations that prevent companies storing private information in 
    the USA are considered a burden on companies, rather than a good 
    safeguard for the general public. My impression is that it is more 
    common in France and Germany to question offerings by US vendors 
    and to prefer national offerings. These regulations do not directly 
    relate to the adoption of Free Software, but I do think that 
    questioning the ethics of offerings and valuing digital sovereignty 
    are the moral grounds which fit well with Free Software. I think 
    this critical view on technology is strengthened on the level of 
    the European Union where these countries align and do favor a more 
    strategic play for which Free Software makes a lot of sense. In 
    that sense I think the European Union is also advancing Free 
    Software in the Netherlands.
  </p>

  <p>
    <strong>
      How can people start participating in the Dutch team? Can you 
      share some examples of how the existing members found out about 
      the FSFE Netherlands country team?
    </strong>
  </p>

  <p>
    The easiest is to join the conversation on XMPP or our online 
    get-togethers and align with our efforts there. We do have a mailing list 
    but in practice it is only used for announcements. As we are all 
    volunteers, I think it is important that our supporters do what they 
    enjoy doing. Most of us have our own topics and efforts we work on, 
    and the country team is a way to align and get support. As with 
    any work, formulating concrete steps and delegating work to others 
    can be a challenge. So I think there is an opportunity for more 
    collaboration between supporters on certain topics and hopefully 
    that will grow in the future when we gain more experience 
    working together.
  </p>
    
  <p>
    I have asked around and it seems our stories of joining the country 
    team are quite similar. People somehow gained in interest in Free 
    Software and found the FSFE as the designated party to uphold these 
    values in Europe. Then they found out about the NL country team, 
    joined the mailing list and attended a physical meeting. André also 
    met Felix at Linux Nijmegen as it was close to him, but for Kevin 
    living on the other side of the country the T-Dose conference was 
    the first time to physically meet the community. If anything I 
    think it highlights the importance of letting people know you exist as a 
    local team, being open to newcomers, and making it easy to join 
    community meetings.
  </p>

  <img src="media/8602449a.4ea17d3a24d7f008d26cfdf3a388d83b.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/4ea17d3a24d7f008d26cfdf3a388d83b.jpg"/> FSFE stand at NLLGG booth in Utrecht. The Netherlands, 2019. 

  <p>
    <strong>
      What are your recommendations for others who want to start local 
      activities for the FSFE? Although the Netherlands FSFE country team 
      was already formed when you joined, could you recall 
      some of the early activities carried out there? 
    </strong>
  </p>


  <p>
    First, I think it is good to know what sets the FSFE apart from 
    other organizations. In the Netherlands, there are various other 
    groups with similar or even the same members, like a Linux user 
    group, a Debian community, the digital rights organization Bits of 
    Freedom. and multiple hacker spaces. Although at the FSFE we talk 
    plenty about technology, our focus at the FSFE is to inform the 
    general public and to bring about policy change. As a result our 
    community has a different aim than other Free Software related 
    communities in the Netherlands, and knowing the difference can help 
    you stand out and attract like-minded people. I don't know exactly 
    how it started in the Netherlands, but the behavior I typically see 
    with forming new groups is to start with like-minded people you 
    already know, announce your presence in related communities, and 
    then just start holding open meetings and let it grow from there.
  </p>

  <p>
    Over the last few years, we did experience such a growth path in the 
    Netherlands. There was already a national group that communicated 
    via mail and chat, and we would have a booth and country team 
    meeting at the yearly T-Dose conference. Other activities were 
    organized mainly when the opportunity arose. We increased our 
    frequency of contact by having a stand at the bi-monthly NLLGG 
    meeting in Utrecht where some of our supporters would be present, 
    and we had the opportunity to meet like-minded people. The online 
    get-togethers let us spend more time to grow and align our local 
    group and cause plenty of people to join the conversation. Some 
    people joined for only one meeting, which I think is fine as 
    it was still a nice way to meet, and these relationships might be 
    helpful in the future. And from these conversations new ideas for 
    activities grew. Only recently we started having a more formal 
    agenda and minutes of our meetings as we'd often have more talking 
    points than time would allow.
  </p>

  <p>
    Don't think our relative success is the straightforward execution 
    of an upfront well laid-out plan. Growing a community is very much 
    an iterative process based on learning and feedback. Our supporters 
    become active because they want to make a difference in the world, 
    and we have to find the ways that suit us best. Personally I like 
    to take things one step at a time, just make one change or do one 
    activity and see where it leads. In doing so, we have developed 
    our own way of doing things and have gained a lot of experience 
    with a variety of activities. Say we want to write a letter to 
    politicians, then we have some earlier work already lying around 
    for potential reuse, and we know already what support we can expect 
    from the FSFE Core team and what part we have to provide ourselves.
  </p>


  <img src="media/455bd8a0.3a478907d21f1aa97a6ef140c2ae3a93.jpeg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/3a478907d21f1aa97a6ef140c2ae3a93.jpeg"/>
  European Coordinators Meeting in Essen. Germany, 2015.


  
    Don't think our relative success is the straightforward execution 
    of an upfront well laid-out plan. Growing a community is very much 
    an iterative process based on learning and feedback.
  

  <p>
    Our activities have been quite diverse. There is of course an 
    ongoing effort to translate information material. We wrote to 
    national and local politicians on multiple occasions based on 
    various developments and news articles. We took part in multiple 
    consultations on laws and policies and offered our expertise on 
    free software to government. We have had stands at the yearly 
    T-Dose conference and bi-monthly NLLGG meetings. We handed out FSFE 
    tool flyers in a university and a library. We gave presentations 
    about Free Software. We helped organize an Educational Freedom Day 
    and the SHA hacker camp. We organized a privacy café at Erasmus 
    University to educate media students about solutions to protect 
    your privacy. We hosted a Freedomvote for national elections. And 
    we were involved in the court case for the source code of Debat 
    Direct. From the diversity of topics and methods it is apparent 
    that activities were sparked from opportunity or interest by our 
    community members. The campaigns from the FSFE help us to 
    prioritize and link our efforts to a topic, but we don't feel 
    constrained to just the campaigns. I have found that politics 
    especially requires a strong organization because topics can become 
    big quite quickly.  Ideally, you want to play into that attention 
    span and so you have to act fast. Also politics revolves around the 
    election cycles and so every couple of years you have to start all 
    over explaining to politicians why Free Software is common sense 
    and should be on their agenda.
  </p>

  <p>
    <strong>
      How did you get involved in Free Software in the first place?
    </strong>
  </p>

  <p>
    From a young age I spent a significant amount of time on the computer, 
    experimenting with various software also as a creative outlet. 
    Being a kid I mostly started out with gratis software that came 
    bundled with our computer or printer. With the arrival of unlimited 
    internet downloading, other software became an option. I learned 
    about the importance of open standards and access to software 
    because I had encountered situations where I could no longer open 
    my files as software had become unavailable due to operating system 
    incompatibility or the expiration of the trial duration. Using 
    various gratis software over time I found out that the Free 
    Software was generally the best, not having annoying advertisements 
    or spyware and generally being well-documented. I learned the value 
    of Free Software and Open Standards the hard way, from a practical 
    standpoint, and so it was not very explicit.
  </p>

  <p>
    Once at the University studying Electrical Engineering, I learned 
    more about programming and how computers were built. But during 
    that time I also learned more about privacy and security and how my 
    privacy was actually being violated by a lot of services I was 
    using. Being technically educated it was clear to me that to 
    guarantee privacy and security in the long run you need control 
    over technology and so over the software you are using. Following 
    this reasoning led me to discover the philosophy behind Free 
    Software. The value of Free Software felt so logical at that point 
    I asked myself why I did not find out about it earlier. Not just 
    the practical implications of it, but also the philosophy behind 
    it. I felt that Free Software needed more promotion to the general 
    public and that is why I joined the FSFE, to support their effort 
    in promoting this common sense.
  </p>

  <img src="media/016f5a27.fc053d1493738f6dcc615b440c59a5c3.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/fc053d1493738f6dcc615b440c59a5c3.jpg"/> 'We got a 
    call in the morning by Matthias Kirschner that we had to bring 
    'Bügel' (clothing hangers) to hang the T-shirts at the 
    stands. Normally Maurice and I could cope with the German we got 
    taught in secondary school, but this time it failed us.'

  <p>
    <strong>
      Can you tell us one of the stories that still warm up your heart 
      or that always makes you laugh or smile when you remember it?
    </strong>
  </p>

  <p>
    I always have a laugh thinking back to the time I visited Open 
    Rhein Ruhr with Maurice in 2016. If I remember correctly, we got a 
    call in the morning by Matthias Kirschner that we had to bring 
    'Bügel' (clothing hangers) to hang the T-shirts at the 
    stands. Normally Maurice and I could cope with the German we got 
    taught in secondary school, but this time it failed us. Maurice 
    understood the world 'Bügel' to mean a clothing iron from 
    the conversation ("Bügeleisen"), assuming the T-shirts 
    were crinkled and had to be ironed. As Matthias had asked for two, 
    Maurice asked me to bring mine as well. So we both added our 
    clothing irons to the luggage and off we went. Only when we arrived 
    at the booth did we find out about the miscommunication and had a 
    great laugh about it. We took this memorable picture posted on the 
    <a href="https://mehl.mx/blog/2016/openrheinruhr-2016-a-report-of-iron-and-freedom/">blogpost 
    by Max Mehl</a>.
  </p>

  <p>
    <strong>As a last question, what do you wish the FSFE for the next 20 years?</strong>
  </p>

  <p>
    I wish the FSFE will gain more active local supporters. I think the 
    FSFE stands out from other organizations with the topics it 
    addresses, and I would love to see each European nation have a 
    fruitful local group to table the topic on a national level. In a 
    world using mostly the same software and being bound by the same EU 
    directives, the foundation of our activities will probably be 
    similar in all countries. But each country comes with a different 
    language, different political system, different values and norms, 
    and various other differences. By having a strong local 
    representation, the FSFE can be 'united in diversity' (EU motto) and 
    be more effective in bringing about change. I also wish this 
    because I have a good time being part of the FSFE and a local group, 
    and I think there are a lot of like-minded people that would also 
    enjoy it. So I wish other supporters can be a part of a local group 
    and also experience the value of community.
  </p>

    I think the FSFE stands out from other organizations with the 
    topics it addresses, and I would love to see each European nation 
    have a fruitful local group to table the topic on a national level.
  
  <p>
    <strong>FSFE: Thank you very much!</strong>
  </p>
<p>
    For more by Nico Rikken, you can read his <a href="https://blogs.fsfe.org/fellowship-interviews/?p=672">interview</a> 
    focusing on technical aspects of Free Software and Free Hardware 
    such as sustainability and scaling. You may also be interested in 
    his blogpost on <a href="https://blogs.fsfe.org/nico.rikken/2021/06/23/how-the-netherlands-group-grew-in-covid-times/">how 
    the Netherlands group grew in covid times</a>.
  </p><h3>About "20 Years FSFE"</h3><p>
    In 2021 the Free Software Foundation Europe turns 20. This means 
    two decades of <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/about.html">empowering users to 
    control technology</a>. 
  </p>
      <img src="media/0409b849.53aeebdafa0a0c83324dcafc1e4bef1c.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/53aeebdafa0a0c83324dcafc1e4bef1c.png"/>
    <p>
    Turning 20 is a time when we like to take a breath and to look back 
    on the road we have come, to reflect the milestones we have passed, 
    the successes we have achieved, the stories we have written, and 
    the moments that brought us together and that we will always 
    joyfully  remember. In 2021 we want to give momentum to the 
    FSFE and even more to our pan-European community, the community 
    that has formed  and always will form the shoulders that our 
    movement relies on. 
  </p><p>
    <strong>20 Years FSFE is meant to be a celebration of everyone who 
    has accompanied us in the past or still does. Thank you for your 
    place in the structure of the FSFE today and for setting the 
    foundation for the next decades of software freedom to 
    come.</strong>
  </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211124-01
title: Launch event – Public Money? Public Code! Spanish Brochure
uri: Launch-event-Public-Money-Public-Code-Spanish-Brochure
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211124-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Launch event – Public Money? Public Code! Spanish Brochure</h1><p> 
    Thanks to the support and hard work of our volunteers, our Public Money? 
    Public Code! brochure is now available in Spanish. In this event we will 
    explore the already implemented good practices, but also the challenges that 
    lie ahead to modernise the public digital infrastructure with public code in 
    Spain. The event will be held in Spanish. 
  </p><p>
    In the framework of our <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">Public Money? Public Code! </a> initiative we demand that software developed by the public sector with publicly funded money should be available to the public under a Free Software license. To support these demands, we provide an exhaustive brochure which is dedicated to public bodies and serves as an instrument to address decision-makers to inform them about the advantages of Free Software. Thanks to that it has become easier to convince them of modernising public digital infrastructure with public code.  
  </p>
    <a href="https://publiccode.eu/"/>
  <p>
    During the event we want to discuss the current situation in Spain and also present our brochure. We are glad to present the following panellists: Luis Falcón, founder of GNUHealth, Ricardo Muñoz from Lliurex, Aleix Puente Montiel from Pica Pica HackLab, Ana Albalat Martínez and Francesc Busquets in representation of Linkat, and Aleix Pol Gonzalez, president of KDE.
  </p><p>
   Our panellists come from different areas; education, health, and civil society. They will help us to better understand the already implemented and working Free Software solutions driven by the public sector. We will briefly explore the process that Pica Pica Hacklab went through to convince the Parliament of Asturias to support our demands, and we will discuss the future that is ahead for public code in the public sector in Spain.
  </p><p>
The event will take place online on <strong>Monday, 13 December 2021 from 18:00 to 19:30 CET.</strong> After registration, the BBB instance link will be shared. 
 </p><p>
   You can check the whole agenda <a href="media/fa507248.PMPC20Evento20Folleto.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/ES/PMPC%20Evento%20Folleto.pdf">here</a> and register your participation through this <a href="https://registration.fsfe.org/PMPCeventoES">link</a>.
  </p><p>
We look forward to your participation! 
  </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211125-01
title: Upcycling Android : Continuez d'utiliser votre téléphone avec des Logiciels Libres
uri: Upcycling-Android-Continuez-d-utiliser-votre-téléphone-avec-des-L
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211125-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Upcycling Android : Continuez d'utiliser votre téléphone avec des Logiciels Libres</h1><p>
    La FSFE lance sa nouvelle initiative "Upcycling Android": chaque fois que nous continuons d'utiliser notre téléphone au lieu d'en acheter un nouveau, nous soutenons une utilisation plus durable de nos ressources. Upcycling Android aide les gens à casser l'obsolescence des logiciels et à continuer d'utiliser leurs téléphones avec des Logiciels Libres.
  </p><p>
    C'est la Semaine européenne pour la réduction du gaspillage, une semaine qui est dédiée à la promotion de la réutilisation de produits et matériaux et à l'aide à la sauvegarde de ressources et à la réduction du gaspillage dans la vie de tous les jours. La FSFE participe avec la nouvelle initiative <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/upcyclingandroid.html#head">« Upcycling Android »</a> — une initiative pour aider à sauvegarder les ressources en réutilisant l'un de nos appareils les plus importants dans notre vie quotidienne : notre téléphone.
  </p>
    
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
    
    Notre vidéo explique tout de façon concise sur Upcycling Android.
  <p>
    Chaque année, les fabricants produisent 1,5 milliard de téléphones dans le monde — et malheureusement, probablement autant sont jetés après une durée de vie de matériel généralement trop courte. La courte durée de vie de ces téléphones découle souvent de ce que l'on appelle « l'obsolescence des logiciels », la situation dans laquelle les utilisateurs sont mis face au dilemme de soit acheter un nouveau matériel soit se débrouiller avec des logiciels désuets. Les conséquences environnementales de ces courtes durées de vie du matériel peuvent être terribles. Pour aider les utilisateurs à vaincre ce problème, avec Upcycling Android, nous permettons aux gens de recycler leurs téléphones Android avec des Logiciels Libres. Chaque fois que nous continuons d'utiliser notre téléphone actuel au lieu d'en acheter un nouveau, nous aidons à éviter la production de nouveaux téléphones et controns la disposition à croître du gaspillage électronique.
  </p>
    <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/upcyclingandroid.html#head"/>
  <p>
    Upcycling Android explique le problème de l'obsolescence des logiciels dans le monde d'Android et <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/howtoupcycle.html#head">aide les gens à flasher leurs téléphones avec des systèmes d'exploitation Libres</a>. Non seulement ce processus vous offre un plus grand contrôle de votre téléphone, mais en plus il peut vous offrir une meilleure expérience que l'utilisation de systèmes d'exploitation propriétaires. Encore plus important : dans le cas où les téléphones cessent de recevoir les mises à jour logicielles de la société fabricante, passer à un système d'exploitation Libre aide à garder votre téléphone à jour. De cette manière, vous pouvez continuer d'utiliser votre appareil, aider l'environnement, et apprécier de nombreux autres bénéfices. Les Logiciels Libres vous donnent le plein contrôle de votre appareil, puisqu'il vous permet de désinstaller des applications que vous étiez forcé de garder avant, et vous profitez d'une protection étendue pour votre confidentialité — voilà quelques-uns des intérêts.
  </p><h3>Arrière-plan politique &amp; produits pour informer</h3><p>
    La FSFE est sérieusement engagée vers une utilisation plus durable de la technologie avec des Logiciels Libres. Au début de l'année, <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210127-01.html">nous avons participé à la consultation de l'UE</a> sur l'« Étiquetage énergétique des téléphones mobiles et des tablettes », et plus tard dans l'année <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211015-01.html">nous avons publié une étude</a> sur l'obsolescence des logiciels avec un appel pour la Neutralité des appareils et le Recyclage des logiciels.
  </p>
    <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/informationmaterial.html#head"/>
  <p>
    Nous avons une <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/informationmaterial.html#head">grande collection de produits pour informer et citer</a> pour aider à faire passer le mot sur l'impact environnemental de nos téléphones. Et comment aider à réduire le problème en recyclant votre appareil Android avec des Logiciels Libres. La gamme de produits inclut des autocollants, des infographies, des brochures, des vidéos, des podcasts, des articles et des études.
  </p><h3>Activités à venir</h3><p>
    Dans les mois à venir, les activités de la FSFE dans l'initiative Upcycling Android seront doubles : en coopération avec des groupes locaux, nous fournissons plusieurs <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/workshops.html#head">ateliers</a> où les personnes peuvent se rassembler autour du sujet du recyclage des téléphones, et expérimenter ou recevoir de l'aide pour flasher leurs téléphones. De plus, nous regardons et nous nous engageons dans les dans les discussions actuelles au niveau européen autour de l'Initiative pour des produits durables (« Sustainable Products Initiative ») et l'Initiative pour l'électronique circulaire (« Circular Electronics Initiative »). Dans ces activités, nous comptons expliquer les intérêts des Logiciels Libres pour une utilisation plus durable de nos produits aux preneurs de décisions.
  </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211129-01
title: Children‘s book published about software, skateboards, and raspberry ice cream
uri: Children-s-book-published-about-software-skateboards-and-raspberry
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211129-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Children‘s book published about software, skateboards, and raspberry ice cream</h1><p>Today, 29 November, O'Reilly Germany publishes the book "Ada &amp; Zangemann - A
fairy tale about software, skateboards and raspberry ice cream" written by FSFE
President Matthias Kirschner and illustrated by Sandra Brandstätter, among
other things,  character designer for the series "Trudes Tier" from the show
"Sendung mit der Maus".</p><p>The famous inventor Zangemann lives in a huge villa high above
the city. Adults and children alike love his inventions and are desperate to
have them. But then something happens: when Zangemann once again wants to take
a close-up look at his inventions during a walk through the cityand with a loud
thud, a child riding a skateboard hits him in the shin! Enraged, the inventor
makes a momentous decision... The clever girl Ada sees through it all. Together
with her friends, she forges a plan.</p>
    <img src="media/508a1a37.b2b23d22357bfc0c568a472b45a56dd3.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/b2b23d22357bfc0c568a472b45a56dd3.png"/>
    
      Illustration by <a href="http://sandra-brandstaetter.com/">Sandra Brandstätter</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/">CC-BY-SA 3.0 DE</a>
    
  <p>This illustrated children's book tells the story of the famous inventor
Zangemann and the girl Ada, a curious tinkerer. Ada begins to experiment with
hardware and software, and in the process realises how crucial it is for her
and others to control technology.</p><p>A book for children from the age of 6 that arouses children's interest in
tinkering and encourages shaping technology.</p>
  <p>"Kirschner's book introduces readers young and old to the power and peril of
  software. It also highlights the accelerating effects of sharing software
  freely - creating conditions for direct and indirect collaboration which can
  be a metaphor for the conduct of science.  Behind it all is a backdrop of
  ethics of knowledge sharing upon which the arc of human history rides."</p>

  <p>Vint Cerf - Computer Scientist and one of the inventors of the internet
  (after reading the English translation).</p>

  <p>"Even as a non-child, I was captivated by the story from the first page to
  the last. Kudos to the author for packaging difficult topics such as
  monopolies, lobbyism, digital divide, software freedom, digital autonomy,
  IoT, consumer control, e-waste and much more in a child-friendly form in an
  easily understandable and exciting storyline.  And kudos to the publisher for
  having the guts to publish a book under CC-BY-SA."</p>

  <p>Jörg Luther, chief editor of the German Linux-Magazin, LinuxUser,
  Raspberry Pi Geek</p>

  <p>"After my son was read the book last night, he told me the whole story
  this morning... He wants to make something out of old pallets after school
  today. And then he wants to learn programming."</p>

  <p>Ingo Wichmann, CEO Linuxhotel GmbH</p>
<p>The book <a href="https://oreilly.de/produkt/ada-und-zangemann/">"Ada &amp; 
Zangemann - Ein Märchen über Software, Skateboards und Himbeereis"</a> by
Matthias Kirschner and Sandra Brandstätter, published by dpunkt.verlag GmbH
under ISBN 978-3-96009-190-5, is licensed under "Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/">(CC BY-SA 3.0
DE)</a>".</p><p>Matthias Kirschner wrote the text on a voluntary basis for the FSFE. All
author revenues go directly to the non-profit Free Software Foundation Europe.
The FSFE paid the illustrator Sandra Brandstätter and the children's book
editor Wiebke Helmchen for their work. Linuxhotel GmbH made the project possble
by already agreeding at the beginning of the writing process to buy 1000 copies
once the book was finished.</p><p>Currently, the FSFE is looking for a suitable publisher to for an English
translation. The FSFE would like to enable as many people as possible to read
the book in their mother tongue and <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate">asks for donations for
its work</a>.</p><p>Further press material on "Ada &amp; Zangemann" is <a href="https://oreilly.de/presseinformationen/pressematerialien-ada-und-zangemann/">available
on the publisher's website</a>.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211203-01
title: Infrastructure living the ideals of software freedom
uri: Infrastructure-living-the-ideals-of-software-freedom
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211203-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Infrastructure living the ideals of software freedom</h1><p>
  Can organisations with limited resources be digitally sovereign and still
  provide modern services? It is not trivial, but the FSFE proves it's possible.
  Take a deep dive with us into our infrastructure to learn how we run all the
  different services within the FSFE and cope with numerous challenges. A story
  non only for techies.
</p><p>
  Charity, non-profit organisations run into limits every day: personnel,
  budget, time, and the pressing question how to use donations most efficiently.
  When it comes to technical infrastructure, many organisations unfortunately
  decide to outsource and use proprietary, non-free services. By this, they give
  up software freedom and thereby digital sovereignty and independence.
</p><p>
  Since its founding more than 20 years ago, the FSFE has been pursuing the
  opposite way. Right from the start, we have relied on Free Software although
  it sometimes meant not being able to use and offer trendy services. Also,
  given the limited resources, we constantly have to choose between useful
  features and maintainability.
</p>
  <img src="media/90307687.a9669e241527f1769e2fe67418a77f0d.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/a9669e241527f1769e2fe67418a77f0d.jpg"/>
<p>
  And still, neither is our infrastructure perfect nor is it 1:1 transferable to
  other organisations. But we think it's important that organisations exchange
  their experiences and learning, especially when it's about something as
  important as software freedom.
</p><p>
  Therefore, let us take you on a journey through our infrastructure and its
  principles, from shiny user interfaces of our <a href="#services">services</a>, crossing the <a href="#virtualisation">virtualisation methods</a> and <a href="#monitoring">monitoring</a>, down to the <a href="#servers">bare metal
  servers</a> they are running on. This is a story not only for techies, but for
  everyone interested in making or keeping an NGO independent from proprietary
  service providers.
</p><h2>One team and its principles</h2><p>
  All of the FSFE's infrastructure is managed by the <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Teams/System-Hackers">System Hackers</a>. Only a
  few years ago, in a time of larger technical debt and restructuring, the team
  was only three people. Fortunately, since then we have experienced a steady
  growth of membership. Today, it is a healthy team consisting of 9 active
  volunteers, complemented by two staff members who dedicate some of their
  working time to the team's tasks.
</p>
  <img src="media/c0be6337.04ff9b7b037924fa522e2a1e47ac3a94.JPG" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/04ff9b7b037924fa522e2a1e47ac3a94.JPG"/>
  
    Picture from the 2020 meeting of the System Hackers in Lyon
  
<p>
  With a team this size it was crucial to define the <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Teams/System-Hackers/Principles">most basic
  principles of this team</a>. They form the basis of the System Hackers' goals:
  as much control as possible over services and servers by using 100% Free
  Software, internal and external transparency, and bearable complexity, and at
  the same time providing useful features for the various FSFE teams and the
  whole community.
</p><p>
  Aside from purely asynchronous work, emails, and chat, the System Hackers
  also met at least once per year in pre-pandemic times, and continue doing that
  in virtual form. During these meetings, we were able to tackle more complex
  decisions and technical changes efficiently, but also just enjoyed
  non-technical conversations and fun activities. The team is coordinated by us,
  the authors of this text, Albert and Max, who also maintain a large number of
  services and systems.
</p><h2>Services, services everywhere</h2><p>
  The FSFE's infrastructure is very service-oriented. Volunteers and staff rely
  on basic functionality like sending and receiving email or exchanging files,
  but also on a website fed by a version control system, a wiki, or video chat
  systems. To give an example for the complex interconnection of different
  components, just drafting and releasing this news item involved at least 12
  services that have to seamlessly work together.
</p><p>
  The currently most crucial and used services contain Mailman for mailing
  lists, or Gitea as our Git version control system. To allow sharing and saving
  knowledge our <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Teams/WikiCaretakers">Wiki
  Caretakers</a> maintain MoinMoin, while Björn takes care of Nextcloud to share
  files, coordinate tasks, and collaboratively edit documents. We run our own
  BigBlueButton and Jitsi instances for video conferencing, and XMPP/Jabber for
  text-based chats. Very recent service additions are Matrix as another chat
  service, initiated and maintained by Michael, and Peertube for hosting and
  sharing our videos on own infrastructure, made possible by Alvar.
</p><p>
  The list of services is <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/TechDocs/Services">much
  larger</a> and also contains fundamental systems like the Account Management
  System and Community Database developed by <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210305-01.html">Reinhard</a>, our own DNS servers, or
  Drone as our CI/CD system that processes data from Gitea, checks them, and
  deploys them on other servers eventually.
</p><p>
  Needless to say, the team regularly receives requests to provide
  additional services. Here, the challenge is to make a careful selection
  based on available resources (computing, space, volunteer time) and
  estimated use for the organisation, and evaluating whether a solution is
  well-maintainable, not largely overlapping with existing services, and
  generally leaving a good impression.
</p><p>
  Sometimes that also means we have to test solutions in practice over a
  longer period of time. Real-time editing of documents is a good example
  for that, for which we currently have multiple possibilities available.
  Longer documents are often edited as ODF files via Collabora Online
  attached to Nextcloud, but some editors prefer Etherpad or use Git directly.
  All solutions have advantages and downsides, and finding a good path
  between having diverse options on one side, and tool overload on the other
  is anything but trivial.
</p><h2>Virtualisation and deployment</h2><p>
  While the FSFE owns dedicated servers in actual racks (we will come to
  that later), all services run in some sort of virtualisation. In total
  there are 43 virtual machines distributed over different data centres
  at the time of writing this article. Some have a purely internal
  role, for instance being a gateway for other virtual machines or
  assisting web services with obtaining TLS certificates.
</p>
  <a href="media/8b8344f0.0b41e57a4d5163ef911cfd913b9af640.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/0b41e57a4d5163ef911cfd913b9af640.png">
    
  </a>
  
    An overview of the currently running virtual servers of the FSFE, and their
    distribution over the different clusters.
  
<p>
  Some others, in turn, themselves host a number of diverse services. Since 2017
  we have been using <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/explore/repos?q=docker&amp;topic=1">Docker</a> as a
  container engine. That has not been an easy choice since the technology adds
  a lot of complexity and sometimes requires stunning workarounds to be operated
  in a secure fashion. On the other hand, especially for smaller services or
  larger self-coded tools, it is great to spin them up quickly, test and deploy
  them via our Continuous Integration system, provide a more or less uniform
  local development environment, and maintain an (admittedly limited)
  reproducibility of configurations.
</p><p>
  We are regularly evaluating alternative engines that provide a more
  seamless rootless mode, are still compatible with our CI/CD system
  (Drone) and reverse proxy, and ideally do not require a major rewrite of
  existing deployment code. Also, here again, it is important for the
  System Hackers that at least two members understand a high-priority
  technology in depth.
</p><p>
  To bootstrap virtual machines and deploy non-container services in a
  reproducible way, we <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/explore/repos?q=ansible&amp;topic=1">rely a lot on
  Ansible</a>, a provisioning and configuration management tool. While Ansible
  deployments may also have their shortcomings, we appreciate the
  infrastructure-as-code approach that can be executed from any computer and
  does not require a central server. Meanwhile, only the minority of services
  are deployed via neither Ansible nor Docker which makes understanding existing
  infrastructure, onboarding new volunteers, and documenting changes much
  easier.
</p><h2>The all-seeing eye and uniformity</h2><p>
  Dozens of servers and services: how do you know if there is a problem with one
  of them? We have to admit that up until two years ago we sometimes only learnt
  about a crashed server via an email from a random friendly community member.
  Now a <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/fsfe-system-hackers/monitoring">monitoring system
  based on Icinga2</a> takes care of this. Currently 50 hosts and 690 services
  are continuously checked, for example for pending upgrades of the operating
  system, systemd services, failed backups, disk space, or TLS certificate
  validity.
</p><p>
  This is eased by other parts of our strategy: except 4 virtual machines, all
  run on Debian GNU/Linux. After initial creation, a new machine will experience
  a <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/fsfe-system-hackers/baseline">baseline</a>
  setup taking care of fundamental security settings, monitoring, backup, and
  automatic upgrades. Thanks to this, maintenance of a server is mostly limited
  to the service it is running, and other improvements can be applied to a large
  number of hosts automatically within a few minutes.
</p><p>
  To further ease management and maintenance, we sometimes write our own
  tools. For instance
  <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/fsfe-system-hackers/ssh-key-distributor">ssh-key-distributor</a>
  provides a simple interface and deployment method to manage and
  document access via SSH on our servers. Or
  <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/fsfe-system-hackers/docker-utils">docker-utils</a>
  which is tailored to our Docker infrastructure and takes care of analysing and
  upgrading Docker images and containers. Both tools have been created by our
  working student Linus. You can find more tools and generally most
  Ansible/Docker deployment code in the System Hackers'
  <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/fsfe-system-hackers">Git organisation</a>.
</p><h2>Bare metal servers</h2><p>
  Unlike the current trend of the IT industry, we are proud to run the
  vast majority of services on our own physical servers. This guarantees
  the most sovereignty, data security by full disk encryption, and
  technological independence for us. To increase resilience, we bundle
  three servers each into a Proxmox cluster with Ceph storage, so if one
  physical server crashes a virtual machine is just moved to one of the
  two other servers in the cluster.
</p><p>
  As an additional safety net, the three clusters and a solo machine are spread
  over four different data centres which <a href="https://fsfe.org/donate/hardware.html">kindly
  donate the colocation</a> to us.
</p><p>
  However, this is only possible thanks to a fortunate combination of
  conditions. First of all, we are lucky to have Albert with us who has a lot of
  experience with, among various other areas, Proxmox, Ceph, and the depths of
  networking. Then, we have the kind support of the data centres providing
  colocation as well as hardware donors, and the FSFE
  supporters that contribute financially. And we also
  profit from a more or less identical setup on all four sites which makes
  maintenance a bit easier. But still, we are considering giving up the cluster
  containing the oldest servers as well as the solo physical machine to reduce
  work and complexity.
</p><h2>Challenges behind and ahead</h2><p>
  Over the course of the years, we managed to overcome many challenges:
  technical debt, antique software that blocked operating system upgrades,
  lack of hardware resources, fatal crashes of single points of failures,
  and hard technical decisions about how to develop the infrastructure
  further. In one of these hard times, our back-then intern and since then System Hacker
  <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/people/interviews/lequertier.html">Vincent</a>
  played an important role and helped set the foundation for the good state we
  are in today. Despite all preparation and evaluation, we have made many
  mistakes, but most importantly we have learnt a lot by them.
</p><p>
  Facing us right now are new hurdles. For example, with the high amount of
  servers, we can no longer give every virtual machine a dedicated IPv4 address.
  Unfortunately, many technologies and internet services, even large proprietary
  and supposedly professional companies, still do not support the more modern,
  future-proof, and already 20 years old IPv6 protocol. This requires us to
  fiddle around with a few hacks like <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/fsfe-system-hackers/ip-proxy/">reverse proxies</a>,
  <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/fsfe-system-hackers/docker2caddy/">container
  discovery services</a>,
  <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/fsfe-system-hackers/fsfe-gw">NAT</a>, and <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/fsfe-system-hackers/innernet-playbook">VPNs</a>.
</p><p>
  Another interesting decision ahead is the one of communication channels. While
  plain-text email and, since 2004, XMPP/Jabber
  have formed the de-facto standard within the FSFE, many people meanwhile
  prefer <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/TechDocs/Matrix">Matrix</a>,
  <a href="https://community.fsfe.org">Discourse</a>, or still the traditional
  IRC. While we see advantages and disadvantages for all of them, we also want
  to avoid fragmentation of our community. This is not a pure technical
  question, but a great example of the need for good inter-team communication
  and decision-making.
</p><p>
  Last but not least, we have a few technologies that are head scratchers
  for us. Let's take Mailman 2 as an example that has powered our 116
  mailing lists for years. Unfortunately, the project is no longer
  actively developed, and the successor and its alternatives all have
  serious downsides. Here, we need to conduct a careful evaluation and many
  tests, and eventually find the best solution in the mass of imperfect
  options.
</p><p>
  With all that said, we would like to express our thanks to the many Free
  Software projects and their developers out there. They grant us the ability to
  choose from different solutions, they form the basis of our infrastructure,
  and they provide astonishing solutions that make our lives easier every day.
  It is a pleasure to be part of this large community.
</p><h2>Why all of this?</h2><p>
  As you can see, the technical infrastructure of our organisation is anything
  but boring or simple. This is not only due to the size of the FSFE and its
  community, but also due to our own high standards: living software freedom in
  practice and maintaining as much technical independence and sovereignty as
  possible. At the same time, we care for technical accessibility to also allow
  non-technical contributors to interact with our services. That sometimes
  requires extra work and tools, but we are convinced that it is worth it.
</p><p>
  All of this depends on the dedication and long-time commitment of many people,
  and is fed by its productive use and the feedback of the whole FSFE community.
  And it is only possible thanks to the FSFE's supporters who enable us to
  invest resources in a fully Free Software infrastructure. If you share this
  ideal, please consider a donation.
</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211206-01
title: FSFE is hiring a working student specialised on websites
uri: FSFE-is-hiring-a-working-student-specialised-on-websites
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211206-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>FSFE is hiring a working student specialised on websites</h1><p>
  We are looking for a working student to support our work to empower people to
  control technology. The person will work 10-15 hours per week and will
  maintain and improve the FSFE's websites. Applicants have to be enrolled in a
  German university and can work remotely.
</p><h2>About the FSFE</h2><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 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 <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/">many activities</a> in the legal,
  economic, political and technical areas around Free Software. Our work is made
  possible by a community of volunteers, supporters, donors, and staff. The web
  working student's job will strengthen the public perception of the FSFE and
  allow more people to work effectively with the web presences.
</p>
  <img src="media/c385b222.d655bcecab150788cf75673bac268dee.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/d655bcecab150788cf75673bac268dee.jpg"/>
  
    Group picture of our 2019 web-a-thon in Frankfurt
  
<h2>Main responsibilities</h2><ul>
  <li>Working closely together with technical staff and volunteers.</li>
  <li>Solving issues and working on long-term improvements of the FSFE's <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/FSFE/fsfe-website/">main website</a>
  and separate activity-related websites like <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/pmpc/website">publiccode.eu</a>.</li>
  <li>Helping volunteers and staff with problems when working with the website,
  and finding solutions to lower the technical threshold, for example when
  working with Git or other tools used in the process.</li>
  <li>Assisting in major overhauls of existing websites (like design,
  restructuring, or website generator) and the development of new web
  projects.</li>
</ul><h2>Qualifications</h2><ul>
  <li>Fluency in written and spoken English. Other European languages
  are considered an asset.</li>
  <li>Proven experience with the development and maintenance of websites.</li>
  <li>Practical understanding of Git, HTML/XML, CSS/Less, and the use of
  GNU/Linux systems.</li>
  <li>Experience with one or more of the following technologies: Python, PHP,
  Perl, XSL, Bash, Hugo.</li>
  <li>Other technical experiences are considered an asset, for example with
  liberating phones or routers, or server administration.</li>
  <li>Enthusiasm for the principles of Free Software, its community, and
  tools.</li>
</ul><h2>Attitude</h2><p>
  We are looking for a reliable, well-organised member of our technical teams
  who is keen to learn about old and new technologies. You support the whole
  organisation in its mission. Long-term thinking, efficiency and effectiveness
  are more important to you than the newest cool technology on the block.
</p><p>
  When people have technical questions, you can support them and also have
  interest in explaining them the underlying technology in an adequate language.
</p><h2>Working time and compensation</h2><p>
  The desired working time is 10-15 hours per week but can be discussed. You can
  work from anywhere in Germany, but should be willing to travel 1-2 times a
  year to staff and web-team meetings. The salary is based on the currently
  applicable minimum wage in Germany but can be higher depending on your
  experience. A mandatory requirement due to administrative reasons is that you
  are enrolled as a student at a university in Germany, and have a working
  permit for Germany, for example by EU citizenship.
</p><h2>How to apply</h2><p>
  To apply, please send a maximum one-page cover letter -- including the desired
  hours per week -- and a maximum two-page CV (only PDFs are accepted) by email
  to jobs@fsfe.org, with the subject "website student" and your name. 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 <em>Sunday 31 December 2021</em>.
</p><p>
  Free Software is meant to serve everyone regardless of their age, ability or
  disability, gender identity, sex, race, nationality, 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><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211209-01
title: 20 Years FSFE: Interview with Vincent Lequertier on AI
uri: 20-Years-FSFE-Interview-with-Vincent-Lequertier-on-AI
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211209-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>20 Years FSFE: Interview with Vincent Lequertier on AI</h1><p>
	In our sixth birthday publication we are interviewing Vincent 
	Lequertier about crucial aspects of artificial intelligence, such 
	as its transparency, its connection to Open Science, and questions 
	of copyright. Vincent also recommends further readings and responds 
	to 20 Years FSFE.
  </p><p>
   A PhD candidate at the Claude Bernard university in Lyon who 
   researches artificial intelligence for healthcare, Vincent supports 
   software freedom and volunteers for the FSFE in his free time. He 
   has been a part of the <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Teams/System-Hackers">System 
   Hackers</a>, the team responsible for the technical infrastructure 
   of the FSFE, for many years. His contribution was valuable in 
   setting the foundation for the for the good state that the FSFE's 
   System Hackers team is today. Vincent is also a member of the FSFE's 
   General Assembly, and participates in the 'Public Money? Public 
   Code!' campaign. In our interview, Vincent shares his thoughts 
   answering questions about the current state of AI and its future 
   implications.
 </p><h3>Interview with Vincent Lequertier</h3><p>
	<strong> FSFE: You are deeply involved in the field of artificial 
	intelligence. How would you explain to a 10-year-old what AI 
	is?</strong>
  </p>
  <p>
	<strong>Vincent Lequertier:</strong> A few years ago I was a 
	speaker at a local radio station, and sometimes I was responsible 
	for mixing the audio. At the station, there were several inputs: the 
	mics of the radio speakers (mine included), the music, the jingles, 
	and so on. And then there was the output broadcast to the radio 
	listeners. Between the inputs and output there was the mixing 
	table, with its uncountable knobs and sliders. I needed to adjust 
	the knobs and sliders so that the inputs were well mixed together, 
	thus producing an output that sounded nice to the listeners. At the 
	time of writing, an AI works just like that. It automatically adjusts 
	the numerous parameters of a digital, virtual mixing table. 
	Once put through it, the inputs produce a satisfying output 
	according to a predefined definition of success (that the sound was 
	nice in this analogy).
  </p>

    <img src="media/2612bc29.9161b78da1d86f828a793d2fbf000dfd.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/9161b78da1d86f828a793d2fbf000dfd.jpg"/>
  A PhD candidate at the Claude Bernard university in Lyon who 
   researches artificial intelligence for healthcare, Vincent supports 
   Software Freedom and volunteers for the FSFE in his free time.
  
  <p>
	<strong>You are advocating for accessible and transparent AI. 
	According to your research, what would you say are the necessary 
	requirements to make sure that programs using artificial 
	intelligence are accessible and transparent?</strong>
  </p>

 <p>
  Reusing AIs makes sense because they are costly to develop and 
  train, both in terms of human and computer resources. Additionally, 
  training AI models demands a lot of data which are particularly hard 
  to obtain and work with. Therefore, being able to reuse an AI is 
  important, as it saves time and potentially scarce resources. 
  Moreover, making an AI available to others fosters innovation by 
  facilitating collaboration. I think a fundamental requirement for AI 
  accessibility is Free Software, because AIs licensed as Free Software 
  (also known as Open Source) are inherently accessible. Other 
  requirements can be Open Standards and Open Data. AI models should 
  therefore be published and freely accessible.
 </p>
 
 <p>
  Transparency in AI is the ability to understand and interpret the 
  output coming from it. Although given the complexity of today's AI 
  systems transparency can be hard to obtain, it is an important 
  characteristic as it fosters trust. <strong>Being able to understand why a 
  given output was produced, and what part contributed the most to it, 
  increases confidence in the model and makes it easier to debug.</strong> 
  Moreover, understanding the role played by each input can help 
  data-driven policy making. For example, in healthcare, understanding 
  the most important factors impacting the quality of patients' care 
  for a disease can validate or change healthcare practices. Free 
  Software is a key part of transparency because it allows everyone to 
  use the AI and analyze its predictions to better understand them.
 </p>

  <p>
	<strong>How can we make sure that inequalities in our current 
	societies do not pass on to AI data training? How can we assure 
	that AI results are fair?</strong>
  </p>

 <p>
  As AI is really good at magnifying existing inequalities found in the 
  data used for its training, fairness issues will creep into AI. 
  Detecting those issues in the dataset and in the AI's output is 
  therefore critical. However, simply removing data that might be a 
  source for unfairness (e.g. a training dataset variable that is not 
  representative of the data used once the model is put in production) 
  may not always work, because these data might be correlated to other 
  attributes in the dataset which would need to be removed as well. 
  Completely removing any potential inequality may therefore remove a 
  lot of data from the dataset, potentially limiting the ability 
  of the AI to properly address the problem it has been designed to 
  solve. Inequalities therefore come from badly constructed datasets, 
  and advanced methods are required to circumvent them.
 </p>
  
 
  Data related to COVID-19 are public, and <a href="https://covidtracker.fr/">the most popular website</a> to 
  visualize these data as well as other tools <a href="https://github.com/CovidTrackerFr">are Free Software</a>.  
 


 <p>
  To detect fairness issues, a definition of fairness must be decided 
  upon. For example, fairness may be defined as whether pairs of 
  similar individuals get similar predictions (individual fairness), or 
  it may be defined as whether predictions are similar across a 
  majority and minority group according to some characteristics (group 
  fairness). This fairness measure may be computed once the AI has 
  been trained to identify potential unfairness, or may be computed 
  during the AI training so that it can take the notion of fairness 
  into account when it adjusts its parameters.  
 </p>

 <p>
  Free Software is also important here, as it <strong>allows everyone to check 
  for fairness issues, whether by inspecting the source code or by 
  running the AI directly and analysing its predictions.</strong>
 </p>

 <img src="media/14df0687.8d10355a4334cefde7f2f21d6f44daaa.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/8d10355a4334cefde7f2f21d6f44daaa.jpg"/>
 
  Vincent Lequertier presents crucial points about AI during an FSFE Community meeting in Bolzano. Italy, 2019.
 

 <p>
  <strong>
   Your research focuses on healthcare, a field that has universally 
   raised the question of supporting Open Science. To what extent are 
   health metrics and biometrics open? Is artificial intelligence for 
   healthcare a big and globally collaborative aim or independent and 
   competitive?
  </strong>
 </p>

 <p>
  Well, it depends! Because of security and privacy, access to 
  individualized healthcare metrics is often restricted and each study 
  using them must be approved by a ethical committee. However, 
  aggregated statistics may be widely available. For example, the 
  website data.gouv.fr has a <a href="https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/pages/donnees-sante/">section 
  dedicated to healthcare</a>. Also, the data related to COVID-19 are 
  public, and <a href="https://covidtracker.fr/">the most popular 
  website</a> to visualize these data as well as other tools <a href="https://github.com/CovidTrackerFr">are Free Software</a>.   
 </p>

 
  The openness and collaborative aspects of research on AI will 
  improve, partly because scientific journals encourage researchers to 
  share all the research materials, including source code, and also 
  because funding institutions can also ask them to do so. [...]   I also think that the 
  line of reasoning around our "<a href="https://publiccode.eu/">Public Money? Public 
  Code!</a>" campaign applies for AI research.
 

 <p>
  However, it should be noted that data without enough granularity can 
  reduce the AI's performance in healthcare, as, just like humans, 
  an AI application needs to have detailed information, especially if 
  the goal of the AI is to make predictions at the individual level. 
  Because healthcare outcomes are so dependent on context, prediction 
  abilities depend on specific healthcare situations. More open data 
  and more Free Software (i.e. Open Science) make it easier to 
  collaborate. A shared dataset released under a Free Software licence creates a "playground" where AI 
  models can be easily compared and where we can create benchmarking 
  tasks, such as hospital length of stay prediction. Without a proper 
  benchmarking task, finding methodological improvements is harder. An 
  example of an open dataset for healthcare is <a href="https://physionet.org/content/mimiciii/">MIMIC</a>.
  Also, a lot of papers about AI research are freely available on arxiv.org. I 
  think the openness and collaborative aspects of research on AI will 
  improve, partly because scientific journals encourage researchers to 
  share all the research materials, including source code, and also 
  because funding institutions can also ask them do do so. For example 
  the Horizon 2020 program of the European Union <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/open-science-open-access">values 
  Open Science</a>.
 </p>

 <p>
  I also think that the line of reasoning around our "<a href="https://publiccode.eu/">Public Money? Public Code!</a>" 
  campaign applies for AI research.
 </p>

 <p>
  <strong>
   A common expectation for the future of AI is that it can have abrupt 
   economical and societal impact by making many job positions 
   redundant. Do you see this as a possibility for the upcoming years? 
   If so, is there any practice that could alleviate these 
   consequences? Would Free Software be one?
  </strong>
 </p>

 <p>        
  I think AI has come a long way in the last ten years. It is more and 
  more able to organize and structure information. The fields which 
  have made the most impressive progress are natural language 
  processing (i.e. tasks involving text such as sentiment analysis) and 
  computer vision (i.e. tasks involving images such as image 
  classification). In natural language processing, deep learning models 
  can semantically understand words and documents as well as the 
  relationships between them. So I think the jobs where AI will be able 
  to assist us (I consider things only from a technical point of view 
  here) are the jobs dealing with a lot of structured information that 
  needs to be understood, processed, and memorized, as AI is becoming 
  better at this than us. For example, AI-based software has shown 
  good results in assisting in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6268174/">radiology</a>, 
  legal document analysis, and programming (see next question). So 
  it's possible that AI makes people more efficient, which would 
  reduce the amount of human work required. However, this work would 
  require skills where AI does not work well at the time of writing, 
  such as creativity or emphatic and thoughtful communication.
 </p>

 
  The jobs where AI will be able to assist us (I consider things only 
  from a technical point of view here) are the jobs dealing with a lot 
  of structured information that needs to be understood, processed, and 
  memorized, as AI is becoming better at this than us. For example, 
  AI-based software has shown good results in assisting in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6268174/">radiology</a>, 
  legal document analysis, and programming. 
 

 <p>
  If AI is bound to get better, and will at some point have the 
  capacity to completely automate some work, transparency and fairness 
  can only become more and more important.  Although not sufficient, 
  Free Software is a big part of what helps putting strong 
  safeguards in place.
 </p>
 <p>
  However, I don't think it's up to the scientific community to design 
  policies around employment. Putting together a proof of concept or 
  finding a novel theory that could automate some work is not a reason 
  for implanting it in everyday lives. In the past years, the EU has 
  already had to deal with AI applications that are impressive 
  technically but raise ethical concerns. For example, the Clearview AI 
  facial recognition platform has been judged illegal in some EU 
  countries, and citizens have the right to opt out from this 
  technology. The next few years will be important with regard to AI 
  ethical concerns, and the upcoming EU Artificial Intelligence Act 
  might play a big role in it.
 </p>
 <p>
  And finally, although I'm not a historian, I think that over the last 
  centuries we have made tremendous technological progress and 
  society has always evolved along with it. Thinking about the past 
  challenges of technological improvements would help us to 
  understand whether they would be different this time around, and how to 
  deal with them as best as we can.
 </p>

  <img src="media/ae697f73.97bcc3b73d413a4eae7143025fb6323f.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/97bcc3b73d413a4eae7143025fb6323f.jpg"/>
  FSFE Community Meeting during Rencontres mondiales du logiciel libre conference in Strasbourg. France, 2018.

 <p>
  <strong>
   What legal issues do you think will be raised regarding AI in the 
   next ten years? Would it be issues of ownership or responsibility? 
   For example, we are already seeing ethical and technical aspects of 
   the AI ownership in  Github's Copilot. We 
   are interested to know what the upcoming crucial questions are, 
   according to you.
  </strong>
 </p>

 <p>
  Issues around ownership and responsibility will be very important, 
  and Copilot is a prime example of that, where the fundamental 
  question is whether AI creations can be considered as novel ideas, 
  and, if they do, whether they are copyrightable on their own. 
  Specifically on Copilot, the fact that a code completion tool may 
  yield <a href="https://twitter.com/mitsuhiko/status/1410886329924194309">straight 
  copies of licensed work</a> can be problematic, as, at the time of 
  writing, the AI does not know the licence under which the source of 
  autocompleted code is released, and how the licence should be 
  respected. For example, to the best of my knowledge, it is not clear 
  whether code autocompleted by Copilot originally released under the 
  GNU Public Licence makes the rest of the project a derivative work. 
  Being able to freely use source code often comes with obligations 
  that need to be fulfilled, regardless of whether it is accessed by an 
  AI or a human being. Our <a href="https://reuse.software/">REUSE 
  project</a>, which aims to make it easier to programmatically 
  understand how a project and its diverse components are licensed, may 
  help building licensing-aware programming tools. The same legal 
  troubles apply to other models able to generate content, in domains 
  such as in painting or in music production.  
 </p>
    
 <p>
  Another legal issue is with patents, where <strong>the question of 
  whether an AI can be a patent author is still undecided</strong>. In 
  the UK and EU, a patent whose inventor was an AI was rejected because 
  they considered that AI does not have a legal personality and cannot 
  have a legal right over its output. But a couple of months ago, <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-world-first-south-africa-grants-patent-to-an-artificial-intelligence-system-165623">the 
  first patent which lists AI as the inventor was approved</a>.
 </p>

  The fundamental question is whether AI creations can be considered as 
  novel ideas, and, if they do, whether they are copyrightable on their 
  own.    
 
 <p>
  <strong>
   Is there any book about artificial intelligence you would like to recommend to our readers?
  </strong>
 </p>


 <p>
  I can't recommend "Genesis" from Bernard Beckett enough. It is a 
  small novel showing a philosophical debate around the questions of 
  what it means to be human and of whether machines can have 
  consciousness. The classic "I, Robot" from Isaac Asimov also raises 
  many questions that make a lot of sense today (it was published in 
  1950!) If we are building autonomous robots with some freedom of 
  action, what safeguards must we put in place? The book is really 
  about how to ensure AI works as intended.
 </p>


 <p>
  <strong>
   You have been a part of the FSFE for several years. What is an 
   important thing that you learnt from this experience?
  </strong>
 </p>

 <p>
  I learnt that Free Software can be viewed from a lot of different 
  angles and is not only a technical topic. This translates into the 
  diversity and breadth of our community. This diversity is a huge 
  strength.
 </p>

 <p>
  <strong>
   And what is a story that still makes you smile when you remember it? 
  </strong>
 </p>

 <p>
  My first FOSDEM in 2019. I met some awesome people from our 
  community. That was really heartwarming.
 </p>

  <p>
    <strong>As a last question, what do you wish the FSFE for the next 20 years?</strong>
  </p>

 <p>
  I wish the FSFE will be able to tackle the challenges ahead. The next 
  years will be full of innovations that will make technology even more 
  ubiquitous in our lives. I hope we will be able to keep spreading the 
  word about Free Software and the values behind it.
 </p>

  Being able to freely use source code often comes with obligations 
  that need to be fulfilled, regardless of whether it is accessed by an 
  AI or a human being. Our <a href="https://reuse.software/">REUSE 
  project</a>, which aims to make it easier to programmatically 
  understand how a project and its diverse components are licensed, may 
  help building licensing-aware programming tools.  
 
  <p>
    <strong>FSFE: Thank you very much!</strong>
  </p>
<h3>About "20 Years FSFE"</h3><p>
    In 2021 the Free Software Foundation Europe turns 20. This means 
    two decades of <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/about.html">empowering users to 
    control technology</a>. 
  </p>
      <img src="media/0409b849.53aeebdafa0a0c83324dcafc1e4bef1c.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/53aeebdafa0a0c83324dcafc1e4bef1c.png"/>
    <p>
    Turning 20 is a time when we like to take a breath and to look back 
    on the road we have come, to reflect the milestones we have passed, 
    the successes we have achieved, the stories we have written, and 
    the moments that brought us together and that we will always 
    joyfully  remember. In 2021 we want to give momentum to the 
    FSFE and even more to our pan-European community, the community 
    that has formed  and always will form the shoulders that our 
    movement relies on. 
  </p><p>
    <strong>20 Years FSFE is meant to be a celebration of everyone who 
    has accompanied us in the past or still does. Thank you for your 
    place in the structure of the FSFE today and for setting the 
    foundation for the next decades of software freedom to 
    come.</strong>
  </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211210-01
title: The FSFE is looking for an office assistant
uri: 2021-12-10-The-FSFE-is-looking-for-an-office-assistant
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211210-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>The FSFE is looking for an office assistant</h1><p>
    We are looking for an office assistant for 20-25 hours per week in our
    Berlin office. As part of our office management team you will organise the
    FSFE's day-to-day operations. Your job will be to provide clerical support
    to our staff and coordinate daily administrative activities.
  </p><p>
    Our ideal candidate has experience as an office administrator, secretary,
    event organisator, or another relevant administrative role. As a family
    friendly organisation we can offer flexible working hours.
  </p><h2>About the FSFE</h2><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 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 <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/">many activities</a> in the legal,
    economic, political and technical areas around Free Software. Our work is
    made possible by a community of volunteers, supporters, donors, and staff.
    The office assistant's job will be to be the administrative backbone of our
    operations.
  </p>
    <img src="media/3cfc91bc.e88678b1f41368ab7106657ce298706e.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/e88678b1f41368ab7106657ce298706e.jpg"/>
  <h2>Main responsibilities</h2><ul>
    <li>Handle sourcing vendors, (re)-ordering, organising, invoicing, shipping,
    and the inventory for our information material and merchandise.</li>
    <li>Support volunteers and staff with logistics and send packages for
    running information booths.</li>
    <li>Book meetings and schedule events.</li>
    <li>Make travel arrangements.</li>
    <li>Process incoming letters and file them.</li>
    <li>Order office stationery, supplies and promotional materials.</li>
    <li>Organise, store, and print organisational documents as needed.</li>
    <li>Manage office equipment including organising smaller and bigger office
    supplies, assets inventory, and key management.</li>
    <li>Help to constantly improve our administrative processes.</li>
  </ul><h2>Qualifications</h2><ul>
    <li>Proven experience as an administrator, administrative assistant, or
    another related role.</li>
    <li>Familiarity with office equipment.</li>
    <li>Very reliable, well-organised, and supportive of colleagues.</li>
    <li>Problem-solving attitude with an eye for detail.</li>
    <li>Fluency in written and spoken German, intermediate command of written
    and spoken English; other European languages are considered an asset.</li>
    <li>Experience with office management tools (Free Software tools are a
    plus).
    </li>
  </ul><h2>Attitude</h2><p>
    We are looking for a reliable, well-organised, and punctual team player who
    will be part of our administrative backbone in Berlin and thus support the
    organisation in making the world better for future generations.
  </p>
    <img src="media/5ae74a42.f950c5bdd4accb6f9082f91f06a8f882.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/f950c5bdd4accb6f9082f91f06a8f882.jpg"/>
  <h2>How to apply</h2><p>
    To apply, please send a maximum one-page cover letter and a maximum two-page
    CV (only PDFs are accepted) by email to jobs@fsfe.org, with the subject
    "organisational wizard". 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 <em>Sunday, 2 January 2022</em>.
  </p><p>
    Free Software is meant to serve everyone regardless of their age, ability or
    disability, gender identity, sex, race, nationality, 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><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211213-01
title: Digital Markets Act - Device Neutrality must be consolidated in the legislation
uri: Digital-Markets-Act-Device-Neutrality-must-be-consolidated-in-the-le
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211213-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Digital Markets Act - Device Neutrality must be consolidated in the legislation</h1><p>
On December 15, the Digital Markets Act, the EU's comprehensive regulatory package for internet platforms, will go through plenary voting at the European Parliament. The FSFE calls for consolidating Device Neutrality to enable fair and non-discriminatory use of Free Software in digital devices.
</p><p>
The European Union is about to introduce a major overhaul of Internet legislation with the <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/OJQ-9-2021-12-15_EN.html">Digital
Markets Act (DMA)</a>. After successful committee voting on 22 November, the European Parliament will conduct plenary voting on 15 December. The FSFE advocates <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211122-01.html">Device Neutrality</a> as a fundamental step to achieve a contestable, open, and competitive digital market in the EU and urges the European Parliament to secure this principle in the final voting.
</p><h2>Device Neutrality - fostering Free Sofware in an end-user centric digital market</h2><p>
The DMA focuses on "gatekeepers", understood as very large tech companies that have control over large parts of digital services, such as search engines, social networking services, messaging services, operating systems, and online intermediation services. While digital devices are a ubiquitous reality in all aspects of life, our control over the hardware and software running on them is increasingly being limited. Device Neutrality is the policy concept that users should have the right of non-discrimination of the services and software they use, based on platform control by hardware vendors, manufacturers, and service providers. The goal is to enable users to bypass gatekeepers and enable a fair and non-discriminatory use of Free Software in devices. 
</p><p>
After many iterations and amendments, the DMA's final text submitted to the plenary voting incorporates the following Device Neutrality principles, which the FSFE urges the European Parliament to consolidate in the plenary voting:
</p>
  <img src="media/50f10ecc.f731ac5b41638cc410f6a9551a168cac.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/f731ac5b41638cc410f6a9551a168cac.png"/>
  Device neutrality principles
<ul>
  <li>
    Strict end-user consent for pre-installed apps. The DMA must impose on gatekeepers the obligation to allow their customers to uninstall any pre-installed software applications they provide on their services or with their hardware. This means more restrictive rules for pre-installed apps, providing users the same access privileges for both pre-installed and alternative apps, and the possibility to uninstall pre-loaded apps.
  </li>

  <li>
    No vendor lock-in. The DMA should enable side-loading of apps in dominant operating systems, so consumers can install any compatible software on their devices. The DMA should require gatekeepers to permit third-party app stores and code repositories that compete with their own. The law must prohibit gatekeepers limiting the ability of end-users to switch between and subscribe to different software applications and services. This will prevent gatekeepers from locking users into specific service providers.
  </li>

  <li>
    Interoperability of services based on <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/standards/">Open Standards</a>. It is urgent for the DMA to require gatekeepers to provide access and interoperability to hardware and software features accessed or controlled via the gatekeeper's operating system. That means that the operating system's functionalities and available  APIs  should be transparent  and  available  to  apps  in  a  non-discriminatory way. Interoperability should be defined by Open Standards.
  </li>

  <li>
    Real-time data portability. The DMA should require gatekeepers to provide real-time data portability for devices, so that consumers can switch from one device to another - including operating systems - as smoothly as possible.
  </li>

</ul><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: nl-202112
title: Upcycling Android ++ Étape majeure pour la Neutralité des appareils ++ Nico Rikken + Ada + Job
uri: Upcycling-Android-Étape-majeure-pour-la-Neutralité-des-appareils
url: https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202112.fr.html
content:
<h1>Upcycling Android ++ Étape majeure pour la Neutralité des appareils ++ Nico Rikken + Ada + Job</h1><p>
    Dans l'infolettre de décembre, nous parlons d'Upcycling Android, une initiative pour vaincre l'obsolescence des logiciels avec les Logiciels Libres. L'Union européenne traite la Législation sur les marchés numériques, une étape majeure pour la neutralité des appareils. L'Allemagne cherche à adopter la devise « Argent public, code public » ! Nous nous entretenons avec Nico Rikken pour les 20 ans de la FSFE. Rencontrez Ada, personnage dans un livre pour enfants. Trouvez une opportunité d'emploi.
  </p><h2>Upcycling Android : Continuez d'utiliser votre téléphone grâce aux Logiciels Libres</h2><p>
    Durant la semaine européenne pour la Réduction du gaspillage, la FSFE a lancé sa nouvelle initiative <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/">« Upcycling Android »</a> : chaque fois que nous continuons d'utiliser notre téléphone au lieu d'en acheter un nouveau, nous soutenons une utilisation plus durable de nos ressources. Upcycling Android (« Recyclage d'Android ») aide les gens à éliminer l'obsolescence des logiciels et à continuer d'utiliser leurs téléphones avec des Logiciels Libres.
  </p>
      <img src="media/75905ff9.a0da43aac80cf4d611b0a45e2e6a925f.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/a0da43aac80cf4d611b0a45e2e6a925f.jpg"/>
  <p>
    Sur le site web de l'initiative, vous trouverez des informations d'arrière-plan et notre vidéo multilingue qui explique en bref les bénéfices environnementaux qui découlent de l'extension de la durée de vie du matériel grâce à l'utilisation de Logiciels Libres. En plus de cela, vous trouverez des <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/informationmaterial.html">informations</a> professionnelles allant d'infographies à des discours d'experts en passant par notre étude sur la durabilité des Logiciels Libres.
  </p><h2>Le vote de la Législation sur les marchés numériques pourrait bien être une victoire majeure pour la neutralité des appareils</h2><p>
    Un premier succès potentiel pour la Neutralité des appareils est sur le point d'être déterminé. La Législation sur les marchés numériques (DMA) de l'Union europenne a pour objectif de réguler les entreprises d'Internet qui tiennent le rôle de gardiens dans les marchés numériques. Parmi ces gardiens se trouvent des plateformes web, des fournisseurs de service, des fabricants et des vendeurs satisfaisant des critères définis par la loi. La DMA est une opportunité de créer des marchés plus justes et plus compétitifs pour les plateformes en ligne dans l'Union européenne. Les Standards Ouverts et l'interopérabilité sécuriseront les intérêts des consommateurs européens et faciliteront l'utilisation de Logiciels Libres et leur adoption dans les marchés.
  </p><p>
    Un bon point majeur est que les <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211122-01.html">quatre principes auxquels nous avons appelé</a> ont été inclus dans la DMA après que le Comité sur le marché interne et la protection du consommateur <a href="https://emeeting.europarl.europa.eu/emeeting/committee/en/agenda/202111/IMCO">a voté durant sa réunion le 22 novembre</a>. Tous les regards se tournent maintenant sur le vote plénier pour la position finale du Parlement européen à sa première lecture le <a href="media/0003f317.SYN_POJ_December_STRb_EN.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/sed/doc/news/flash/26441/SYN_POJ_December_STRb_EN.pdf">15 décembre 2021</a>. Continuez de suivre !
  </p><h2>Le nouveau gouvernement allemand présente « Argent public ? Code public ! »</h2><p>
    Les actualités prometteuses ne s'arrêtent pas là. Le gouvernement allemand nouvellement formé est d'accord avec la demande de la FSFE « Argent public ? Code public ! » et la déclare comme <a href="https://mastodon.social/@fsfe/107332820789284114">l'un des objectifs de la coalition</a>. Il doit être noté que ce développement n'est pas paru dans le bleu et découle plutôt des actions persistantes de la FSFE : ateliers, travail avec des groupes allemands locaux, création d'un <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/Bundestagswahl_DE">paquetage d'activités</a> (allemand) pour les volontaires, conduite de <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210920-01.html">5 entretiens</a> (allemand) avec des représentants des partis politiques allemands, formation <a href="https://digitalezivilgesellschaft.org/digitalvisionen/">d'une vision pour les décennies à venir et de demandes concrètes pour le prochain gouvernement</a> et analyse des <a href="https://digitalezivilgesellschaft.org/wahlpruefsteine/oeffentliches-gut/">programmes d'élection des partis</a>.
  </p><p>
    La décision est un développement important pour le mouvement des Logiciels Libres en Allemagne. Nous remercions toutes les personnes qui ont agi avec nous ces dernières années et nous ont aidés à parvenir à cette situation. La FSFE va maintenant se concentrer sur l'implantation de la décision.
  </p><h2>Le personnage de livre pour enfants Ada apprend le pouvoir des logiciels</h2><p>
    Ada découvre les mystères des logiciels dans une aventure avec ses amis, après une réunion malencontreuse avec le riche et célèbre inventeur Zangemann. Un livre pour enfants pour lecteurs jeunes ou âgés, « Ada &amp; Zangemann » est un conte amusant et éducatif. Matthias Kirschner, auteur et président de la FSFE, communique aux jeunes lecteurs l'importance des logiciels, et même les bases de sujets plus complexes qui les concernent. Le livre est publié sous une licence Creative Commons.
  </p>
      <img src="media/508a1a37.b2b23d22357bfc0c568a472b45a56dd3.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/b2b23d22357bfc0c568a472b45a56dd3.png"/>
  <p>
    « Ada &amp; Zangemann » est en allemand, et vient d'être livré en Allemagne. Il est déjà vendu à l'éditeur O'Reilly, mais vous pouvez toujours obtenir des copies venant d'autres vendeurs de livres. La FSFE cherche un éditeur qui pourrait produire une édition en anglais. Si vous voulez voir l'histoire d'Ada en anglais et en d'autres langues, nous accueillons les dons. « Après que mon fils a lu le livre la nuit dernière, il m'a raconté l'histoire complète ce matin… Il veut faire quelque chose avec de vieilles palettes après l'école aujourd'hui. Et ensuite, il veut apprendre à programmer », a dit Ingo Wichmann, directeur général de Linuxhotel GmbH.
  </p><h2>Vue d'ensemble de l'année passée : la liberté des logiciels en 2021</h2><p>
    Annulation de grands évènements, limitations dans les réunions, et restrictions de voyages : rien de tout cela n'a arrêté la FSFE dans son travail pour le progrès de la liberté des logiciels en 2021. De la Liberté des Routeurs à des nouveaux épisodes de podcast en passant par la coorganisation de la salle de développement juridique et politique pour l'évènement FOSDEM, nous continuons de permettre aux gens de contrôler la technologie. Les ateliers en ligne « Argent public ? Code public ! » ont été offerts par des volontaires, et un atelier juridique et de licences pour les experts juridiques a été organisé. La FSFE a assisté des projets de logiciels afin qu'ils deviennent conformes à notre nouvelle initiative, REUSE Booster.
  </p>
    <img src="media/42ef43f3.6f6e6a53a5c436a757ccfb9b4eef2706.JPG" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/6f6e6a53a5c436a757ccfb9b4eef2706.JPG"/>
    Le personnel de la FSFE après une participation de deux jours à l'évènement SFSCon. Bolzano, Italie, novembre 2021.
  <p>
    Dans le même temps, une affaire judiciaire de deux ans initiée par le partisan de la FSFE Luca Bonissi est parvenue à une fin, reconnaissant de façon non équivoque le droit au remboursement d'une licence Windows. Notre <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211110-01.html">rapport annuel</a> correspond à notre travail durant la période novembre 2020 – octobre 2021. Dans l'ensemble, des accomplissements significatifs pour la liberté des logiciels ont marqué 2021, l'année durant laquelle la FSFE a célébré son 20e anniversaire.
  </p><p>
    Grâce à la confiance de nos partisans, la FSFE a 20 ans. Notre présence stable nous permet de réussir de longues entreprises pour la liberté des logiciels, et d'être prêt à chaque fois pour répondre aux développements liés. Nous sommes reconnaissants à nos partisans pour leur confiance, et nous continuerons de permettre aux gens de contrôler la technologie. Pour nous aider, envisagez de donner à la FSFE afin de stimuler notre travail caritatif pour la liberté dans la société de l'information pour les 20 prochaines années.
  </p><h2>20 ans de la FSFE : Entretien avec Nico Rikken sur les activités des équipes de pays</h2><p>
    Les 20 ans de la FSFE sont une célébration pour toutes les personnes qui nous ont accompagnés par le passé ou encore aujourd'hui. Dans notre cinquième publication anniversaire, nous avions eu un entretien avec Nico Rikken, qui a aidé la FSFE avec ses compétences techniques tout en contribuant grandement à la construction de la communauté depuis 2014. Avec cet <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211123-01.html">entretien</a>, non seulement vous ferez la connaissance de Nico Rikken, mais aussi de l'équipe FSFE des Pays-Bas, puisqu'il est l'un des coordinateurs. Comment les personnes se retrouvent à rejoindre une équipe de pays ? C'est l'une des questions que nous avons posées à Nico, et nous citons un aperçu de son point de vue.
  </p>
    <img src="media/81c078ad.5348a47e91da536190b08858a41f894a.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/5348a47e91da536190b08858a41f894a.png"/>
    Stand de la FSFE dans l'espace NLLGG à Utrecht. Pays-Bas, 2019. 
  <p>
    « Les gens ont en quelque sorte gagné en intérêt pour les Logiciels Libres et ont trouvé la FSFE comme le parti désigné pour soutenir ces valeurs en Europe. Ensuite, ils ont trouvé des choses sur l'équipe des Pays-Bas, ont rejoint la liste de diffusion et ont participé à une réunion physique. […] Cela montre comme il est important de laisser les gens savoir que vous existez comme équipe locale, ouverte aux nouveaux arrivants, et de rendre les réunions communautaires faciles à rejoindre. […] Puisque nous sommes tous volontaires, il est important que nos partisans fassent ce qu'ils aiment faire. La plupart d'entre nous ont leurs propres sujets et projets sur lesquels travailler, et l'équipe du pays est un moyen de s'aligner et d'obtenir du soutien. »
  </p><h2>Évènements à venir</h2><ul>
  <li>
    Le 15 décembre, l'<a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/BNL">équipe de pays FSFE des Pays-Bas</a> fera son rassemblement en ligne mensuel.
  </li>
 </ul><h2>Ce que nous avons fait</h2><ul>
    <li>L'assemblée générale de la FSFE a réalisé des élections pour son Conseil durant sa réunion annuelle le 26 novembre. Matthias Kirschner, Heiki Lõhmus et Patrick Ohnewein ont été <a href="media/44543be0.minutes-2021-11-27.en.pdf" data-original-source="https://fsfe.org/about/legal/minutes/minutes-2021-11-27.en.pdf">réélus</a> aux positions de Président, Vice-président et Trésorier respectivement. Le Conseil est élu tous les deux ans.</li>
    <li>Le 13 décembre, la FSFE a organisé un évènement en ligne discutant de la <a href="media/fa507248.PMPC20Evento20Folleto.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/ES/PMPC%20Evento%20Folleto.pdf">modernisation de l'infrastructure numérique publique avec le code public en Espagne</a>. Des experts tels que Luis Falcón, fondateur de GNUHealth ; Ricardo Muñoz de Lliurex ; Alexis Puente Montiel de Pica Pica HackLab ; Ana Albalat Martínez et Francesc Busquets représentant Linkat ; et Aleix Pol Gonzalez, président de KDE, ont partagé leurs points de vue.</li>
    <li>Le 13 décembre, le groupe local de <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Bonn">FSFE Community Bonn</a> a tenu sa réunion mensuelle régulière.</li>
    <li>Le 10 décembre, Lina Ceballos, une gestionnaire de projet de la FSFE, a participé à GnuHealthCon21. Dans son discours en ligne, elle montre le rôle que les Logiciels Libres ont joué dans le combat contre la pandémie et comment ils peuvent aider à vaincre d'autres crises.</li>
    <li>Le 7 décembre, l'<a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Teams/Women">équipe des femmes de la FSFE</a> a tenu sa réunion mensuelle en ligne, et entre autres sujets, l'équipe a discuté de l'évènement <a href="https://events.ccc.de/">Remote Chaos Experience</a> à venir.</li>
    <li>Le 1er décembre, Matthias Kirschner a répondu à un <a href="https://gnulinux.ch/gln017-podcast">entretien</a> (allemand) sur le livre pour enfants « Ada &amp; Zangemann » ; cela fait partie du podcast GNU/Linux.</li>
  </ul><h2>Activez-vous</h2><ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Étudiez-vous dans une université allemande avec un arrière-plan technique ? Consultez notre nouvelle <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211206-01.html">offre d'emploi</a> ; il se pourrait qu'elle vous convienne. Nous cherchons un membre fiable et bien organisé de nos équipes techniques qui a envie d'apprendre d'anciennes et de nouvelles technologies.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
		Nous recherchons également un <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211210-01.html">assistant de bureau</a> pour 
		20-25 heures par semaine dans notre bureau de Berlin. Notre candidat idéal 
		a de l'expérience en tant qu'administrateur de bureau, secrétaire, organisateur 
		d'organisateur d'événements, ou tout autre rôle administratif pertinent.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        Rejoignez notre mouvement Upcycling Android et aidez-nous à diffuser le message. Découvrez nos <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/informationmaterial.html">matériaux d'information</a>. Nous vous offrons des autocollants et une brochure gratuitement afin que vous les partagiez avec des amis, les placiez dans un espace communautaire, ou les diffusiez sur le net. Bonnes vacances de la part de nous tous !
       </p>
    </li>
  </ul><h2>Contribuer à notre infolettre</h2><p>
    Si vous voulez partager des pensées, images ou actualités, veuillez nous les envoyer. Comme toujours, l'adresse est newsletter@fsfe.org. Nous attendons de vous entendre ! Si vous voulez aussi nous soutenir et soutenir notre travail, rejoignez notre communautez et soutenez-nous avec un don ou une <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=newsletter">contribution mensuelle</a>. Merci à notre communauté et à tous les volontaires, soutiens et donateurs qui rendent notre travail possible. Et merci à nos traducteurs, qui vous permettent de lire cette infolettre dans votre langue maternelle.
  </p><p>Votre éditeur, Fani Partsafyllidou</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211215-01
title: Digital Markets Act: Device Neutrality finally becomes a reality
uri: Digital-Markets-Act-Device-Neutrality-finally-becomes-a-reality
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211215-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Digital Markets Act: Device Neutrality finally becomes a reality</h1><p>
After many iterations and amendments, the European Parliament adopted the Digital Markets Act by 642 votes in favour, 8 votes against, and 46 abstentions.  With this vote the principle of Device Neutrality is introduced. At the same time, the Parliament missed the chance to introduce strong requirements for interoperability based on Open Standards.
</p>
"We strongly believe the digital markets will benefit by facilitating access to Free Software in devices. Device Neutrality translates in the DMA as stricter consent rules for pre-installed apps, safeguards against vendor lock-in, and real-time data portability. Interoperability of services was also introduced, but not with the requirement to be based on <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/standards/index.html">Open Standards</a>. This is a lost chance to leverage competition with accessible and non-discriminatory technical specifications. Open Standards are an important element for innovation by allowing market actors to innovate on top of technical specification standards and build their own services.", says Lucas Lasota, the FSFE's Deputy Legal Coordinator.    
<p>
The FSFE <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211122-01.html">has urged</a>  EU legislators to safeguard Device Neutrality in the DMA.  We regret the voting has not contemplated setting Open Standards as default to define interoperability. However, getting Device Neutrality in the legislation is the first step. The right for end-users to use their own device and operating system is an important factor to guarantee access of Free Software operating systems to dominant platforms. As a daily reality for many users this option enlarges the audience for Free Software adoption.
</p><p>
The FSFE has been working for <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/activities.html">two decades</a> empowering people to control technology in their devices. We will closely follow the implementation of the law and continue to conduct activities and initiatives to safeguard end-users' interests.
</p>
  <img src="media/50f10ecc.f731ac5b41638cc410f6a9551a168cac.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/f731ac5b41638cc410f6a9551a168cac.png"/>
  Device neutrality principles
<p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20211216-01
title: Lack of public code cost the city of Stockholm €100 million
uri: Lack-of-public-code-cost-the-city-of-Stockholm-100-million
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211216-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Lack of public code cost the city of Stockholm €100 million</h1><p>
 Öppna skolplattformen was developed out of the frustration of some parents 
 in Stockholm when they noticed some irregularities and security issues in the
 proprietary school platform provided by the city. The original app cost the 
 city one billion Swedish krona (around €100 million) and it turned out to be 
 badly flawed.
</p>
<img src="media/f8b54d8e.089c7baba968418669601f56d1f72d86.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/089c7baba968418669601f56d1f72d86.png"/> 
 <p>
  Administrations are relying more and more on digital solutions to improve their
   workflows and to make daily processes easier. This was exactly the case of the 
   city of Stockholm and its original Skolplattformen. This platform was meant to 
   be used as a common digital platform for Stockholm's kindergartens and schools, 
   by giving parents information about their children's school directly to their 
   devices. However, the platform did not work as expected, and once some parents 
   took a closer look at the software, they found numerous flaws in the app.
</p><p>
This frustrating situation made them decide to reverse-engineer the platform's 
API to create a Free Software alternative - <a href="https://github.com/kolplattformen/skolplattformen">Öppna skolplattformen</a> - 
  that offers a simpler, faster, and more secure experience. Despite these efforts, 
  the city of Stockholm was neither happy nor willing to collaborate with the 
  team of Öppna skolplattformen, and instead decided to start a legal investigation 
  and fill out a police report against the developers of the app arguing misuse 
  of personal data. 
</p>
<p>"If we could use openness as our competitive advantage and do much better collaboration with each other, we could start seeing a lot of potential for Europe to be more competitive in terms of global economy."
Christian Landberg, co-founder and developer of Öppna skolplattformen 
</p>
<p>
  This is the story of a struggle of some parents trying to fix the problems 
  that pricey proprietary software brought, and a skeptical administration that 
  found itself trapped in a serious vendor lock-in. With Christian 
  Landberg - co-founder and developer of Öppna skolplattformen - and Alexander 
  Crawford - early supporter and strategic, policy and communication advisor of 
  Öppna skolplattformen - we talked in depth about the Open School Platform. 
  What drove them to release it under a Free Software license, its progress and 
  current situation, and what lies ahead for this platform, but also for the use 
  of public code in the public sector?
</p>
        
        <p>Video (in English)</p>
<p>"Öppna skolplattformen is becoming a snowball that has escalated and it's changing the conversation around civic tech and digitalisation of public sector."
Alexander Crawford, early supporter and advisor of Öppna skolplattformen
</p>
<h2>Public Money? Public Code!</h2><p>
 Over the last four years, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) has been 
 advocating for more software freedom in the public sector in the framework of 
 the Public Money? Public Code! initiative. It requires that publicly financed 
 software developed for the public sector should be made publicly available under 
 Free Software licenses. The arguments for this demand are based on the benefits 
 that Free Software can foster, such as saving long-term costs, promotion and 
 support of the local economy, transparency, interoperability, and more.
</p><p>

You can support this call by <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">joining our 
campaign</a>, <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/publiccode/brochure">distributing our brochure</a>,  and convincing <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/ContactingAdministrationsForPMPC">your local administration</a> to use Free Software.
</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: nl-202201
title: La neutralité des appareils devient une réalité +++ Stockholm +++ Infrastructure de la FSFE +++ IA
uri: La-neutralité-des-appareils-devient-une-réalité-Stockholm-I
url: https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202201.fr.html
content:
<h1>La neutralité des appareils devient une réalité +++ Stockholm +++ Infrastructure de la FSFE +++ IA</h1><p>
    Dans notre lettre d'information de janvier, nous reconnaissons l'importance de la Législation sur les marchés numériques comme un développement majoritairement positif pour la liberté des logiciels. Lisez comment les logiciels non libres ont couté 100 millions d'euros à Stockholm. Notre équipe Hackeurs de systèmes éclaircit ce qui se cache derrière l'infrastructure de la FSFE. Vincent Lequertier souligne le fait que les IA doivent être transparentes. L'évènement FOSDEM approche.
  </p><h2>La neutralité des appareils devient finalement une réalité</h2><p>
    Le Parlement européen a adopté la Législation sur les marchés numériques, qui <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211215-01.html">introduit le principe de la neutralité des appareils</a>. C'est une première étape majeure. Le droit pour les utilisateurs finaux d'utiliser leur propre appareil et système d'exploitation est un facteur important pour garantir l'accès des systèmes d'exploitation Libres aux plateformes dominantes. En tant que réalité du jour pour de nombreux utilisateurs, cette option étend l'audience pour l'adoption de Logiciels Libres.
  </p><p>
    La Législation sur les marchés numériques protège les utilisateurs car elle requiert un consentement plus strict pour les applications préinstallées, elle vise à empêcher les blocages des vendeurs, et elle requiert la portabilité des données en temps réel. Cependant, nous regrettons que le vote n'ait pas conduit à mettre les Standards Ouverts comme standards par défaut pour définir l'interopérabilité.
  </p><h2>Les logiciels non libres ont couté 100 millions d'euros à la ville de Stockholm</h2><p>
    Les parents à Stockholm reçoivent des informations sur l'école ou la maternelle de leur enfant directement sur leurs appareils avec l'aide de Skolplattformen (« Plateforme pour école »), une plateforme numérique offerte par la ville de Stockholm. Cette plateforme a couté environ 100 millions d'euros et bien qu'elle ait été financée par de l'argent public, son code était privé. Les parents ont remarqués des irrégularités et des problèmes de sécurités dans la plateforme et se sont mis à corriger les problèmes eux-mêmes. Ils ont créé une alternative Libre fonctionnelle et sécurisée, Öppna skolplattformen (« Plateforme ouverte pour école »). La ville de Stockholm a pris des mesures légales contre les développeurs qui ont voulu aider.
  </p>
    <img src="media/f8b54d8e.089c7baba968418669601f56d1f72d86.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/089c7baba968418669601f56d1f72d86.png"/>
    
      Entretien avec Christian Landberg et Alexander Crawford d'Öppna skolplattformen
    
  <p>
    Nous avons <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211216-01.html">interrogé Christian Landberg et Alexander Crawford, deux contributeurs majeurs de l'initiative</a>. Selon Alexander Crawford, Öppna skolplattformen change le discours sur la technologie civique et la mise au numérique du secteur public.
  </p><h2>Infrastructure vivant les idéaux de la liberté des logiciels</h2><p>
    Les organisations avec des ressources limitées peuvent-elles être numériquement souveraines et toujours fournir des services modernes ? Ce n'est pas évident, mais la FSFE prouve que cela est possible. Nous avons maximisé notre contrôle sur des services et des serveurs en utilisant des Logiciels Libres. Nous manifestons une transparence interne et externe. La complexité de nos systèmes est supportable, tandis que nous fournissons une variété de fonctionnalités utiles.
  </p>
    <img src="media/90307687.a9669e241527f1769e2fe67418a77f0d.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/a9669e241527f1769e2fe67418a77f0d.jpg"/>
  <p>
    La FSFE partage une vue d'ensemble de son infrastructure numérique dans un <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211203-01.html">article</a> qui peut aider d'autres ONG à devenir indépendantes des fournisseurs de services propriétaires. Laissez-nous vous emmener en voyage à travers notre infrastructure et ses principes, allant d'interfaces utilisateur brillantes de nos services, en passant par les méthodes de virtualisation et la surveillance, jusqu'aux serveurs de métal sur lesquels elles tournent. Notre infrastructure est gérée par l'équipe Hackeurs de système.
  </p><h2>Entretien avec Vincent Lequertier sur les IA</h2><p>
    Vincent Lequertier est un membre de l'équipe Hackeurs de système et un chercheur en intelligence artificielle pour les services de santé. Pour les 20 ans de la FSFE, <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211209-01.html">nous avons interrogé Vincent sur des aspects cruciaux des intelligences artificielles</a>. La transparence en IA est nécessaire pour évaluer et comprendre comment les données sont traitées et comment les résultats sont calculés. Les Logiciels Libres peuvent jouer un rôle crucial pour rendre les IA plus transparentes.
  </p>
    <img src="media/14df0687.8d10355a4334cefde7f2f21d6f44daaa.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/8d10355a4334cefde7f2f21d6f44daaa.jpg"/>
    
      Vincent Lequertier présente des ponits cruciaux sur les IA au cours d'une réunion communautaire de la FSFE à Bolzano. Italie, 2019.
    
  <p>
    Vincent note que dans le secteur de la santé, certaines statistiques aggrégées sont largement disponibles. D'après son estimation, l'ouverture et les aspects collaboratifs de la recherche sur les IA va s'améliorer. L'entretien déchiffre des sujets de pointe comme la possibilité pour les IA d'obtenir le droit légal de demander le droit d'auteur.
  </p><h2>Réservez la date</h2><ul>
    <li>
      Le mercredi 19 janvier, l'équipe FSFE des Pays-Bas va tenir son <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/Netherlands/2022-01-19">rassemblement en ligne</a> mensuel.
    </li>
    <li>
      Samedi 5 et dimanche 6 février, l'évènement FOSDEM 2022 aura lieu en ligne, et la FSFE coorganisera à nouveau la Salle de développement légal et politique. L'année dernière, nous avons coorganisé cette salle pour la première fois ; elle a inclus <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210311-01.html">11 discussions sur une riche variété de sujets</a>. Nous attendons FOSDEM 2022 avec impatience. Rejoignez-nous pour apprendre les derniers développement en liberté des logiciels. Restez connecté pour le programme.
    </li>
  </ul><h2>Ce que nous avons fait</h2><ul>
    <li>
      Le 28 décembre, Alexander Sander, Consultant politique de la FSFE, a fait un discours sur « Argent public ? Code public ! pendant les périodes de covid » à la conférence rC3.
    </li>
    <li>
      Le 16 décembre, Lina Ceballos, une Gestionnaire de projet de la FSFE, a participé à une session en ligne sur certaines des activités principales de la FSFE avec une concentration sur « Argent public ? Code public ! » et son statut actuel en Espagne et en Europe. Le discours a pris place à Trantor Tech Talks ; une <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/6AnT1Z2zeCzdskVL3tZw7Z">vidéo est disponible en espagnol</a>.
    </li>
    <li>
      En décembre, des membres de la communauté ont publié trois messages sur Planet. Une revue de livre du roman de Cory Doctorow « Walkaway » fait l'éloge de la narration en dépit d'un dégout personnel pour la fantaisie autour de la technologie « mind scan ». Un message instructif explique comment désactiver votre clavier/pavé tactile interne quand un chat arrive. Un message de fête annonce la livraison de PGPainless version 1.0.0. Vous pouvez lire les pensées de la communauté de la FSFE sur <a href="https://planet.fsfe.org/">Planet</a>.
    </li>
  </ul><h2>Contribuer à notre lettre d'information</h2><p>
    Si vous voulez partager des pensées, images ou actualités, veuillez nous les envoyer. Comme toujours, l'adresse est newsletter@fsfe.org. Nous attendons de vous entendre ! Si vous voulez aussi nous soutenir et soutenir notre travail, rejoignez notre communautez et soutenez-nous avec un don ou une <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=newsletter">contribution mensuelle</a>. Merci à notre communauté et à tous les volontaires, soutiens et donateurs qui rendent notre travail possible. Et merci à nos traducteurs, qui vous permettent de lire cette lettre d'information dans votre langue maternelle.
  </p><p>Votre éditeur, Fani Partsafyllidou</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220112-01
title: Public Money? Public Code! brochure is now available in Spanish
uri: Public-Money-Public-Code-brochure-is-now-available-in-Spanish
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220112-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Public Money? Public Code! brochure is now available in Spanish </h1><p>
	 A large part of our work is possible thanks to the contribution of 
	 our volunteers. This was not the exception. Our Public Money? 
	 Public Code! brochure is now translated into Spanish, and we 
	 hosted an event to share this great news with our community. 
	 GNUHealth, Pica Pica HackLab, Lliurex, Linkat, and KDE took 
	 part in our event. 
	 </p>
	   <img src="media/66d853b9.696af56c4506ebc114f9cd7df21dac13.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/696af56c4506ebc114f9cd7df21dac13.png"/> 
	   <p>
	 In the framework of our Public Money? Public Code! initiative, we 
	 have an exhaustive brochure dedicated to public administrations. 
	 It 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. Hot topics covered include the 
	 avoidance of vendor lock-in, improvement of IT security through 
	 openness, exploring different business models, handling of 
	 procurement issues, and learning from innovative approaches to 
	 smart cities.
	</p><p>
	 Now, thanks to the work of our volunteers, <strong>this brochure is 
	 also available in <a href="media/0db70f76.FSFE_Policy_Brochure_PMPC_ALL_es.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/ES/FSFE_Policy_Brochure_PMPC_ALL_es.pdf">Spanish</a></strong>,
	 which means a broader audience that can read about the 
	 benefits of modernising public infrastructure with public code 
	 in their own language, and that is a highlight to us.
	</p><p>
	 To share this good news, we organised an event dedicated to 
	 our Spanish speaking community. We had the 
	 participation of experts such as Luis Falcón, founder of 
	 GNUHealth, Ricardo Muñoz from Lliurex, Alexis Puente Montiel 
	 from Pica Pica HackLab, Francesc Busquets in representation of 
	 Linkat, and Aleix Pol Gonzalez, president of KDE. Our 
	 speakers and panelist also had the chance to discuss the 
	 challenges that still lie ahead for Free Software in the 
	 public sector with a special focus on Spain. 
	</p><p>
	Do not worry if you could not participate; we have recorded our 
	sessions and the videos are now available.
	</p><h2>Public Money? Public Code! and the importance of a new translation</h2><p>
	FSFE Project Manager Lina Ceballos gave an introduction to 
	our Public Money? Public Code! initiative which requires Free 
	Software as the standard for all publicly financed software. Lina 
	also shared how important is for our community to be able to read 
	this brochure in their own languages, and encouraged others to join 
	us. Video in Spanish.
	</p>  
	<h2>GNUHealth</h2><p>
	Dr. Luis Falcón is a Spanish physician, scientist, and activist. 
	He is the founder of GNU Solidario, a non-profit humanitarian 
	organisation focused on Social Medicine. Luis is the author of 
	GNU Health, the award-winning Free Health and Hospital 
	Information System. In our event, he talked about GNU Health 
	and the importance of Free Software in Public Health regarding 
	data privacy, technological sovereignty, and equity of access to 
	health services. Video in Spanish.
	</p>  
	<h2>Lliurex</h2><p>
	Ricardo Muñoz, who is the coordinator of the Lliurex project, 
	is a Telecommunications Engineer, a teacher, and now he is part 
	of the team of the Computer Service for Educational Centres of 
	the Regional Ministry (SICE) of Valencia as a Technical 
	Teaching Advisor (ATD). Ricardo told us a bit more about the 
	history, challenges, and the values that Lliurex offers to the 
	education sector but also to the Free Software ecosystem. 
	Video in Spanish.
	</p>  
	<h2>Linkat</h2><p>
	Francesc Busquets is part of the Unit of infrastructures, Free 
	Software, and online services of the Digital Culture Area of the 
	Department of Education of the Generalitat de Catalunya. He talked 
	about Linkat, a Free Software solution used for over 15 years in 
	some of the schools in the Catalonian community, highlighting the 
	ethical values of Linkat. Video in Spanish.
	</p>  
	<h2>Pica Pica HackLab</h2><p>
	 Alexis Puente Montiel is the founder and coordinator of Pica Pica 
	 HackLab (PicaHack), a HackLab that managed to <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190514-01.html">convince 
	 the parliament of Asturias to support our campaign Public Money? 
	 Public Code!</a>, being the first parliament in Spain to do so. He 
	 told us about this experience and what is needed to achieve 
	 such goals. Video in Spanish.
	 </p>  
	<h2>Panel</h2><p>
	 The already mentioned speakers with the addition of Aleix Pol 
	 Gonzalez - developer and current President of KDE e.V. and founder 
	 of Barcelona Free Software - discussed some of the challenges that 
	 they face in their everyday work for software freedom and what is 
	 needed to overcome them. The panel was moderated by Lina Ceballos 
	 - FSFE Project Manager. Video in Spanish.
	 </p>  
	<p>
	 Remember that you can take action as well by joining our <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">campaign</a>, distributing our <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/publiccode/brochure">brochure</a>, 
	 and <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/ContactingAdministrationsForPMPC">convincing 
	 your local administration</a> to use Free Software. 
	 </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220121-01
title: 20 Years FSFE: Interviewing past interns
uri: 20-Years-FSFE-Interviewing-past-interns
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220121-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>20 Years FSFE: Interviewing past interns</h1><p>
    In the final publication about 20 Years FSFE, we want to thank 
    everyone who has worked for the organisation in an internship 
    position. We contacted eight former interns and asked them about 
    their time at the FSFE and their current involvement with Free 
    Software.
  </p>
	   <img src="media/34333a8b.96209609ac28be2d5d2674978abf95a7.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/96209609ac28be2d5d2674978abf95a7.png"/> 
   <p>
    These interviews are only a glimpse of the many people who have 
    helped shaping the FSFE with their contributions in an internship 
    position. <a href="https://fsfe.org/about/jobs/internship">An internship in the 
    FSFE</a> can be an intensive yet enriching experience. It 
    familiarises people with the use of Free Software and it helps them 
    networking with the Free Software community. We have asked eight of 
    our former interns about their time at the FSFE and how they are 
    doing today: Diego, George, Lucile, Ludmila, Martin, Matti, Polina, 
    Stian.
  </p><p><strong>Diego</strong> Naranjo is the head of policy in the European Digital Rights (EDRi) organisation.</p><p><strong>George</strong> Brooke-Smith focuses on Risk Management in the KPMG company.</p><p><strong>Lucile</strong> Falgueyrac is a Parliamentary assistant in the European Parliament.</p><p><strong>Ludmila</strong> Vaseva is a software developer at ctrl.alt.coop eG.</p><p><strong>Martin</strong> Husovec is an assistant professor and academic specialising in IP law at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).</p><p><strong>Matti</strong> Lammi is a System Specialist at ETLA Economic Research.</p><p><strong>Polina</strong> Malaja is a Policy Director in the CENTR organisation.</p><p><strong>Stian</strong> Rødven-Eide is a Doctoral researcher in computational linguistics at the University of Gothenburg.</p><h3>Looking back, what did the FSFE inters learn during their internship?</h3>
      <ul>
        <li>
          <img src="media/8022013b.9f59304f932c08f20ee336768a3fea07.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/9f59304f932c08f20ee336768a3fea07.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>Diego</h3>
            <p>
              From this internship I gained more insight into how the 
              Free Software community organises, how to organise 
              campaigns and workshops, and how to deal with <strong>legal 
              issues</strong> related to Free Software.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/48f43170.3fa6479f6bebcd2aaf6b57f275b6dbd4.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/3fa6479f6bebcd2aaf6b57f275b6dbd4.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>George</h3>
            <p>
              It was more about who the Free Software community was for 
              me. I got to know a great group of people from all over 
              the world. I won't forget that. Doing an internship 
              at the FSFE makes you more competent to <strong>tackle IT 
              collaboratively</strong>. And moreover the four software freedoms 
              (use, study, improve, and share) can be applied in all 
              walks of business. In this way, I have felt it was 
              fundamentally helpful.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/60e71310.bd1a209e71a478f378f288f905967e22.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/bd1a209e71a478f378f288f905967e22.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>Lucile</h3>
            <p>
              During my internship I learned much about how Free 
              Software is made and used. I came for the policy and 
              political relevance to resist mass surveillance, and 
              learned much about technology and infrastructure. I 
              learned a lot about <strong>campaigning</strong> and 
              <strong>community organising</strong> during my 
              internship at the FSFE.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/c1e92496.e9a472131c10fc6d9f2861183a8bc45a.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/e9a472131c10fc6d9f2861183a8bc45a.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>Ludmila</h3>
            <p>
              My first conscious contact with Free Software was some 14 
              years ago. It was my second semester at uni and a friend 
              wouldn't stop bugging me to install Ubuntu on my 
              laptop, because it was, you know,  "<strong>cool for 
              political reasons</strong>". At the end, we spent an evening 
              with the institute's Linux user group since back in 
              the day stuff mostly didn't just work and the <strong>sound 
              and wireless cards needed some extra persuasion</strong>. I 
              eventually stopped booting up the windows entirely and up 
              to this day cannot begin to fathom how one does software 
              development or network stuff on a windows machine. 
              (Although I've heard, that's bettered in recent 
              years.)
            </p>
            <p>
              With time, I grew more aware about political issues 
              surrounding software and computers, about privacy, 
              security, re-usability and community. I then gradually 
              started <strong>advocating</strong> for the usage of Free Software myself 
              (because it was cool for political reasons), and was 
              hence delighted when the opportunity presented itself to 
              intern with the FSFE for a while. There, I got to know 
              some wonderful people and had the chance to do important 
              political work with like-minded folks.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/07a5c359.a0e9b68b04171db44fb634724994fedb.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/a0e9b68b04171db44fb634724994fedb.png"/>
          
            <h3>Martin</h3>
            <p>
              My internship at FSFE was a very pleasant experience. I 
              just came out of law school, hungry for some technology 
              law experience in Germany. And I landed in Berlin in 
              2011. What could go wrong? Intellectually, what stuck 
              with me the most was how differently Free Software 
              activists thought about the world of legal rules. For a 
              fresh graduate of law, rules were set by someone else. 
              TRIPS Agreement was an unchangeable fact. The 
              <strong>vocabulary</strong> was not a choice. Not for 
              these activists. Throughout my internship, I better 
              understood why and how <strong>concepts and labels drive 
              political outcomes.</strong> I learned to appreciate what 
              civil society does for legal change and how much work and 
              discipline this requires.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/c6ef1606.f63e765c965b15487f72409fda2b7434.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/f63e765c965b15487f72409fda2b7434.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>Matti</h3>
            <p>
              To my surprise, the FSFE had much fewer staff members at 
              the Berlin office than I had expected. Yet, they have 
              done a lot for software freedom over the years. This 
              shows what <strong>dedication</strong> can achieve. A 
              good lesson for all of us.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/02d34b28.2c7f2bf216ddd487ad4e8509f85111f4.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/2c7f2bf216ddd487ad4e8509f85111f4.png"/>
          
            <h3>Polina</h3>
            <p>
              Free Software is so much more than a software licence or 
              publicly available source code. It is a <strong>social 
              movement</strong> and a community that strives for more 
              equal and just society. After completing my internship at 
              the FSFE, I continued my path in the FSFE as an employee, 
              leading its both legal and policy areas. My time in the 
              FSFE contributed immensely for my <strong>professional 
              and personal growth</strong>, setting my course on the 
              topics and areas I am involved in my current professional 
              environment outside of the FSFE i.e. EU digital policies 
              and regulation.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/e16de682.c7189e890dc5a12a2880bbc4832ebd84.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/c7189e890dc5a12a2880bbc4832ebd84.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>Stian</h3>
            <p>
              My first and main task as an intern for the FSFE was to 
              organise FSCONS.  After my internship ended, I continued 
              being involved with the conference for <strong>eight more 
              years. </strong> The principles of Free Software 
              resonates with a lot of modern philosophy and can be 
              applied to almost anything. This has guided my life and 
              my personal philosophy since, especially the idea that 
              with cooperation and sharing, everyone will be better 
              off, than with competition and secrecy.
            </p>
            <p>
              Following my internship, I started a Free Software 
              cooperative along with like minded friends, offering 
              consultancy and support for organisations that wish to 
              transition from proprietary software. While I like to 
              think that we did manage to achieve some good during the 
              four years the cooperative existed, we probably learned 
              more than anything about the many obstacles that remain 
              for Free Software to become ubiquitous. It became clear 
              that <strong>we need to promote Free Software on many 
              fronts, politically and practically</strong>, and how 
              vital organisations like the FSFE are to this.
            </p>
          
        </li>

      </ul>
    <h3>Are former interns still active in software freedom?</h3>
      <ul>
        <li>
          <img src="media/8022013b.9f59304f932c08f20ee336768a3fea07.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/9f59304f932c08f20ee336768a3fea07.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>Diego</h3>
            <p>
              Free software is an every day topic for EDRi. On a 
              practical level, we use as much Free Software as we can 
              (operative systems, server applications, apps on our 
              phones…). Furthermore, <strong>we advocate for Free 
              Software</strong> whenever a European legislative file we follow 
              involves the use of software. We referred to the 
              public money, public code campaign in several occasions 
              and that framing is still an important part for EDRi’s 
              framing our technology and the role of public 
              infrastructures.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/48f43170.3fa6479f6bebcd2aaf6b57f275b6dbd4.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/3fa6479f6bebcd2aaf6b57f275b6dbd4.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>George</h3>
            <p>
              My involvement is to <strong>donate</strong> now and 
              then, and to raise the issue with friends and family. I 
              haven't done much volunteering since the internship. 
              I'd have to get good permission from my employer to 
              do that. (So fingers crossed).
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/60e71310.bd1a209e71a478f378f288f905967e22.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/bd1a209e71a478f378f288f905967e22.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>Lucile</h3>
            <p>
              <strong>I use</strong> Free Software personally but not 
              professionally. I do get a Free Software link when we 
              discuss bigger political questions about privacy or 
              strategic independence - I know that without independent 
              technology and infrastructures it is impossible to reach.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/c1e92496.e9a472131c10fc6d9f2861183a8bc45a.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/e9a472131c10fc6d9f2861183a8bc45a.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>Ludmila</h3>
            <p>
              Since I'm a software developer, Free Software is an 
              important part of my day-to-day work — any 
              developer's job would look quite differently and be a 
              great deal more tedious if we weren't able to 
              <strong>rely on the myriad of FLOSS libraries</strong>, 
              tools and frameworks out there.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/07a5c359.a0e9b68b04171db44fb634724994fedb.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/a0e9b68b04171db44fb634724994fedb.png"/>
          
            <h3>Martin</h3>
            <p>
              Since I teach and research intellectual property and 
              technology law, one could say I remain somewhat involved 
              in the Free Software issues. I do not think of myself as 
              a hard-core expert on Free Software licensing, but I 
              continue to <strong>research</strong> many issues of the digital ecosystem 
              that are relevant to the FSFE’s mission. I still benefit 
              from the broader technological outlook that I was 
              introduced to at the FSFE.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/c6ef1606.f63e765c965b15487f72409fda2b7434.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/f63e765c965b15487f72409fda2b7434.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>Matti</h3>
            <p>
              When choosing software, we lean towards Free Software 
              solutions by default. Often, we end up choosing a free 
              solution unless specifically requested otherwise by the 
              upper management or business needs.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/02d34b28.2c7f2bf216ddd487ad4e8509f85111f4.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/2c7f2bf216ddd487ad4e8509f85111f4.png"/>
          
            <h3>Polina</h3>
            <p>
              After my time in the FSFE, I still strongly stand for the 
              values of Free Software, continuing as a 
              <strong>volunteer</strong> in the FSFE CARE Team, the 
              European Core Team and the General Assembly.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/e16de682.c7189e890dc5a12a2880bbc4832ebd84.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/c7189e890dc5a12a2880bbc4832ebd84.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>Stian</h3>
            <p>
              At my department at the University of Gothenburg, we 
              <strong>publish all code, and most data, under a free 
              licence</strong>. Researchers in our field are usually 
              quite knowledgeable about Free Software, as we need to 
              know exactly what a program does to the data and be able 
              to share and improve it in order to reproduce and further 
              the research.
            </p>
            <p>
              Outside of work, my volunteering efforts are these days 
              limited to the democratic e-mail association Fripost.org. 
              It started out as a project of our local FSFE chapter ten 
              years ago, but has since evolved into its own 
              organisation. In addition to running an e-mail service 
              for our members, we have had many outreach programs and 
              community events centred around Free Software.
            </p>
          
        </li>

      </ul>
    <h3>What do former FSFE interns wish for the future of the FSFE?</h3>
      <ul>
        <li>
          <img src="media/8022013b.9f59304f932c08f20ee336768a3fea07.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/9f59304f932c08f20ee336768a3fea07.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>Diego</h3>
              <p>
                I would love two things. First, I would love the FSFE 
                to go beyond software and <strong>embrace issues 
                related to hardware</strong>, infrastructure and 
                generally digital sovereignty. We need a European 
                federation that takes a holistic approach to how 
                technology should be a tool for fundamental rights, and 
                focusing only on software leaves out many of the 
                fundamental questions we’re facing today such as the 
                power of Big Tech, surveillance capitalism, mass 
                surveillance, surveillance-based advertising and 
                planned obsolescence of our devices.
              </p>
              <p>
                Second, I would love the FSFE to become even more 
                involved in EU policies. For example, the FSFE has been 
                involved in issues related to artificial intelligence 
                where the FSFE expertise has been very valuable. We 
                need more of this knowledge-sharing between the FSFE 
                and EDRi and make more connections between Brussels and 
                FSFE chapters.
              </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/48f43170.3fa6479f6bebcd2aaf6b57f275b6dbd4.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/3fa6479f6bebcd2aaf6b57f275b6dbd4.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>George</h3>
            <p>
              The FSFE is inclusive and puts the learning perspective 
              at the heart of its mission. So I hope it thrives for 
              many years to come, inspiring people like it inspired me. 
              <strong>GNUtopia here we come!</strong>
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/60e71310.bd1a209e71a478f378f288f905967e22.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/bd1a209e71a478f378f288f905967e22.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>Lucile</h3>
            <p>
              Continue linking tech, policy and ethics, and outreaching 
              to people who are not IT professionals.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/c1e92496.e9a472131c10fc6d9f2861183a8bc45a.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/e9a472131c10fc6d9f2861183a8bc45a.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>Ludmila</h3>
            <p>
              I wish the FSFE to keep up the good work, keep spreading 
              the word of the advantages of Free Software, and <strong>keep 
              pushing for more just regulations</strong> on political level such 
              as the Public Money? Public Code! campaign.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/07a5c359.a0e9b68b04171db44fb634724994fedb.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/a0e9b68b04171db44fb634724994fedb.png"/>
          
            <h3>Martin</h3>
            <p>
              I wish the FSFE many bright young people who will be 
              attracted to its vision. On many levels, <strong>we are 
              currently designing our digital future</strong>. Having 
              the FSFE’s voice when building its infrastructure, will 
              be critical.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/c6ef1606.f63e765c965b15487f72409fda2b7434.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/f63e765c965b15487f72409fda2b7434.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>Matti</h3>
            <p>
              <strong>Keep advocating</strong> for software freedom especially at EU 
              level and public sector. Institutional changes can and 
              must be achieved.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/02d34b28.2c7f2bf216ddd487ad4e8509f85111f4.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/2c7f2bf216ddd487ad4e8509f85111f4.png"/>
          
            <h3>Polina</h3>
            <p>
              I wish the FSFE to continue to be the voice of Free 
              Software users in Europe and beyond. Free Software stands 
              on the shoulders of all the great people being part of a 
              social movement that should not forget about its heroes.
            </p>
            <p>
              I wish the FSFE to be strongly rooted in its beginnings 
              but at the same time to not be afraid of change and 
              developments of a fast-paced digital society. Free 
              Software has become a critical part of both business and 
              end-user experience in every day life. It is no longer an 
              “alternative” solution but a standard empowering our 
              society today.
            </p>
            <p>
              However, have we achieved a more just society as a result 
              of more wide-spread adoption of Free Software? <strong> 
              Is this the end-goal of the movement to retain the status 
              quo and not to bother about wider ethical issues? 
              </strong>Or should we as citizens and contributors of the 
              movement that rose out of a need for more freedom strive 
              for a better and more sustainable future, where Free 
              Software is just a part of a puzzle? I think we should be 
              asking ourselves these questions and seek answers that 
              may help us in bridging the gaps between Free Software 
              and how the ‘four freedoms’ can support fundamental 
              rights. As a civil society actor, I hope the FSFE will be 
              in the lead here for many years to come, including on the 
              side of potential regulatory change in Europe.
            </p>
          
        </li>

        <li>
          <img src="media/e16de682.c7189e890dc5a12a2880bbc4832ebd84.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/c7189e890dc5a12a2880bbc4832ebd84.jpg"/>
          
            <h3>Stian</h3>
            <p>
               I wish for the FSFE to finally cease operations. That 
               is, to say “<strong>Our work here is done. All software 
               is now free. Let’s go celebrate!”</strong>
            </p>
          
        </li>
      </ul>
    <h3>Thank you!</h3><p>
    Thanks Diego, George, Lucile, Ludmila, Martin, Matti, Polina, 
    Stian, and all FSFE interns during these 20 years. Everyone who 
    uses and develops Free Software, everyone who researches and 
    advocates for Free-Software-related issues, everyone who donates 
    and volunteers in the FSFE, is irreplaceable and takes software 
    freedom a step further.
  </p><h3>Related articles</h3><p>
    With this article we conclude the celebrations for the twenty years 
    since the founding of the FSFE in 2001. 20 years FSFE was an 
    opportunity to thank everyone who has helped the organisation since 
    the beginning. You might also be interested in the interviews with 
    the <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210204-01.html">founder 
    of the organisation, Georg Greve</a>, the former <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210204-01.html">Financial 
    Officer Reinhard Müller</a>, the <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210420-01.html">founder 
    of the FSF Latin America Fernanda Weiden</a>, or the <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210625-01.html">creator 
    of the Free Your Android campaign Torsten Grote</a>.
  </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220127-01
title: The FSFE at FOSDEM 2022
uri: The-FSFE-at-FOSDEM-2022
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220127-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>The FSFE at FOSDEM 2022</h1><p>As in 2021, this year's FOSDEM will take place online. But this is neither stopping 
us from once again co-hosting the Legal and Policy Issues Devroom nor from being present 
with a digital booth. We are excited and look forward to presenting you an interesting 
programme throughout the whole weekend.</p><p>As every year, the FSFE will be present at <a href="https://fosdem.org/">FOSDEM</a>, the biggest 
annual Free Software event in Europe. In this years edition we will co-host the 
<a href="https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/track/legal_and_policy_issues/">Legal and Policy Issues Devroom </a> for the second 
time – unfortunately only digitally again. Nonetheless, we have prepared an exciting schedule for you on Saturday 
and hope to see you there.
</p>
<img src="media/565947d7.696b75c14a6b01fe27ff7feeb0cc493f.JPG" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/696b75c14a6b01fe27ff7feeb0cc493f.JPG"/> 
A picture from our booth in 2018. While FOSDEM will be online again this year, we look
forward welcoming you at our digital booth.
 <p>This year's edition will be kicked off by a talk of Masafumi Ohta, teaching on Free Software license and 
 compliances at the University of Electro-Communications in Japan at 13:00 CET. In his talk, Ohta addresses 
 the issue on <a href="https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/event/teachingoss/">"How to teach OSS licenses and compliances at a university"</a>. 
 </p><p>At 13:30 CET, Italo Vignoli, a well-known Free Software advocate and a marketing and public relations consultant, gives a presentation 
 on <a href="https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/event/pandemicnowin/">"Why the pandemic could help FOSS, but was a win for proprietary software"</a>.
 </p><p>Christopher Klootz, a security expert, presents a talk on <a href="https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/event/intlarbitration/">"A globally unified 
governance framework for Open Source - International arbitration to harmonize the security provisions of sovereign states and Open Source? 
The Java Virtual Machine, Ceph and abstraction layers"</a> at 14:00 CET.</p><p>At 14.30 CET Vittorio Bertola, in charge for innovation and policy activities at Open-Xchange, gives a follow up on his talk from 
last year and will present <a href="https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/event/dma/">"An update on the Digital Markets Act - The 
new European rules for online competition"</a>.</p><p>Lucas Lasota, the FSFEs Legal Deputy Director, also follows up on his talk from last year and explains 
<a href="https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/event/deviceneutrality/">"Why Device Neutrality is important for Free Software?"</a> at 15:00 CET.</p><p>To conclude the Legal and Policy Devroom, its organisers summarise the issues of the day and tackle some topics that have been missing on the agenda at 15:30 CET. </p><h2>Digital booth</h2><p>If you want to stay updated and are interested in some of our other activities, 
you can visit our <a href="https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/track/free_software_foundation_europe_stand/">digital booth</a> or follow us on 
social media. Also visit the official FOSDEM page during the event for general updates. 
</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: episode-13
title: SFP#13: Free Software game "0 A.D.:Empires Ascendant" with Stanislas Dolcini
uri: SFP-13-Free-Software-game-0-A-D-Empires-Ascendant-with-Stanislas-D
url: https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-13.fr.html
content:
<h1>SFP#13: Free Software game "0 A.D.:Empires Ascendant" with Stanislas Dolcini</h1><p>
The upcoming "I Love Free Software Day" will focus on Free Software Games. One of the most famous Free Software Games is "0 A.D.: Empires Ascendant". In this Episode Bonnie Mehring talks with Stanislas Dolcini, the project leader of 0 A.D. about the game itself, the project, as well has how the game became Free Software.
</p><p>
This podcast episode takes you on a journey through the games development and it's history of becoming one of the most famous Free Software games. You can also learn about how to participate and contribute to 0 A.D. Discover together with Stanislas and Bonnie how the community behind one of the best known Free Software games works, where support is needed, and the different types of developers and contributors. Bonnie and Stanislas also tell the success story of releasing 0 A.D. under a Free Software licensed and talk about the positive side of developing a Free Software game.
</p><p>Read more:</p><ul>

<li><a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/ilovefs">I Love Free Software Day</a></li>

<li><a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/">What is Free Software?</a></li>

<li><a href="https://play0ad.com/">0 A.D.: Empires Ascendant</a></li>

</ul><p>If you liked this episode and want to support our continuous work for software freedom, please help us with a <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate/">donation</a>.</p><p>If you clicked on the image of the "Kush City Center" to come to this page, this image is licesned under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA 3.0</a> and created by <a href="media/5a15734d.Kushcitycenter.jpg" data-original-source="https://play0ad.com/wp-content/gallery/screenshots/Kushcitycenter.jpg">0 A.D.: Empires Ascendant, Wildfire Games</a>.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220201-01
title: ❤ Let's celebrate together the next I Love Free Software Day!
uri: Let-s-celebrate-together-the-next-I-Love-Free-Software-Day
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220201-01.fr.html
content:
<h1> ❤ Let's celebrate together the next I Love Free Software Day!</h1><p> 
	Every 14th of February, people around the world celebrate the 
	“I Love Free Software Day”.  On this day we show our love for Free 
	Software and thank all the people contributing to software freedom. 
	This year, we are organising a whole event dedicated to Free 
	Software games.
	</p><p>
	Although many of us depend on Free Software every day, 
	contributors to those projects usually remain invisible. This is 
	one of the main reasons that drive us to celebrate this day. We 
	want to highlight the valuable work of all the people who 
	contribute to software freedom, and take the time to say thank 
	you!</p><p>There are three different ways you can join us for this 
	celebration. Spoiler alert: all of them are a lot of fun!
	</p><h2>Let's play together!</h2>
      <img src="media/c8305d9e.69395a3acc8cfb98fbb058d0b44a8f04.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/69395a3acc8cfb98fbb058d0b44a8f04.png"/> 
    <p>
	For the <a href="activities/ilovefs/index.fr.html">I Love Free Software Day 
	2022</a>, we have prepared something special and fun for you: an event 
	dedicated to Free Software games. The event takes place online on 
	14 February 2022 at 18:00-20:00 CET. For the first part of our 
	event, our three expert guests in Free Software games, game 
	engines, and Game Jams will share their experiences, and will 
	immerse us in the world of Free Software games. After this, we 
	invite you to play <a href="https://veloren.net/">Veloren</a> with 
	us.
	</p><p>
	For technical reasons, we are asking people who want to 
	take part in the whole event via our BigBlueButton instance to <a href="https://registration.fsfe.org/ilovefs">register</a> in 
	advance. The number of participants in this instance is limited. 
	But, do not worry if you do not want to register or if you are too 
	late to do so. The talks will be streamed online, and you will be 
	able to watch them without registration.  You just won't be 
	able to join us for the second part of the event in which we will be 
	playing games together.
	</p><h2>Show your love with a pic!</h2><p>
	You can also celebrate the I Love Free Software Day by sending a 
	thank you message to your favourite Free Software project for their 
	valuable work. You can do this, for example, on your preferred 
	social network with the hashtag #ilovefs. If you prefer images over 
	words, please use our brand new <a href="https://sharepic.fsfe.org/">Sharepic Generator</a> to create 
	your very own pictures. It is simple to use and you have a nice 
	graphic to share in two minutes. Let your imagination run free and 
	show your appreciation for Free Software with an #ilovefs image.
	</p>
	    <img src="media/29cb25b1.5a087946919a989183d1551878a00412.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/5a087946919a989183d1551878a00412.png"/> 
	<h2>Listen to our special I Love Free Software podcast episode!</h2><p>
	Have you heard of 0 A.D: Empires Ascendant? Or even better, have 
	you played it? 
	</p><p>
	For our special podcast episode, Bonnie 
	Mehring - FSFE Junior Project Manager - and Stanislas Dolcini - 
	Project Lead of this well-known Free Software game - talk about the 
	development of the game, its history, the kind of support that is 
	needed, and the highlights of developing a Free Software game. You 
	can listen to the <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-13.html">whole 
	episode</a>, and share it with your community. We bet you will want 
	to play 0 A.D after listing to this episode. 
	</p><p> 
	Join us on this special day in the way that you prefer.  Either 
	by learning more about Free Software games from our expert guests, 
	by having fun playing together with our community members, and/or 
	by sharing your love for Free Software. Remember that this is a 
	small gesture that means a lot. 
	</p>
      <img src="media/7497f872.f164c8517e78449fc8844a72347af490.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/f164c8517e78449fc8844a72347af490.png"/> 
      
       Don't let this day pass without saying thank you!
      
   <p>
    Happy <strong>I Love Free Software</strong> Day everyone! ❤
    </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220202-01
title: Welcome to the Matrix: the FSFE now runs its own server
uri: Welcome-to-the-Matrix-the-FSFE-now-runs-its-own-server
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220202-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Welcome to the Matrix: the FSFE now runs its own server</h1><p>
  The FSFE is eager to support its community with diverse Free Software
  communication channels. We are happy to announce that we have recently added
  Matrix to this list. After successful beta tests, every FSFE supporter and
  volunteer can now create their own Matrix account. We will also use our
  instance for the FSFE’s virtual booth during FOSDEM!
</p><p>
  For over a decade now, the FSFE has been offering an XMPP (also known as
  Jabber) server as well as a traditional IRC channel for <a href="https://fsfe.org/contact/community.html">our community</a> to quickly exchange messages.
  Today we officially open the gates to our new Matrix server, which has been
  successfully tested for a few months and has a few advantages over XMPP.
</p>
  <img src="media/562870ea.ae0b688f41701e0dbf2212609f8565c5.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/ae0b688f41701e0dbf2212609f8565c5.png"/>
  
    Connect with the FSFE community at FOSDEM – from home!
  
<h2>Federated and encrypted</h2><p>
  Matrix is a comparatively new protocol for real-time communication that
  enables federation similar to XMPP. Federation means that users of one
  instance can communicate with users of other instances over the same protocol.
  Matrix has some features directly built in, ranging from automatic encryption
  to sending pictures and the possibility of audio and video chats, or allowing
  responding to messages with emojis. With XMPP, some of these features are also
  available through extensions, but not all servers support all such additional
  features, which means that some users cannot benefit from them.
</p><p>
  Matrix is of course not perfect either, but meanwhile many Free Software
  organisations such as KDE and Mozilla as well as a number of public
  administrations use Matrix, for example the French state. And most
  importantly, the feedback from our test users and teams was very positive.
  That is why we now invite our community to make up their own mind about
  Matrix. For the time being, we will keep both Matrix and XMPP running so that
  individual users, groups, and teams can evaluate the technologies for
  themselves.
</p><h2>How to enter the Matrix</h2><p>
  For those who have an FSFE account - i.e. all
  supporters and registered volunteers - getting started is
  super easy. We provide a <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/TechDocs/Matrix">wiki
  page</a> where all the necessary information is collected. Due to the
  encryption features of the messenger, the first steps should be taken with
  some caution, but after that everything is quite self-explanatory.
</p><p>
  If you already have an account on a homeserver other than the FSFE's, you can
  of course keep it and still join our rooms. There are some recommendations
  listed in the FSFE space (#fsfe:fsfe.org), such as the main
  community room #community:fsfe.org. There is also a <a href="https://ems.element.io/tools/matrix-migration">service by the Matrix
  developers</a> to migrate one's account from one server to another if you'd like
  to make use of the fancy fsfe.org handle.
</p><p>
  A great way to experience Matrix on a grand scale is at the virtual FOSDEM
  this coming weekend, where the <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220127-01.html">FSFE
  will once again have a devroom and a booth</a>. Participation and visiting is
  possible via distinct Matrix rooms. So get a Matrix account on our homeserver
  beforehand and join us at FOSDEM!
</p><p>
  <em>
    Like all FSFE services, this one is part of our <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211203-01.html">Free Software infrastructure</a>
    with <a href="https://git.fsfe.org/fsfe-system-hackers/synapse/">public
    deployment code</a>. We would like to thank Michael Weimann, one of our
    System Hackers, who maintains the service.
  </em>
</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: nl-202202
title: J'aime les LL +++ 0 A.D.: Empires Ascendant +++ FOSDEM +++ 20 ans de la FSFE : Stagiaires
uri: J-aime-les-LL-0-A-D-Empires-Ascendant-FOSDEM-20-ans-de-l
url: https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202202.fr.html
content:
<h1>J'aime les LL +++ 0 A.D.: Empires Ascendant +++ FOSDEM +++ 20 ans de la FSFE: Stagiaires</h1><p>
    Dans notre lettre d'informations de février, nous vous invitons à notre évènement Jeux pour célébrer la journée «J'aime les Logiciels Libres» le 14 février. Écoutez notre épisode de podcast avec Stanislas Dolcini du jeu «0 A.D.: Empires Ascendant». FOSDEM vient juste de se terminer et la FSFE y était! Nous terminons nos célébrations pour les 20 ans de la FSFE avec un entretien avec des stagiaires passés.
  </p><h2>Journée « J'aime les Logiciels Libres » : jeux, mèmes et plus</h2><p>
    Chaque 14 février, des personnes du monde entier célèbrent la journée « J'aime les Logiciels Libres » en disant merci à toutes les personnes qui contribuent à la liberté des logiciels. Cette année, nous organisons un <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220201-01.html">évènement complet dédié aux jeux vidéo Libres</a> lundi 14 février de 18 h à 20 h CET. Vous pouvez apprendre les tenants et aboutissants du monde des jeux vidéo Libres grâce à nos invités, ou juste jouer à Veloren en temps réel après avec d'autres personnes qui participent à l'évènement. Assurez-vous d'être <a href="https://registration.fsfe.org/ilovefs">inscrit</a> ; nous vous attendons pour mener avec vous la journée « J'aime les Logiciels Libres ».
  </p>
    <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220201-01.html">
      
    </a>
  <p>
    Avant l'évènement et durant la journée, créez votre propre carte imagée « J'aime les Logiciels Libres » avec l'aide de notre tout nouveau <a href="https://sharepic.fsfe.org/">générateur d'images à partager</a>, qui vous permet de téléverser votre propre image à accompagner de votre marque d'amour. Partagez votre carte en ligne pour remercier de façon originale les créateurs des Logiciels Libres.
  </p>
    <a href="https://sharepic.fsfe.org/">
      
    </a>
  <h2>Podcast: 0 A.D. avec 0 logiciel propriétaire</h2><p>
    Le jeu de stratégie en temps réel de guerre antique, 0 A.D.: Empires Ascendant, est un jeu vidéo Libre créé par un groupe international de développeurs de jeux volontaires. Programmeurs, artistes et historiens ont combiné leurs compétences pour créer cet ancien monde imaginaire. <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-13.html">Dans un nouvel épisode, l'hôte du podcast sur la Liberté des Logiciels, Bonnie Mehring, parle de la popularité grandissante du jeu avec le meneur du projet du jeu</a>. Stanislas Dolcini raconte que la décision que le jeu soit Libre l'a fait vivre pendant tant d'années, car de nombreuses personnes ont pu contribuer – et peuvent toujours.
  </p>
    <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-13.html">
      
    </a>
    
      Centre-ville de Kush représenté dans 0 A.D.: Empires Ascendant. Wildfire Games CC BY-SA 3.0
    
  <h2>La FSFE à FOSDEM 2022</h2><p>
    Merci d'avoir rejoint <a href="https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/track/free_software_foundation_europe_stand/">notre stand virtuel</a> dans l'évènement FOSDEM en ligne de cette année ; c'était réjouissant de voir la communauté des Logiciels Libres se réunir une nouvelle fois. Aussi, nous avons co-hébergé la Salle de développement des problèmes juridiques et politiques. <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/jcEG9zpj2cG7gpHdUbEyBa">Masafumi Ohta</a> a parlé de son expérience d'enseignement des licences et des standards des Logiciels Libres à l'université. L'expert en sécurité <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/ud3ERe9C9Zdz5Lbm2bcfsD">Christopher Klooz</a> a traité du rôle de l'arbitrage international pour la sécurité des Logiciels Libres.
  </p><p>
    <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/2Nt8Auippqob2kSxErQ9p9">Vittorio Bertola</a> a présenté une mise à jour de la Législation sur les marchés numériques, les nouvelles règles européennes pour la concurrence en ligne. <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/vnCosTd5csWzYP5KYBA6mD">Lucas Lasota</a>, Gestionnaire de projet de la FSFE, a proposé la neutralité des appareils comme le principe nécessaire pour assurer que nous puissions exécuter des Logiciels Libres sur nos appareils, sans barrières artificielles. <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/sf3TPJfTNQ66gDwhSZfWN8">Italo Vignoli</a> a montré comment les logiciels propriétaires ont gagné du terrain durant la pandémie. Les organisateurs de la Salle de développement des problèmes juridiques et politiques ont fait de dernières remarques dans un <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/kmWiEp5H7CKuU19yYEuGaU">panneau</a>. Les enregistrements seront bientôt publiés ; trouvez-les en premier en <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/a/fsfe/video-channels">vous inscrivant à notre instance Peertube</a>.
  </p>
    <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/c/fsfe_media/videos">
      
    </a>
    
      Les participants du stand virtuel FOSDEM de la FSFE préparent leur maison pour l'événement.
    
  <h2>Entretien avec des stagiaires passés pour les 20 ans de la FSFE</h2><p>
    Dans la dernière publication sur les 20 ans de la FSFE, nous voulons remercier toutes les personnes qui ont travaillé pour l'organisation dans la position de stagiaire. <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220121-01.html">Nous avons contacté 8 anciens stagiaires et leur avons posé des questions sur leurs temps passé à la FSFE et leur investissement actuel dans les Logiciels Libres</a>. Diego Naranjo, George Brooke-Smith, Lucile Falgueyrac, Lyudmila Vaseva, Martin Husovec, Matti Lammi, Polina Malaja, et Stian Rødven-Eide ont réfléchi à ce qu’ils ont appris durant leur stage. Depuis, chacun a soutenu les Logiciels Libres à sa manière : en tant qu'utilisateurs, développeurs, chercheurs, avocats, donateurs à la FSFE, ou volontaires de la FSFE.
  </p>
        <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220121-01.html">
      
    </a>
    
      Par ordre d'apparition, de gauche à droite, puis du haut vers le bas : merci Lucile, George, Lyudmila, Diego, Martin, Matti, Polina, Stian, et tous les stagiaires de la FSFE pendant ces 20 années.
    
  <h2>Brochure « Argent public ? Code public ! » (PMPC), maintenant en espagnol</h2><p>
    Dans notre initiative « Argent public ? Code public ! », nous offrons une <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/publiccode/brochure.html">brochure exhaustive dédiée aux administrations publiques</a>. Maintenant, elle est également <a href="media/0db70f76.FSFE_Policy_Brochure_PMPC_ALL_es.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/ES/FSFE_Policy_Brochure_PMPC_ALL_es.pdf">disponible en espagnol</a>. Nos volontaires ont récemment traduit la brochure, permettant au monde hispanophone de lire des informations sur les intérêts de moderniser les infrastructures publiques avec des Logiciels Libres dans leur propre langue.
  </p><p>
    Dans un évènement qui partage les bonnes nouvelles, nous avons invité des experts à nous rejoindre. Luis Falcón, fondateur de GNUHealth ; Ricardo Muñoz de Lliurex ; Alexis Puente Montiel de Pica Pica HackLab ; Francesc Busquets pour représenter Linkat ; et Aleix Pol Gonzalez, président de KDE, ont discuté des développements de PMPC en Espagne. <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220112-01.html">Les vidéos sont disponibles en espagnol</a>.
  </p>
        <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220112-01.html">
      
    </a>
  <h2>Réservez la date !</h2><ul>
    <li>
      Le lundi 14 février, rejoignez notre <a href="https://registration.fsfe.org/ilovefs">journée « J'aime les Logiciels Libres »</a>.
    </li>
    <li>
      Le vendredi 25 février, <a href="https://winterkongress.ch/2022/talks/ada__zangemann__ein_marchen_uber_software_skateboards_und_himbeereis/">Matthias Kirschner, président de la FSFE, lira son livre « Ada &amp; Zangemann »</a>. La lecture se fera en allemand et aura lieu en ligne. L'évènement fait partie du Winter Congress annuel, organisé par la Digital Society. Pour rejoindre le Winter Congress, veuillez vous enregistrer pour obtenir un ticket. Le prix d'un ticket standard pour un non-membre est de 30 francs suisses.
    </li>
  </ul><h2>Ce que nous avons fait</h2><ul>
    <li>
      Pendant le premier week-end de février, nous avons co-hébergé la <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220127-01.html">Salle de développement des problèmes juridiques et politiques</a> et avons eu un stand numérique à l'évènement FOSDEMM.
    </li>
    <li>
      Le 5 février, Lucas Lasota, le Directeur juridique adjoint de la FSFE, a poursuivi sa conférence de l'année dernière à FOSDEM et a expliqué <a href="https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/event/deviceneutrality/">pourquoi la Neutralité des appareils est importante pour les Logiciels Libres</a>.
    </li>
    <li>
      Le 26 janvier, l'équipe FSFE des Pays-Bas a tenu sa réunion mensuelle en ligne. Une pétition sur l'Union publique audiovisuelle (NPO) publiant des contenus seulement sur YouTube, la semaine Digital Ethics dans The Hague, et des mises à jour d'affaires judiciaires ont été parmi les sujets discutés.
    </li>
    <li>
      Le 20 janvier, le groupe des femmes de la FSFE a tenu sa réunion mensuelle en ligne.
    </li>
    <li>
      Le 11 janvier, l'équipe FSFE d'Espagne a tenu sa réunion mensuelle.
    </li>
    <li>
      Le 10 janvier, Lucas Lasota a fait une lecture en ligne de <a href="https://www.projekte.hu-berlin.de/de/gnuHU/projekte/floss-werkstatt/veranstaltungen/wise-21-22/introduction-to-software-law-and-floss-licences-10-01-22">la loi des logiciels et les licences FLOSS à l'université Humboldt de Berlin</a>.
    </li>
  </ul><h2>Contribuer à notre lettre d'information</h2><p>
    Si vous voulez partager des pensées, images ou actualités, veuillez nous les envoyer. Comme toujours, l'adresse est newsletter@fsfe.org. Nous attendons de vous entendre ! Si vous voulez aussi nous soutenir et soutenir notre travail, rejoignez notre communautez et soutenez-nous avec un don ou une <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=newsletter">contribution mensuelle</a>. Merci à notre communauté et à tous les volontaires, soutiens et donateurs qui rendent notre travail possible. Et merci à nos traducteurs, qui vous permettent de lire cette lettre d'information dans votre langue maternelle.
  </p><p>Votre éditeur, Fani Partsafyllidou</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220224-01
title: FSFE at FOSDEM: A vital Devroom, virtual chats, and waffles
uri: FSFE-at-FOSDEM-A-vital-Devroom-virtual-chats-and-waffles
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220224-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>FSFE at FOSDEM: A vital Devroom, virtual chats, and waffles</h1><p>At the prominent annual conference for Free Software, FOSDEM, we exchanged opinions and chatted with people from the 
 Free Software community. We raised awareness on wider issues that impact our movement in the Legal and Policy Devroom, 
 co-hosted by the FSFE. Enjoy the videos from the talks and stay in touch via Matrix until the next FOSDEM.</p><h2>Troubleshooting legal and political barriers to Free Software</h2><p>We co-hosted the Legal and Policy Issues Devroom again, together with Karen Sandler and Bradley M. Kuhn from 
Software Freedom Conservancy and Richard Fontana from Red Hat. We had five interesting lectures covering a whole 
range of topics: from education to international politics to the current status of Free Software in the world to EU 
legislation and Device Neutrality. As in past editions we also summed up everything in our organisers panel at the 
end of the day. </p>
<img src="media/b81e0b45.906558005910a82b268ad223a91223b1.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/906558005910a82b268ad223a91223b1.jpg"/> 
A picture from our digital booth in 2020.
 <p>Masafumi Ohta kicked off the 2022 Devroom, <a href="https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/event/teachingoss/">talking about his experience on teaching Free Software licenses and 
 compliance at a Japanese university</a>. <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/education/"> Education and Free Software</a> is not an easy topic, 
 as we have seen from the discussions in the chat. For example, in schools, it is obvious that we see many problems in the field of 
 education. Again and again, children have to use proprietary software in everyday school life. Nonetheless, we were also able 
 to point out positive examples that give us courage for the future. 
 </p><p>Vittorio Bertola presented an update to his talk from last year on the Digital Markets Act, the new European rules for online competition. 
 Vittorio <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/2Nt8Auippqob2kSxErQ9p9">explained what had happened </a>in the meantime and talked about the impact of the new 
 rules that might be adopted soon. 
 </p><p>Christopher Klooz <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/ud3ERe9C9Zdz5Lbm2bcfsD">argued</a> how with international regulations, in particular the possibility of international arbitration, we could achieve a globally 
unified governance framework for Free Software. The chat participants also discussed this topic in depth, as did the organisers during their panel. </p><p>Italo Vignoli <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/sf3TPJfTNQ66gDwhSZfWN8">showed how proprietary software gained ground during the pandemic</a>. He pointed out the huge lobbying power of big tech, and how 
this influences the global use of software.</p><p>Last but not least, Lucas Lasota, FSFE Project Manager, <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/vnCosTd5csWzYP5KYBA6mD">proposed Device Neutrality as the necessary principle </a>to make sure we
are able to run Free Software on our devices without artificial barriers.</p><p>In the end, the Legal and Policy Issues Devroom organisers Karen, Bradley, Max and Alex discussed many ideas from the talks and made 
<a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/kmWiEp5H7CKuU19yYEuGaU">closing remarks in a panel</a>. One of our main wishes for 2023: to have an in-person event in Brussels again.</p><p>You can find all the recordings on our <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/c/fsfe_media/videos">Peertube instance</a>.</p><h2>Typing faster than talking</h2><p>Every past FOSDEM visitor surely remembers the legendary FSFE booth in the K building – balloons, banners, and loads of merchandise, 
posters, and stickers. Our goal was to transpose this to the virtual FOSDEM, and for the second year in a row we have delivered.</p><p>For first-time visitors, we provided a shiny <a href="https://stands.fosdem.org/stands/free_software_foundation_europe/">virtual booth presence on the FOSDEM website</a>, showcasing 
the FSFE and our most notable developments in recent months. However, the real fun happened in the dedicated Matrix chat room in which we had many interesting and oftentimes 
funny conversations, mostly about Free Software, but surprisingly also about waffles. And yes, we also had a lot of balloons there, albeit virtual ones.</p><p>On Saturday evening, we opened an after hours event via video chat which provided more space for exchange of ideas and getting to know each other. It was a nice 
replacement for the dinner parties we usually organise in Brussels.</p><p>We would like to thank the many FSFE community members who made the booth so pleasantly chatty and welcoming to visitors! If you liked being in touch with us 
via our channels during the event we invite you as well as everyone to <a href="https://fsfe.org/contact/community.html#matrix">stay in contact with the community on Matrix</a>.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220225-01
title: Upcycling Android: anchoring software freedom into European ecodesign
uri: Upcycling-Android-anchoring-software-freedom-into-European-ecodesign
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220225-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Upcycling Android: anchoring software freedom into European ecodesign</h1><p>
  At the Free Software Foundation Europe, we advocate for the universal right to
  install and de-install any operating system and software on any device. The update
  of the European ecodesign gives a historical chance to make this right part of
  European legislation. Our Upcycling Android campaign marks the beginning of our
  activities.
</p><p>
  More and more often we see pretty good hardware going to waste simply because
  the software or operating system running on it stops being supported. This is
  bizarre, considering the environmental footprint each of these electronic devices
  comes with. And it would be avoidable to a serious extent if users would have the
  legal right and technical liberty to install any fitting Free Software operating
  system on their own devices, as well as any software. 
</p>
  <img src="media/9ea4aff5.02fd306457bc64d885a52caa79db10e0.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/02fd306457bc64d885a52caa79db10e0.png"/>  
  
    A screenshot from our <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/kGvs3JNADvvQfkC1dR9FGr">Upcycling Android video</a>.
  
<h2>Reusing General Purpose Computers</h2><p>
  2022 is a decisive year for this demand: the European Union is about to reformulate
  their ecodesign criteria of products with several directives, from the 'Sustainable
  Product Initiative' to the 'Circular Electronics Initiative' to the 'Right to
  Repair'. We started to <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12798-Energy-labelling-of-mobile-phones-and-tablets-informing-consumers-about-environmental-impact/F1465695_en">
  consult the European Commission</a> as early as possible on this. But since a
  multi-billion Euro industry of continuously selling newly manufactured devices
  with short-term supports is at stake, counter-lobbyism has also already started.
  A positive outcome is far from certain; and another update to the European ecodesign
  is not to be expected in this decade. If the role of software freedom is not considered
  as essential to the longevity and re-usability of our devices this time, the throw-away
  culture will continue.
</p><p>
  The solution is obvious: At the FSFE we want to empower people using general purpose
  computers with <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#general-purpose-computers">
  the right to install any operating system on any device</a>. Manufacturers must not
  be allowed to create artificial restrictions preventing users from installing Free
  Software operating systems. We advocate for the necessary changes in the upcoming
  legislations, and you can empower us seizing the opportunity and bring a long-lasting
  change for European consumers and into the European markets.
</p>     
      <p>Help us to push for the universal right to install Free Software</p>      
      <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=/news/2022/news-20220222-01.html">Become a supporter now</a>    
    <h2>Upcycling Android workshops</h2><p>
  Meanwhile, we already start making a difference. With our <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/">Upcycling Android</a>
  campaign, we show how we can use Free Software operating systems on our phones
  to fix software obsolescence, and keep using them longer. To help with this procedure,
  we are cooperating with local groups and give workshops together, showing people how to
  flash their phones. Your support will allow us to offer Upcycling Android workshops
  throughout Europe, and let people enjoy an ongoing usage of their phone!
</p><p>
  From legislation to workshops, let's maximise our efforts for software freedom and
  environmental protection. We demand true device neutrality to make technology long-lasting
  and repairable. Meanwhile, we extend our hardware lifespan and spare the planet
  the environmental impact of producing unnecessary new phones. 
</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: nl-202203
title: Le droit d'installer des Logiciels Libres +++ 60 livres pour les bibliothèques +++ Atelier à Berlin
uri: Le-droit-d-installer-des-Logiciels-Libres-60-livres-pour-les-bibli
url: https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202203.fr.html
content:
<h1>Le droit d'installer des Logiciels Libres +++ 60 livres pour les bibliothèques +++ Atelier à Berlin</h1><p>
    Dans notre lettre d'informations de mars, nous partageons quelques bonnes nouvelles particulièrement nécessaires : des personnes ont donné 60 livres pour enfants sur la liberté des logiciels à des bibliothèques publiques. La FSFE appelle au droit à l'installation de Logiciels Libres. Le premier atelier « Upcycling Android » se déroule à Berlin. Le groupe local d'Aarhus au Danemark se réunit pour la première fois depuis longtemps.
  </p><h2>Nous appelons au droit à l'installation et à la désinstallation de tout système d'exploitation sur tout appareil</h2><p>
    Installer et désinstaller un logiciel à l'envie sur tout appareil est un droit qui vient avec un avantage supplémentaire : nous pouvons réparer nos appareils et continuer de les utiliser plus longtemps, évitant ainsi l'impact environnemental d'un nouvel appareil. Alors, qu'est-ce qui nous empêche de réparer les appareils existants en installant des Logiciels Libres ? Malheureusement, des barrières légales et techniques sont souvent imposées intentionnellement aux utilisateurs, afin qu'ils ne puissent pas changer le système d'exploitation de leurs appareils. 2022 offre une opportunité unique d'améliorer la situation en Europe. L'UE est en train de rédiger une nouvelle édition de ses critères écologiques de produits avec l'Initiative pour des Produits Durables, l'Initiative pour une Électronique Circulaire, le Droit de Réparer, et d'autres directives.
  </p><p>
    C'est notre chance de réclamer le droit d'installer tout système d'exploitation sur tout appareil. La FSFE a commencé à conseiller cela à la Commission européenne aussi tôt que possible. Mais nous sommes loin d'être certain d'un aboutissement positif ; le contre-lobbying est présent. Si le rôle de la liberté des logiciels n'est pas considéré aussi essentiel à la longévité et à la réutilisabilité de nos appareils, la culture du jetable va continuer. <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220225-01.html">Nous plaiderons pour les changements nécessaires dans la législation à venir</a>. Les fabricants ne doivent pas être autorisés à créer des restrictions artificielles empêchant les utilisateurs d'installer des systèmes d'exploitation Libres.
  </p><p>
    Aidez-nous à faire avancer le droit universel à l'installation de Logiciels Libres. Devenez un soutien.
  </p><h2>60 livres pour la liberté des logiciels donnés à des bibliothèques</h2><p>
    Après la publication d'<a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/childrensbook/">Ada &amp; Zangemann</a>, nous avons demandé à notre communauté germanophone d'offrir des copies du livre aux bibliothèques publiques pour enfants qui ne peuvent pas se le payer ou n'en ont pas entendu parler. <a href="https://k7r.eu/ada-and-zangemann-in-public-libraries/">La réponse a été énorme</a>. Le livre est entré sur les étagères d'un grand nombre de bibliothèques en Allemagne et en Autriche notamment dans les villes de Cologne, Rosenheim, Magdeburg, Manheim, Stuttgart, Vienna et Lustenau. Merci d'aider à sensibiliser aux libertés logicielles !
  </p>
    <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/childrensbook/">
      
    </a>
    
        Illustration d'une page d'Ada &amp; Zangemann
    
  <p>
    'Ada &amp; Zangemann' a reçu une très bonne note de l'organisation qui suit les nouvelles publications pour les bibliothèques publiques en Allemagne et en Autriche. Selon le service d'informations ekz, « l'histoire est superbement illustrée par S. Brandstätter, [...] bien structurée d'un point de vue didactique et une excellente base de discussion, par ex. en école primaire. » Apprenez-en plus sur le livre dans un nouvel épisode de podcast qui lui est consacré. Matthias Kirschner, président de la FSFE, est l'invité de la série <a href="https://anchor.fm/opensourcecouch/episodes/Jubilumsfolge-Interview-mit-FSFE-Prsident-und-Kinderbuchautor-Matthias-Kirschner-e1dp5mv/a-a7b461l">Open source couch</a> [DE]. Enfin, une lecture par l'auteur a eu lieu au Congrès d'Hiver annuel, un évènement organisé par la Digital Society.
  </p><h2>Ce que nous avons fait</h2><ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Le 20 février, le <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Teams/Women">groupe des Femmes de la FSFE</a> a tenu sa réunion en ligne mensuelle.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        Le 16 février, l'<a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/BNL#FSFE_Nederland_.2F_Niederlande_.2F_Pays-Bas_.2F_Netherlands">équipe FSFE des Pays-Bas</a> a tenu sa réunion en ligne mensuelle.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        Le 14 février, des gens du monde entier ont célébré la journée « J'aime les Logiciels Libres » en remerciant toutes les personnes qui contribuent à la liberté des logiciels. De nombreuses organisations de Logiciels Libres, et, parmi d'autres, la DINUM, une partie de l'administration publique française, ont partagé le message de remerciement. L'évènement jeu dans l'après-midi a été hyper plaisant. Merci d'avoir participé !
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        Le 5 février, nous avons participé à la plus importante conférence annuelle pour les Logiciels Libres : FOSDEM. Nous avons sensibilisé à des problèmes plus larges qui impactent notre mouvement dans la Salle de développement juridique et politique, co-hébergée par la FSFE et le Software Freedom Conservancy. <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220224-01.html">Nous avons résumé l'expérience dans un article. Appréciez les vidéos des discours et restez connecté sur Matrix jusqu'au prochain FOSDEM.</a>
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220224-01.html">
  </a>
    
      Image de notre stand numérique FOSDEM en 2021.
    
<h2>La route vers la durabilité technologique – un mot des blogs du Libre :</h2><p>
    « L'augmentation constante des demandes, y compris par les navigateurs web, rend les systèmes obsolètes et force à les remplacer par des systèmes toujours plus récents et plus rapides pour faire, en pratique, exactement les même choses. Ce gaspillage, accablant les individus de dépenses inutiles et l'environnement par toujours plus de consommation, doit cesser. » <a href="https://blogs.fsfe.org/pboddie/?p=2496">Paul Boddie a écrit un article d'opinion de blog de la communauté, détaillant les points à satisfaire pour parvenir à la durabilité technologique</a>, incluant du matériel qui puisse être facilement soutenu par des Logiciels Libres, une infrastructure publique contrôlée collectivement à travers nos représentants, et des développeurs de Logiciels Libres mieux payés.
  </p><p>
    Paul conclut par « Nous avons besoin d'une combinaison de standards sincèrement ouverts, facilitant les Logiciels Libres et les services publics et privés accessibles, et d'utilisateurs capables d'adopter et de garder du matériel ouvert à longue durée de vie ». Vous pouvez suivre les pensées de la communauté de la FSFE sur l'agrégateur de blogs <a href="https://planet.fsfe.org/">Planet</a>.
  </p><h2>Réservez la date</h2><ul>
  <li>
    <p>
      Date à annoncer. Le groupe local de la FSFE d'Aarhus au Danemark prévoit de se réunir en mars après une longue pause ! Toutes les personnes intéressées par les Logiciels Libres sont les bienvenues. Pour plus d'informations, vous pouvez contacter Carsten Agger (agger [at] fsfe [dot] org).</p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      Samedi 12 mars 17 h CET, une lecture par l'auteur d'Ada &amp; Zangemann aura lieu en Allemagne. Rencontrez l'auteur du livre et président de la FSFE, Matthias Kirschner, et posez-lui toutes vos questions. L'évènement fait partie du Chemnitzer Linux-Tage. Vous pouvez rejoindre l'évènement gratuitement. Aucune inscription n'est nécessaire. <a href="https://chemnitzer.linux-tage.de/2022/de/programm/beitrag/confirm/126/32a9cd397c243b8503f848363e471732">La lecture aura lieu en ligne</a>.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      Mardi 15 mars de 14 h à 15 h 30 CET, Erik Albers, Gestionnaire de programme et expert en durabilité de la FSFE, participera à « Logiciels durables pour des téléphones qui durent », un webinaire organisé par Fairphone. Un groupe d'experts débattra des raisons pour lesquelles la longévité de nos téléphones continue de décliner. Erik Albers expliquera pourquoi le droit universel d'installer un système d'exploitation Libre sur tout appareil nous aidera à vivre dans une société numérique plus durable. <a href="https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/fairphone-webinar-sustainable-software-for-phones-that-last-tickets-272595820437">Les tickets sont gratuits</a>.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      Samedi 19 mars de 11 h à 17 h CET, nous organisons avec le groupe local de Berlin <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/Android/UpcyclingWorkshops/#A19._M.2BAOQ-rz_2022_-_Berlin.2C_Deutschland">notre premier atelier Upcycling Android à Berlin</a>. Cet atelier va permettre de réunir des amateurs de technologie et des amateurs de durabilité, les faire échanger sur la technologie et la durabilité, tout en flashant des téléphones avec des systèmes d'exploitation Libres. En plus du flashage effectif du téléphone, il y aura aussi une courte conférence sur la longévité et la durabilité sur Android et les autres appareils. Cela aura lieu au Holodeck de Netzpolitik.org à Schönhauser Allee 6/7. Viendrez-vous ?
    </p>
  </li>
</ul>
    <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/Android/UpcyclingWorkshops/#A19._M.2BAOQ-rz_2022_-_Berlin.2C_Deutschland"/>
    
      Venez au premier atelier Upcycling Android à Berlin !
    
  <ul>
  <li>
    <p>
      Mecredi 30 mars de 14 h à 14 h 45 CET, Erik Albers fera un discours au Digital Social Summit sur les politiques et les logiciels autour des téléphones. Utilisant le téléphone comme exemple, Erik expliquera comment la conception des logiciels impacte la durabilité du matériel et des infrastructures. La session est en allemand, traduite en temps réel en langue des signes. Elle sera <a href="https://digital-social-summit.de/session/software-smartphone/">diffusée en direct</a>.</p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      Vincent Lequertier et Erik Da Silva, Coordinateurs adjoints de la FSFE en France, participent à un atelier sur la protection des données et les Logiciels Libres. La Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), l'autorité de protection des données française, organise cet atelier dans le contexte des initiatives pour un gouvernement ouvert.
    </p>
  </li>
</ul><h2>Contribuer à notre lettre d'information</h2><p>
    Si vous souhaitez partager vos pensées, images ou actualités, vous pouvez nous les soumettre à l'adresse newsletter@fsfe.org. Nous avons hâte de recevoir de vos nouvelles ! Si vous voulez soutenir la FSFE et notre travail, rejoignez notre communauté et faites un don ponctuel ou une <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=newsletter">contribution mensuelle</a>. Merci à notre communauté et à tous les bénévoles, soutiens et donateurs qui rendent notre travail possible. Et merci à nos traducteurs, qui vous permettent de lire cette lettre d'information dans votre langue maternelle.
  </p><p>Votre éditrice, Fani Partsafyllidou</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220310-01
title: "I Love Free Software Day": Free Software games and a SharePic generator
uri: I-Love-Free-Software-Day-Free-Software-games-and-a-SharePic-generat
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220310-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>"I Love Free Software Day": Free Software games
and a SharePic generator</h1><p>Since 2010 the Free Software Foundation Europe has been
organising the yearly "I Love Free Software Day". Together
with hundreds of Free Software enthusiasts we celebrated our love for
Free Software on the 14th of February.  To all of you who took part
and celebrated the "I Love Free Software Day", we would
like to thank you so much.</p><p>In 2022 we have worked very hard on creating something new
and fun for this year's "I Love Free Software Day". So we
have set a topic for the day and focused on Free Software games.
Besides the special podcast episode about the Free Software game <a href="https://fsfe.org/podcast/episode-13.html">"0 A.D.: Empires
Ascendant"</a> with its project leader, Stanislas Dolcini,
we have organised an event dedicated to Free Software games.</p>
  <img src="media/0cdf80af.9bf392a8fe0b6b7ee5731a2f9e97efbe.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/9bf392a8fe0b6b7ee5731a2f9e97efbe.png"/>
<h3>The "I Love Free Software Day: gaming event"</h3><p>For our two hour event the Free Software Foundation Europe
has hosted four speakers, who took us into the world of Free Software
games. Afterwards we started to play the Free Software game <a href="https://veloren.net/">Veloren</a>. Our first
talk was from Justin Jacobs , the engine developer and campaign
designer of the game <a href="https://flarerpg.org/">Flare</a>.
Our next speaker was Kati Baker,, with who we discovered the
organisation of <a href="https://godotwildjam.com/">Godot
Wild Jams</a>, and with Joel Uckelman we learned about the
development of the  game engine <a href="https://vassalengine.org/">Vassal</a>.
Last but not least Forest Anderson introduced us to the game Veloren.
Roughly 60 people joined the event; around half of them joined us in
our <a href="https://conf.fsfe.org">own
BigBlueButton</a> instance and the other half in the stream we
provided. For the technical set up of our stream and BigBlueButton
instance we had great support by our system hacker Alvar Penning and
our <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Teams/System-Hackers">System
Hackers</a> coordinator Max Mehl.</p>
  <img src="media/d30ac7ed.6485fb0fc9ea026e92efb49600bd9b67.jpeg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/small/6485fb0fc9ea026e92efb49600bd9b67.jpeg"/>
<p>We enjoyed the gaming event a lot and would like to say
thank you to all of you who participated and supported the event. The
recordings of the event  are available on our <a href="https://media.fsfe.org">Peertube instance</a>
or on our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/FreeSoftwareFoundationEurope">YouTube
channel</a>.</p><h3>Show your love for Free Software</h3><p>For this year's "I Love Free Software Day" we have
also introduced some more creative ways to express your gratitude to
Free Software contributors. Therefore the FSFE has released a series
of new videos for this special day. In the videos staffers and
volunteers alike say their thanks to different Free Software
projects. Among others, Lina Ceballos has <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/sPVNgFumLjdtyGnTw34mZP">thanked
the Free Software projects "AntennaPod" and "funkwhale"</a>
for their great work, and FSFE's Financial Officer, Patrick Ohnewein,
has expressed his gratitude <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/ivu4RA68z3BwbxG1wb5gdx">to
all of those who contribute</a> to Free Software. For more
inspirational videos and quotes have a look at our updated <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/ilovefs/whylovefs/whylovefs.html">"Why
they love Free Software"</a> page.</p>
  Marlene Kietreiber is saying thank you to
the Free Software project "Blender"
  
   
    
   
<p>Finally yet importantly,
the FSFE together with the system hacker Alvar Penning has created
our very own <a href="https://sharepic.fsfe.org/">SharePic
generator</a>. With this tool everyone can easily make their
own SharePic and share it via the various social media channels. Let
your creativity run free and show your support for software freedom.
This would not have been possible without the work on the SharePic
design by our volunteer Florian Snow and our former intern Marlene
Kietreiber.</p>
  <img src="media/29cb25b1.5a087946919a989183d1551878a00412.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/5a087946919a989183d1551878a00412.png"/>
  Niharika Singhal showing her love for Free
Software"
<h3>Celebrating our love for software freedom</h3><p>As in previous years, #ilovefs has been the number one in
the Fediverse network, with over 47 thousand mentions and over 20
thousand users talking about their love for Free Software.</p>
  <img src="media/84ef0d30.1cf8f43b87f8d438785f0450b78b117b.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/1cf8f43b87f8d438785f0450b78b117b.png"/>

  Fediverse, #ilovefs number one"
<p>People and organisations have also celebrated their love for
Free Software outside the various social media channels. As can bee
seen by O’Reilly, the publisher of Matthias Kirschner's children's
book <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/childrensbook/">"Ada
&amp; Zangemann"</a>, who have also participated and
shared their love for software freedom.</p>
  <img src="media/38ae6a0a.bd3da97c76e8c22c53ff813df9a39d43.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/small/bd3da97c76e8c22c53ff813df9a39d43.png"/>
  Publisher O'Reilly is sharing their love for
software freedom
<p>Another creative way to express their thanks and love for
Free Software has been used by the German association <a href="https://digitalcourage.de/blog/2022/i-love-free-software-day">Digitalcourage</a>.
They have written a whole bunch of love letters to different Free
Software projects.</p>
  <img src="media/1da3e02b.ddfba11750c89925279d0d6f40eb1e56.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/small/ddfba11750c89925279d0d6f40eb1e56.jpg"/>
 Picture: Markus Hamid <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">cc-by
4.0</a>, Digitalcourage e.V. is sharing their love letters to
Free Software  projects
<p>Those are just some of the people who have shown their love
for Free Software on the “I Love Free Software Day”. Many more
have participated by sharing their love and gratitude via different
social media channels.</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 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><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220315-01
title: Germany: 100 days of coalition agreement - hardly one day for Free Software
uri: Germany-100-days-of-coalition-agreement-hardly-one-day-for-Free-Sof
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220315-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Germany: 100 days of coalition agreement - hardly one day for Free Software</h1><p>At the end of the week, the new German government will have been in office for 100 days. 
The coalition agreement contains ambitious statements on the use of Free Software (also known as Open Source), but so far 
nothing has been implemented. On the contrary: dependencies are to be further cemented.</p><p>
Just 100 days ago, the new government set out to finally drive forward the digitisation of Germany. Fortunately the use of Free 
Software is to play a major role. The FSFE has been demanding for a long time: "Public Money? Public Code!" - an implementation 
of the principle finally seems tangible.</p>
<img src="media/f325e092.6c8d43ffc1013f647affa17d8f0929d5.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/6c8d43ffc1013f647affa17d8f0929d5.jpg"/> 
digital sovereignty
 <p>Free Software gives everyone the right to use, study, share, and improve applications for any purpose. These 
freedoms mean that similar applications do not have to be programmed from scratch every time, and thanks to 
transparent processes, others do not have to reinvent the wheel. For large projects expertise and costs can be shared, 
and applications paid for by the public are available to all. This promotes innovation and saves money in the medium to 
long term. Dependencies on vendors is minimised and security issues can be fixed more easily. </p><em>Alexander Sander, the FSFE's Policy Consultant, explains: "Although the benefits of Free Software are obvious and are 
also recognised in the coalition treaty, the new government has so far only been conspicuous by inactivity and cementing 
the status quo. Instead of finally providing a 'Free Software cloud' for administrations, the new government will again 
rely on costly proprietary applications. This is incomprehensible to us." </em><p>SAP and Arvato, for example, want to offer Microsoft products to German administrations and the new government is open to this. 
The cloud strategy based on "open interfaces as well as strict security and transparency requirements", which was still mentioned 
in the coalition treaty, is thus moving further and further away.</p><p>Apart from a vague announcement by Franziska Brantner, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate 
Protection, "to promote open source technologies from 2022 onwards" nothing happened so far. It remains unclear what budget 
is available for this activity, how these technologies will be identified and promoted, and how stakeholders will be 
integrated into the process, especially civil society.</p><p>The Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, who is supposed to push the topic of digitisation for administrations, has so far 
remained reserved, as has the chancellor. Although "much more speed" is to be made, how this is to happen in concrete terms 
remains nebulous and Free Software has not played a role so far.</p><em>"The government, which has made an ambitious start, is called upon to keep its own objectives in mind and finally move 
forward with the digitisation of Germany, based on Free Software." Alexander Sander demands.</em><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220316-01
title: L'application Okular de KDE devient le premier programme informatique éco-certifié
uri: L-application-Okular-de-KDE-devient-le-premier-programme-informatique
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220316-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>L'application Okular de KDE devient le premier programme informatique éco-certifié</h1><p>Okular, la visionneuse de documents universelle de KDE, est le premier logiciel à recevoir l'écolabel Blue Angel. La FSFE félicite Okular pour ce pas qui confirme les intérêts environnementaux d'utiliser et de développer des Logiciels Libres. Ensemble avec notre initiative Upcycling Android, nous faisons campagne pour des libertés d'utilisateur universelles dans l'UE dans les mois qui viennent.</p><p>Les Logiciels Libres ont de nombreux intérêts au regard des libertés des utilisateurs, de la transparence, de la modularité et du contrôle — pour n'en citer que quelques-uns. Au-delà de ces aspects plutôt techniques, <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/democracy.html">le contrôle sur la technologie influence directement nos sociétés et nos démocraties</a>. C'est finalement la raison pour laquelle la FSFE est votre association caritative : pour donner aux gens le moyen de contrôler la technologie.</p><p>Moins bien connus sont les intéràts que les Logiciels Libres offrent à une société numérique plus durable. La recherche contemporaine montre une corrélation de plus en plus problématique entre le saut vers le numérique en cours et son impact sur les émissions de gaz à effet de serre et le changement du climat. La plupart de ces émissions de gaz à effet de serre viennent de la production de matériel, sa livraison dans le monde entier, l'énergie pour faire marcher ce matériel et l'énergie nécessaire pour les flux de données et pour connecter tous ces appareils c'est-à-dire Internet et le streaming.</p><h2>Okular est le premier logiciel à recevoir l'écolabel Blue Angel</h2>
    <img src="media/9b722021.bb97d5abf32d0f8f5c38ca7e190c4030.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/bb97d5abf32d0f8f5c38ca7e190c4030.png"/>
    Capture d'écran de l'application Okular de KDE, illustrations de <a href="https://www.peppercarrot.com/">David Revoy CC BY-SA 4.0</a>
  <p>Pour cette fin, l'Agence environnementale allemande (Umweltbundesamt) a développé des critères de récompense pour l'écolabel Blue Angel pour <a href="https://www.blauer-engel.de/en/productworld/resources-and-energy-efficient-software-products">« Produits Logiciels Efficaces avec les Ressources et l'Énergie »</a>. Le Blue Angel est le premier label environnemental établi dans le monde pour les logiciels efficaces en termes d'énergie ; c’est le premier label de ce type. Cet écolabel récompense les logiciels qui effectuent la même fonction que d'autres logiciels en utilisant le même matériel mais en consommant moins d'énergie. À présent, l'application <a href="https://okular.kde.org/">Okular</a> de KDE est le premier produit logiciel à être certifié du nouveau sceau, et ainsi, <a href="https://eco.kde.org/blog/2022-03-16-press-release-okular-blue-angel/">Okular devient le premier programme informatique éco-certifié</a>. Le Blue Angel a certifié Okular pour une série d'intérêts pour l'environnement et la santé, en particulier pour <em>« sauvegarder les ressources »</em>, être <em>« efficace en termes d'énergie »</em> et offrir <em>« des interfaces transparentes »</em>.</p><em>« La FSFE félicite la communauté mondiale d'ingénieurs, artistes, écrivains, traducteurs et créateurs de logiciels qui tous ensemble forment KDE pour ce succès »</em>, dit Erik Albers, expert en Durabilité numérique pour la FSFE. <em>« La bonne nouvelle sur le fait qu'Okular de KDE a été le premier à recevoir l'écolabel Blue Angel va aider à sensibiliser aux nombreux intérêts que les Logiciels Libres offrent en termes de respect de notre environnement. Et cela donne une raison de plus pour convaincre les gouvernements et les gens que les Logiciels Libres sont une condition nécessaire pour une société numérique libre, juste et durable. »</em><p>Et partant que la communauté de KDE a démarré une initiative appelée <a href="https://eco.kde.org/">KDE Eco</a>, nous savons qu'elle travaille à amener plus de Logiciels Libres à être récompensés pour être plus efficaces en termes d'énergie dans les moins à venir.</p><h2>Les Logiciels Libres sont cruciaux pour étendre la durée de vie des matériels</h2><p>L'efficacité énergétique des Logiciels Libres, leur modularité et d'autres aspects combattent un problème supplémentaire du saut vers le numérique en cours : les souvent trop courtes durées de vie des matériels causés par l'obsolescence logicielle. Ladite « obsolescence logicielle » survient lorsque le fabricant d'un appareil cesse le support des logiciels nécessaires pour exécuter l'appareil comme il faut. Une solution pour vaincre l'obsolescence logicielle est de remplacer les logiciels ou systèmes d'exploitation propriétaires par des Logiciels Libres. Un grand nombre d'entre nous ont entendu parler d'ordinateurs portables, netbooks et ordinateurs de bureau avec des matériels datant de plusieurs années qui sont « obsolètes » pour des systèmes d'exploitation propriétaires mais qui fonctionnent bien en utilisant des systèmes GNU/Linux. Montrant cela avec les Logiciels Libres, vous faites d'une pierre deux coups: vous pouvez continuer d'utiliser votre appareil et peut-être le voir fonctionner encore mieux — et vous obtenez des libertés.</p><p>La même chose s'applique à d'autres appareils que les ordinateurs : par exemple, les téléphones. À la FSFE, nous sensibilisons et attaquons l'obsolescence logicielle avec notre nouvelle initiative <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/">Upcycling Android</a>. Cette initiative propose d'étendre la durée de vie de nos téléphones à l'aide de Logiciels Libres. Chaque fois que nous continuons d'utiliser notre téléphone actuel au lieu d'en acheter un nouveau, nous aidons à éviter la production de nouveaux téléphones et l'augmentation du gaspillage électronique.</p>
    <img src="media/9d9e8d91.89247debfc2d18c5ba397eb0e67f09d8.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/89247debfc2d18c5ba397eb0e67f09d8.png"/>
    Capture d'écran de notre <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/kGvs3JNADvvQfkC1dR9FGr">vidéo Upcycling Android</a> qui explique le problème de l'obsolescence logicielle et comment le résoudre en utilisant des Logiciels Libres
  <h2>Activités de la FSFE sur les Logiciels Libres et la durabilité numérique</h2><p>Outre notre campagne publique de sensibilisation, nous levons notre voix pendant les négociations sur les changements à venir au regard de l'écoconception européenne. À la Free Software Foundation Europe, nous utilisons cette chance historique pour <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220225-01.html">défendre le droit universel d'installer et désinstaller tout système d'exploitation et tout logiciel sur tout appareil</a>. Dans le même temps, nous aidons directement les utilisateurs à flasher leurs téléphones et à installer des systèmes d'exploitation Libres en animant des <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/Android/UpcyclingWorkshops/">ateliers</a> dans diverses villes. Pour finir, nous faisons partie du comité d'organisation de <a href="https://bits-und-baeume.org/">Bits &amp; Bäume</a>, la conférence européenne la plus influente sur la durabilité numérique et les Logiciels Libres qui aura lieu en automne cette année.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: episode-14
title: SFP#14: The world of mesh networking with Elektra Wagenrad
uri: SFP-14-The-world-of-mesh-networking-with-Elektra-Wagenrad
url: https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-14.fr.html
content:
<h1>SFP#14: The world of mesh networking with Elektra Wagenrad</h1><p>
With this episode the Software Freedom Podcast opens the door to the fascinating and sometimes complex world of mesh networking. And who better than Elektra Wagenrad can take us on this journey? Elektra is one of the original developers of the B.A.T.M.A.N. protocol and the person behind the Mesh potato project.
</p><p>In our 14th Software Freedom Podcast episode Matthias Kirschner talks with our guest, Elektra Wagenrad, about the origins of Freifunk, the B.A.T.M.A.N. protocol, and the Mesh Potato project. If you are new to the world of mesh networking this episodes is an easy entrance to it. Elektra not only explains the theory behind the protocols but also dives deeper into the philosophical idea of it. In this context, Matthias and Elektra also touch on the difficult topic of limiting the use of Free Software, using the example of the former ban on the use of the B.A.T.M.A.N. protocol for military activities. Last but not least they also discuss the EU’s <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/radiodirective/">Radio Equipment Directive</a> and the FSFE's <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/routers/routers.html">Router Freedom activity</a>.</p><p>With this episode, the Software Freedom Podcast produced an easy to follow and easy to understand podcast for everybody who is interested in mesh networking. Join us on our journey through this fascinating technical and philosophical world and listen to Elektra and Matthias as they tell the story with its ups and downs. 

</p><p>If you clicked on the image of Elektra Wagenrad to come to this page, this image is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0">CC-BY-SA 3.0</a> and created by Andrea Behrendt.</p><p>Read more:</p><ul>



<li><a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/">What is Free Software?</a></li>



<li><a href="https://freifunk.net/">Freifunk</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.open-mesh.org/">Open-Mesh Project</a></li>



<li><a href="https://villagetelco.org/mesh-potato/">The "Mesh Potato" project</a></li>



<li><a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/radiodirective/radiodirective.html">FSFE’s activity on Radio Lockdown</a></li>



<li><a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/routers/routers.html">FSFE's Router Freedom activity</a></li>



</ul><p>If you liked this episode and want to support our continuous work for software freedom, please help us with a donation.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220323-01
title: Interview with Plasma Mobile developer Bhushan Shah
uri: Interview-with-Plasma-Mobile-developer-Bhushan-Shah
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220323-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Interview with Plasma Mobile developer Bhushan Shah</h1><p>
    What are my options if I want to run my phone with Free Software? 
    For our Upcycling Android campaign we interviewed Plasma Mobile 
    developer Bhushan Shah about running a privacy-respecting and 
    secure GNU/Linux phone ecosystem on your phone.
  </p><p>
   KDE is an international Free Software community founded in 1996, and 
   KDE e.V. is an associated organisation of the FSFE.  In 2014, KDE 
   first released Plasma, a graphical workspace environment which 
   became one of its core projects. Plasma Mobile is a Plasma 5 variant 
   for Linux-based smartphones. Bhushan Shah is a developer in the 
   Plasma Mobile project since 2015. We chatted with Bhushan to learn 
   more about this promising project. In this interview Bhushan 
   explains why using Plasma Mobile benefits one's privacy, and how to 
   get started. Enjoy!
 </p>
  <img src="media/1a474e17.6e35e7f3972dab183787344981dfc924.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/6e35e7f3972dab183787344981dfc924.png"/>
<p>
    <strong> FSFE</strong>: Hello Bhushan 🙂 thank you for joining!
  </p><p>
    <strong>Bhushan Shah</strong>: Hello! Good morning! 🙂
  </p><p>
    <strong>FSFE</strong>: As a start we would like to learn a few 
    things about you, like how did you first become interested in Free 
    Software and how did you start working at Plasma Mobile?
  </p><p>
    <strong>Bhushan</strong>: Sure. My first exposure to Free Software 
    was a Linux course at University, which made me interested in Linux 
    and open source in general. As part of that I started writing 
    articles for Linux news sites (Muktware), and that introduced me to 
    the KDE community. Basically, as I grew closer to the KDE community 
    as a user I started using my development skills to contribute back, 
    and then I never looked back. I was working with the KDE community 
    as a contributor when they announced Plasma Mobile, and I was hired 
    to work on Plasma Mobile by Bluesystems GmbH. That was in 2015, and 
    after that I grew much closer to the Plasma Mobile project, both in 
    technical terms and as a "movement" to provide an open 
    alternative to Android/iOS 🙂
  </p><p>
    <strong> FSFE</strong>: What is your current role in Plasma Mobile?
  </p><p>
    <strong>Bhushan</strong>: Currently I am working as a developer and 
    maintainer of the Plasma Mobile project. I should note that being 
    the maintainer does not make me BDFL* 😉 and responsibility for each 
    of the components still stays with all contributors. 🙂
  </p><p>
    <strong> FSFE</strong>: Perfect, because we would like you to share 
    with us what is Plasma Mobile? How is it different to other mobile 
    operating systems? Pretend we hear about Free Software for the 
    first time.
  </p><p>
    <strong>Bhushan</strong>: Right. In purely technical terms, Plasma 
    Mobile is a collection of various software components, but I'd 
    like to think of it more as a ecosystem of mobile software which is 
    open by nature and has a community-first approach.
  </p><p>
    Other mobile operating systems like Android and iOS have 
    development done behind closed doors by large corporations and will 
    only provide new releases as a either huge code dump or will not 
    even provide a source code in some cases, while Plasma Mobile aims 
    to provide a complete transparent development process where each 
    change is developed together with the community, and is available 
    with licenses that allow anyone to use, inspect and develop onward.
  </p><p>
    <strong>Our goal is that every user, developer, designer, 
    translator can take part in the development and the community of 
    Plasma Mobile and can work on improving it</strong>. As for what 
    makes Plasma Mobile, again this is technical points, but Plasma 
    Mobile includes a shell or user interface, applications, and 
    distribution / base system for various mobile devices.
  </p>
  <img src="media/c7e7e5b2.b9b1f761fd936faa0aab1e11fe3f70bd.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/b9b1f761fd936faa0aab1e11fe3f70bd.jpg"/>
  Bhushan Shah (second from left) in Akademy, the annual world summit of KDE.
<p>
    <strong> FSFE</strong>: Sounds like a vast collaborative project. We 
    would also like to learn what would you say to someone who has 
    decided to opt for a Free Software operating system, and has to 
    choose between an Android-based custom-ROM or a full GNU/Linux 
    distribution, like Plasma Mobile. What are the main differences, 
    and what should a user have in mind to make the right choice?
  </p><p>
    <strong>Bhushan</strong>: Right, this is a question which will 
    yield 10 different answers if you ask 10 different people 😄
  </p><p>
    But ultimately it depends on what the user wants from their device. 
    There are <strong>some use cases, for example banking or mobile payment 
    applications, which unfortunately are not easily possible when you 
    use the full Linux based distribution</strong>, as the market for such 
    operating systems is still little bit of a niche and app developers 
    do not support these distributions. That said, there are solutions 
    like Waydroid which allow one to run such essential android 
    applications on the GNU/Linux system.
  </p><p>
    If you do not have such use cases where you need an Android device 
    in your daily life then a full Linux-based system is definitely a 
    better choice, compared to let's say LineageOS or a de-googled 
    device, due to software freedoms it provides. So the bottom line 
    is, each user will have a different use case and while we can try 
    our best to match user expectation, ultimately the user will have 
    to make the decision here.
  </p><p>
    I think the main difference that will impact users is the app 
    ecosystem available to them.  While the Mobile Linux app ecosystem 
    is growing, unfortunately it is not anywhere close to what Android 
    and iOS have right now. We as a community and Free Software 
    enthusiasts will have to work on improving this aspect of the Free 
    Software mobile ecosystem. 🙂
  </p><p>
    <strong> FSFE</strong>: Thanks. What is the quickest way to start 
    using Plasma Mobile? If I am looking to buy a new device and I am 
    interested in Plasma Mobile, what are my options?
  </p><p>
    <strong>Bhushan</strong>: There are certain vendors like Pine64 and 
    Purism, who have "Linux first" devices like PinePhone, 
    PinePhone Pro, and Librem 5 which should support the Plasma Mobile 
    without much hassle. Pine64 devices ship with Plasma Mobile as the 
    default even, but if these are not an option for you for whatever 
    reason, then the postmarketOS community is also working on adding 
    support for off-the-shelf Android devices in the mainline Linux 
    kernel.  You can find a<a href="https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices"> list of supported devices</a>
    in this page.
  </p><p>
    <strong> FSFE</strong>: Great. And once we have Plasma Mobile, what 
    are your most beloved apps you would recommend us?
  </p><p>
    <strong>Bhushan</strong>: Most distributions come with some basic 
    set of applications like Dialer, SMS application, Clock, Setting 
    applications etc. We have <a href="https://plasma-mobile.org/">a 
    list of applications on the Plasma Mobile website</a> that you can 
    go through.
  </p><p>
    My personal favourite, however, if you ask, is <a href="https://kdeconnect.kde.org/">KDE connect</a>  for interacting 
    and controlling other devices using Plasma Mobile devices 😉
  </p>
 <img src="media/6adc9478.c038ebc0800a895cd42debf8d44d1ebc.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/c038ebc0800a895cd42debf8d44d1ebc.png"/>
 
  Screenshots of Plasma Mobile
 
<p>
    <strong> FSFE</strong>: Plasma Mobile states to be a privacy 
    respecting phone ecosystem. How does Plasma Mobile secure 
    peoples' privacy?
  </p><p>
    <strong>Bhushan</strong>: Right. A lot of applications and software 
    in the current mobile ecosystem are built with one basic aim of 
    tracking users and collecting multiple GBs of data about users. 
  </p><p>
    Almost all of <strong>this is sold as "Improving user 
    experience" or "features" so users have no idea that 
    their data is being harvested</strong>. Do you want to activate 
    your phone with voice? Do you want to share your live location with 
    your friend? Do you maybe want to unlock your device with a 
    fingerprint or eye tracking?
  </p><p>
    Most users will say yes to this and Android/iOS will mine this 
    data, use it for targeted advertisements and in the worst case will 
    share with state actors who want to spy on users. We at Plasma 
    Mobile have committed to building a ecosystem where user privacy is 
    respected, Apart from opt-in very basic telemetry kde.org does not 
    collect any of the user data, and we work on adding the same set of 
    user enhancements without hidden data collection or targeted 
    advertisements.
  </p><p>
    In addition to this, being open by nature means that users are free 
    to audit the application/software installed on their device for any 
    anti-privacy features or hidden trackers 🙂
  </p><p>
    <strong> FSFE</strong>: The contrast with the dominant mobile 
    ecosystems in matters of privacy is striking indeed. Going back to 
    other devices - GNU/Linux systems are famous for being able to run 
    on a variety of devices. Can I use Plasma mobile on other devices 
    except phones, or is that planned for the future?
  </p><p>
    <strong>Bhushan</strong>: Yes, you can use Plasma Mobile on the 
    tablet/desktop devices as well. In fact a lot of us developers 
    develop Plasma Mobile by running it initially on the desktop 🙂 Some 
    distributions offer Live Images that you can boot on your laptop to 
    test drive Plasma Mobile.
  </p><p>
    <strong> FSFE</strong>: Sounds fun! As a last question, we would 
    like to ask you what motivates you in your work for Plasma Mobile?
  </p><p>
    <strong>Bhushan</strong>: My motivation is two-fold. First is I 
    very much believe in the vision of Plasma Mobile, and I would like 
    to help the KDE community achieve that goal, and my second 
    motivation is technology. I am a developer at heart and Plasma 
    Mobile is supported by various technologies and developing on it is 
    fun!
  </p><p>
    <strong> FSFE</strong>: Thank you Bhushan, for the interview and 
    also for offering us a privacy-friendly alternative to the current 
    mobile world. I wish all the best to the Plasma Mobile project, 
    which contributes to software freedom.
  </p><p>
    <strong>Bhushan</strong>: Thank you very much!
  </p><p>
    * BDFL: Acronym for 'benevolent dictator for life' satirizes the 
    power of the developers of Free Software projects who have the 
    final say in a dispute.
  </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220328-01
title: Anchor Free Software in the 2022 German Federal Budget!
uri: Anchor-Free-Software-in-the-2022-German-Federal-Budget
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220328-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Anchor Free Software in the 2022 German Federal Budget!</h1><p>The traffic light coalition must anchor its goals for the digitisation of Germany, based on Free Software, as set out in 
 the coalition agreement in the 2022 federal budget. Otherwise, there is a risk of cementing dependencies on individual 
 vendors and losing sovereignty and innovative power.</p><p>Together with other associations and organisations such as the Open Source Business Alliance and the Open Knowledge Foundation Germany, the Free Software Foundation Europe calls for, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) demands to include digital 
sovereignty in the 2022 federal budget and implement already announced initiatives for software freedom. In an open letter, the signatories address 
the government groups in the Bundestag and demand that the goals for the digitalisation of Germany, based on Free Software, as set out in 
the coalition agreement, also be anchored in the 2022 federal budget.</p>
<img src="media/f325e092.6c8d43ffc1013f647affa17d8f0929d5.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/6c8d43ffc1013f647affa17d8f0929d5.jpg"/> 
digital sovereignty
 <em>"The right goal in the coalition agreement to advance digitisation through the use of Free Software must also be 
reflected in the government's concrete actions. Otherwise, there is a risk of cementing dependencies on individual vendors and 
losing sovereignty and innovative power. Digitisation that focuses on independence, sustainability, crisis resistance and economic 
success can only be achieved through the implementation of Free Software. The traffic light coalition is called upon to  provide 
necessary funds in the federal budget to prevent digitalisation from failing," explains Alexander Sander, Policy Consultant at FSFE.</em><p>Free Software gives everyone the right to use, study, share and improve applications for any purpose. These freedoms ensure that 
similar applications do not have to be programmed from scratch every time and, thanks to transparent processes, others do not have 
to reinvent the wheel. In large projects, expertise and costs can be shared and applications paid for by the general public are 
available to all. This promotes innovation and saves tax payers money in the medium to long term. Dependencies on vendors are 
minimised and security issues can be fixed more easily. The Free Software Foundation Europe, together with over 200 organisations, 
is therefore calling for "Public Money? Public Code!"   - If it is public money, it should be public code as well. More information 
on the initiative: <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">https://publiccode.eu/</a></p><p>The open letter "Consider digital sovereignty in the 2022 federal budget" 
can be found <a href="media/807e3aab.20220328-German-Budget-and-Free-Software-2022.de.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/policy/letters/20220328-German-Budget-and-Free-Software-2022.de.pdf">here</a>.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220330-01
title: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act: Free Software is key!
uri: Artificial-Intelligence-(AI)-Act-Free-Software-is-key
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220330-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act: Free Software is key! </h1><p> In the effort of adopting digital policies aligned with 
	 people's fundamental rights, the European Parliament is in the 
	 process of finding a position on the legal framework for the 
	 development and use of AI technologies. The FSFE is following this 
	 process so Free Software is included, innovation is fostered, 
	 control enhanced, and trust strengthened.
	 </p><p> It is clear that digital technologies are advancing at a fast 
	 pace, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no exception. Technical 
	 improvements, the accumulation of large, detailed datasets and 
	 advancement in computer hardware have led to an AI revolution. 
	 However, these technologies are a double-edged sword: they have 
	 the potential to bring benefits to peoples' lives and to the 
	 economy, but also to lead to harmful discrimination and human 
	 rights violations. That is the reason we call attention to the 
	 important role that Free Software plays in this regard. There is a 
	 need for verifiable and trustworthy AI technologies, and Free 
	 Software is crucial to achieve this. Our demands in this regard 
	 are based on three pillars; innovation, control, and 
	 trustworthiness. </p>
	   <img src="media/b38c7a59.8da733c745bf00f13549c1eefae8e9d9.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/8da733c745bf00f13549c1eefae8e9d9.png"/>
	   Photo credits: Cover: Markus Winkler from Unsplash / License: CC BY-SA 4.0. 
	   <h2>AI released under a Free Software license fosters innovation</h2><p>The collaborative ecosystem that Free Software enhances is key 
	 for the development of robust, accurate, and innovative AI 
	 solutions. Researchers, scientists, and developers alike can focus 
	 on creating new and better AI software if they can reproduce 
	 existing work. This reproducibility is doable thanks to the 
	 freedoms that Free Software offers (to use, to study, to improve, 
	 to share) and constitutes the heart of the scientific process: the 
	 creation of new knowledge from what already exists. Not to 
	 mention the advantages that this collaborative ecosystem can have 
	 in interoperability and cost savings.</p><em> "We have already seen how global problems require 
	 global solutions. Thanks to Free Software, existing solutions in one 
	 country can be adopted in another one which saves duplication of work 
	 and time, while it enables a higher auditability and inspection of the 
	 source code"</em>, says Lina Ceballos, FSFE Policy Project 
	 Manager.<h2>Free Software enhances control over AI</h2><p>Understanding the factors that lead to predictions in AI 
	 technologies is important not only for transparency but also 
	 for further improvement. Free Software allows everyone to run and test 
	 the AI to understand how it works and to identify potential risks that 
	 can be fixed if the four freedoms are granted.  The right to improve 
	 the software is closely related to the avoidance of vendor lock-in. 
	 This means a boost in Europe's innovation capacity and 
	 competitiveness in this field. </p><em> "From self-driving cars to predictive policing 
	  to healthcare - we need to stay in control of technology. The 
	  four freedoms of Free Software help enhancing the auditability on 
	  the AI, thus it allows us to have control over it"</em>, adds 
	  Alexander Sander, FSFE Policy Consultant.<h2>Free Software strengthens trust on AI technologies</h2><p>AI predictions are subject to errors, which can sometimes even 
	 violate fundamental rights. By putting the AI under the 
	 oversight of everyone, these perils can be identified and fixed, 
	 thus having a positive impact on the trustworthiness of the AI. 
	 Trust will enhance the promotion and uptake of these technologies. 
	 The freedoms granted by Free Software lay the groundwork for an 
	 ecosystem in which acknowledging the potential of AI and control 
	 over it can converge. </p>Lina Ceballos explains <em>"In decision-making processes 
	 led by AI, human oversight is highly critical. This auditability is 
	 viable if people have the right to use, study, share, and improve the 
	 software. In this regard, the openness that Free Software offers is 
	 crucial in the development of AI technologies and their compliance 
	 with fundamental rights obligations". </em><h2>FSFE's involvement in the European legislative process of AI Technologies</h2><p>Already for five years, the FSFE has been demanding with its <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">Public Money? Public Code!</a> 
	initiative that publicly financed software must be made publicly 
	available under a Free Software licence. Publicly financed AI 
	technologies also fall under this scope. </p><p>We are requiring that public procurement, as well as in-house 
	development, encourage Free Software AI and digital solutions to be 
	used in the public but also private sector. Therefore, public 
	authorities using AI systems should make them publicly available. 
	These demands also apply to public research and public institutions 
	inventing, using, or procuring AI systems.</p><p>Thus, with the intention of bringing our demands into the 
	discussion in the European legislative process, we have prepared a 
	<a href="media/9475efab.fsfe_AIandFreesoftware.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/AIandFS/fsfe_AIandFreesoftware.pdf">dedicated 
	document for decision-makers, with more elaborated arguments on the 
	use of Free Software in AI technologies</a>, which highlights the 
	benefits that Free Software can offer to this crucial regulation. 
	</p><p>AI technologies are showing us already the potential that they have 
	 to become an important aspect of our daily lives. Therefore a 
	 well-thought-out AI legislation that acknowledges the advantages of 
	 Free Software is needed. This set of rules will define the framework 
	 in which AI technologies can be used and developed. Thereby Europe 
	 can become fit for the digital age without undermining our ability to 
	 control technology.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: nl-202204
title: IA dans l'UE +++ Lettre ouverte à Bundestag +++ Plasma Mobile +++ Meshnet
uri: IA-dans-l-UE-Lettre-ouverte-à-Bundestag-Plasma-Mobile-Mes
url: https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202204.fr.html
content:
<h1>IA dans l'UE +++ Lettre ouverte à Bundestag +++ Plasma Mobile +++ Meshnet</h1><p>Dans notre lettre d'informations d'avril, nous accueillons chaleureusement les développements prometteurs pour les IA dans l'UE. Nous nous adressons au Gouvernement allemand pour demander un budget clair pour les Logiciels Libres. Nous nous entretenons avec un développeur de Plasma Mobile : Bhushan Shah, et nous parlons avec Elektra Wagenrad dans un épisode de podcast sur le Réseau maillé. Nous félicitons KDE du premier logiciel éco-certifié mondialement.</p><h2>Le Parlement européen reconnaît les Logiciels Libres comme clé pour des IA justes</h2><p>Le Comité spécial sur les Intelligences artificielles dans l'ère numérique (AIDA) du Parlement européen a voté sur sa résolution sur les Intelligences artificielles dans l'ère numérique le 22 mars, et a souligné l'importance des Logiciels Libres pour les IA avec une large majorité. Nous demandons maintenant aux co-législateurs de l'UE de prendre cette position en compte et d'inclure des dispositions et des lignes directrices sur les Logiciels Libres dans la législation à venir.</p><p>Les autorités publiques utilisant des systèmes de type IA doivent les rendre publiquement disponibles. La recherche publique inventant des systèmes de type IA doit les rendre publiquement disponibles. La transparence dans les technologies d'IA est nécessaire pour les tester, évaluer leurs résultats, et les améliorer. <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220330-01.html">La FSFE suit de près le processus législatif</a> et a analysé <a href="media/9475efab.fsfe_AIandFreesoftware.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/AIandFS/fsfe_AIandFreesoftware.pdf">comment les IA peuvent demeurer vérifiables et dignes de confiance tout en menant à plus d'innovation</a> avec des Logiciels Libres.</p><h2>L'Allemagne a des projets ambitieux avec les Logiciels Libres. Va-t-elle les réaliser ?</h2><p>L'accord de coalition du gouvernement allemand a défini le passage au numérique comme priorité et les Logiciels Libres comme solution sûre et transparente. 100 jours depuis que le nouveau gouvernement allemand est en place, et aucune action n'a été menée. Au contraire, les administrations allemandes sont terriblement proches de l'utilisation de produits Microsoft, abandonnant la possibilité d'adopter une stratégie basée sur des interfaces ouvertes. Alexander Sander, le Consultant politique de la FSFE, explique : « Au lieu de finalement fournir un « nuage de Logiciels Libres » pour les administrations, le gouvernement va à nouveau se fier à des applications propriétaires coûteuses. » <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220315-01.html">Nous appelons le gouvernement à suivre ses propres plans</a>.</p><p>En particulier, avec d'autres acteurs tels que l'Open Source Business Alliance et la Fondation allemande de la connaissance ouverte, la FSFE demande que le gouvernement allemand <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220328-01.html">inclue la souveraineté numérique dans le budget fédéral de 2022</a> et implante les initiatives déjà annoncées pour la liberté des logiciels. Dans une <a href="media/807e3aab.20220328-German-Budget-and-Free-Software-2022.de.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/policy/letters/20220328-German-Budget-and-Free-Software-2022.de.pdf">lettre ouverte (DE)</a>, les signataires s'adressent aux groupes du gouvernement du Bundestag.</p><h2>Plasma Mobile : Utiliser un téléphone GNU/Linux respectueux de la vie privée et sûr</h2><p>Quelles possibilités s'offrent à moi si je veux que mon téléphone fonctionne avec des Logiciels Libres ? Nous avons eu un entretien avec Bhushan Shah, développeur de Plasma Mobile, pour en apprendre plus sur le projet. Plasma Mobile est un système complet basé sur Linux, qui offre un processus de développement complètement transparent. S'agissant de la vie privée, Plasma Mobile est l'un des systèmes d'exploitation les plus sécurisés pour les téléphones. Il n'y a ni pistage, ni espionnage, ni minage de données pour former des publicités ciblées. <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220323-01.html">Bhushan donne une vue d'ensemble claire de Plasma Mobile, incluant comment c'est développé, et comment l'obtenir</a>.</p>
    <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220323-01.html">
      
    </a>
    
      Bhushan Shah (deuxième en partant de la gauche), développeur du projet Plasma Mobile depuis 2015.
    
  <h2>Écoutez notre nouvel épisode de podcast. Découvrez le réseau maillé.</h2><p><a href="https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-14.html">Dans notre nouvel épisode du Podcast sur la Liberté des Logiciels, Matthias Kirschner parle avec notre invité, Elektra Wagenrad, des origines de Freifunk, du protocole B.A.T.M.A.N., et du projet Mesh Potato</a>. Si vous découvrez le monde du réseau maillé, cet épisode constitue une introduction facile au concept. Elektra explique la théorie derrière les protocoles et plonge plus profondément dans son idée philosophique.</p>
    <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/episode-14.html">
      
    </a>
    
      Elektra Wagenrad, l'un des développeurs originels du protocole B.A.T.M.A.N. et du projet Mesh Potato. L'image est sous licence CC BY-SA 3.0 et créée par Andrea Behrendt.
    
  <h2>Le lecteur de PDF le plus efficace énergétiquement est un Logiciel Libre. Félicitations, Okular !</h2><p>Pour être exact, Okular est une visionneuse de documents universelle. C'est-à-dire qu'il ne permet pas seulement de lire des PDF, des bandes dessinées et des libres ePub ; il permet aussi de parcourir vos fichiers d'images, de visualiser des documents Markdown, et bien plus. En février 2022, Okular a été récompensé par l'écolabel Blue Angel, le label environnemental officiel donné par le gouvernement allemand. En 1978, l'Agence environnementale allemande a été la première à établir un label environnemental ; cette année, la portée du label a été étendue pour inclure les produits logiciels, faisant d'Okular le premier programme informatique éco-certifié.</p><p>Afin de recevoir l'écolabel Blue Angel, un programme doit répondre à de nombreux critères, incluant la transparence, la rétrocompatibilité, et la possibilité d'exécuter l'application sur du matériel ayant au moins cinq ans. Les Logiciels Libres excellent généralement dans ces critères. La FSFE <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220316-01.html">félicite Okular et toute la communauté KDE</a> !</p>
    <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220316-01.html"/>
    
      Capture d'écran d'Okular de KDE, illustrations de David Revoy CC BY-SA 4.0
    
  <h2>Réservez la date !</h2><ul>
  <li>
    <p>
      Jeudi 14 avril est la journée de trois réunions de groupes locaux de la FSFE. De 18 h à 21 h, <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/Zurich/2022-04-14">Zurich tiendra son habituelle réunion mensuelle en personne</a>. Toute personne intéressée par les Logiciels Libres et souhaitant se lever pour les idéaux des Logiciels Libres peut venir. Le groupe débattra de moyens pour atteindre de nouvelles personnes et de la Journée de l'éducation ouverte à venir. <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Hamburg">Hambourg tiendra son habituelle réunion mensuelle en personne</a> également. Veuillez rejoindre la liste de diffusion électronique du groupe pour plus d'informations. Enfin, <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Berlin">Berlin</a> tiendra son habituelle réunion mensuelle en ligne. Inscrivez-vous à la <a href="https://lists.fsfe.org/mailman/listinfo/berlin">liste de diffusion électronique</a> ou suivez la <a href="https://libranet.de/profile/fsfeberlin">page Mastodon</a> du groupe pour être au courant.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      Mercredi 20 avril, <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/BNL">l'équipe FSFE des Pays-Bas</a> tiendra son habituelle réunion mensuelle en ligne.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      Date à ajouter. Le groupe local de la FSFE d'Aarhus au Danemark a décalé sa première réunion. Si vous êtes intéressé, c'est le moment de contacter Carsten Agger (agger [at] fsfe [dot] org).
    </p>
  </li>
</ul><h2>Ce que nous avons fait</h2><ul>
  <li>
    <p>
      Le 30 mars, Erik Albers, Gestionnaire de programme et expert en durabilité de la FSFE, a présenté dans le Digital Social Summit que la conception des logiciels et les licences de Logiciels Libres impactent la durabilité des matériels et des infrastructures.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      Le 24 mars, <a href="https://libranet.de/display/0b6b25a8-2162-39a4-b089-4a2078010682">le groupe local de la FSFE de Berlin a lancé des idées avec Jessica Wawrzyniak de Digital Courage sur le sujet de comment une liste de permissions de Logiciels Libres adaptés à l'Éducation peut fonctionner</a>, et comment l'administration allemande peut compiler une telle liste.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      Le 20 mars, le groupe des Femmes de la FSFE s'est rencontré en ligne pour discuter des évènements passés et futurs.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      Le 19 mars, les participants de l'atelier Upcycling Android ont flashé des téléphones à Berlin.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      Le 16 mars, <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/Netherlands/2022-03-16">l'équipe FSFE des Pays-Bas a tenu sa réunion mensuelle en ligne</a>. L'équipe a débattu de la nouvelle loi sur les télécommunications en Belgique, et des actions potentielles pour assurer la Liberté des Routeurs. Les volontaires ont déjà contacté Neutrinet. La stratégie open source du gouvernement a également été un sujet important, ainsi que la dépendance augmentée à DigID, l'application d'identité numérique néerlandaise. Le 19 mars, l'équipe s'est rencontrée en personne dans la réunion des Utilisateurs de Linux néerlandais.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      Le 15 mars, Erik Albers a participé à « Logiciels durables pour téléphones qui durent », un webinaire organisé par Fairphone. <a href="https://media.fsfe.org/w/4WvPgN79fuex3eaSR378yH">Un panneau d'experts</a> a débattu de pourquoi la longévité des téléphones continue à décliner. Dans le panneau, Erik a tenu un stand sur comment le droit universel d'installer des systèmes d'exploitation Libres sur tout appareil nous aidera à vivre dans une société numérique plus durable.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      Le 12 mars, Matthias Kirschner, auteur d'« Ada &amp; Zangemann », a lu le livre pendant Chemnitzer Linux-Tage. Une vidéo d'une <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bHLxFqTnRo">lecture par l'auteur</a> pendant le Wintercongress est maintenant disponible.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      Le 10 mars, <a href="https://libranet.de/display/0b6b25a8-1262-279c-0282-3d4767329405">le groupe local de la FSFE à Berlin a tenu sa réunion mensuelle</a>. Les participants ont débattu de sujets de financement et de sécurité liés aux Logiciels Libres. Le groupe a discuté des plans récents de Mozilla pour créer de la publicité respectueuse de la vie privée.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      Le 10 mars, <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/Zurich/2022-03-10">le groupe local de la FSFE à Zurich a discuté des moyens d'atteindre de nouvelles personnes, et a exploré les actions possibles telles que les ateliers et les évènements d'information</a>. 
    </p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      Le 9 mars, le <a href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Hamburg">groupe local de la FSFE à Hambourg a tenu sa réunion mensuelle</a>.</p>
  </li>
</ul><h2>Contribuez à notre lettre d'information</h2><p>
      Si vous voulez partager vos pensées, images ou actualités, vous pouvez nous les soumettre à newsletter@fsfe.org. Nous avons hâte de recevoir de vos nouvelles ! Si vous voulez soutenir la FSFE et notre travail, rejoignez notre communauté et faites un don ponctuel ou une <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=newsletter">contribution mensuelle</a>. Merci à notre communauté et à tous les bénévoles, soutiens et donateurs qui rendent notre travail possible. Et merci à nos traducteurs, qui vous permettent de lire cette lettre d'information dans votre langue maternelle. 
    </p><p>Votre éditrice, Fani Partsafyllidou</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220414-01
title: Free Software should be included in the EU Declaration of Digital Rights and Principles
uri: Free-Software-should-be-included-in-the-EU-Declaration-of-Digital-Righ
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220414-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Free Software should be included in the EU Declaration of Digital Rights and Principles </h1><p> 
	 On 26 January 2022, the European Commission presented its proposal for 
	 the EU Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles which will serve 
	 as a reference point in the future and as a common EU vision of our 
	 digital rights. The declaration is now being discussed in the European 
	 Parliament and Council, and Free Software should become part of it. 
     </p><p>
	 Built on the Berlin and Tallinn declarations, this proposal aims 
	 to lay the groundwork for a consistent framework that will serve 
	 as a guideline and a reference point for the ongoing and future 
	 digital transformation of Europe. These aforementioned 
	 declarations already refer to Free Software ("Open Source" in 
	 their text) when it comes to digital sovereignty and 
	 interoperability, while they also demand more use of "Open Source" 
	 and strengthening the requirement for its use.
	</p>
       <img src="media/2ee2a435.17988a8d73e40b65f32cb1895c008a2b.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/17988a8d73e40b65f32cb1895c008a2b.png"/> 
<p> 
	At the moment, the text of the EU Declaration of Digital Rights and 
	Principles is being discussed in the European Parliament and 
	European Council. The FSFE has been following the process and 
	making sure to share its input and demands so that the wording of 
	the final text is in line with previous frameworks with regard to 
	the use and promotion of Free Software.
	</p><p>
	 Recently, the JURI and LIBE committees have agreed on including 
	 wording that is aligned with our demands in their amendments to 
	 the text. In Chapter II, covering solidarity and inclusion, the 
	 LIBE Committee has included a reference on the support of "Open 
	 source solutions whenever possible". In Chapter III about freedom 
	 of choice and Chapter IV, called Participation in the digital 
	 public space, the JURI Committee has included also the promotion 
	 of "Open source" standards and a reference to the need of 
	 interoperability and transparency of digital technologies via the 
	 promotion of "Open Source".  
	</p><p>
	From now on, we will make sure these additions to the text will be 
	defined and clarified, and that they find their way into the final 
	position of the European Parliament. It is important that Free 
	Software becomes part of this declaration because it may guide 
	Europe's digital transformation into an empowering, transparent, 
	and open environment.
	</p><p>
	 For the last five years, the FSFE  has been advocating for 
	 publicly financed software made publicly available under a Free 
	 Software licence. With its <a href="https://publiccode.eu/">Public 
	 Money? Public Code!</a> initiative, the FSFE has the goal, among 
	 others, to raise awareness of the benefits that Free Software can 
	 offer such as saving long-term costs, boosting the local economy, 
	 transparency, and more. Including Free Software in the EU 
	 Declaration of Digital Rights and Principles would be an important 
	 milestone for software freedom and for Europe's digital 
	 sovereignty. 
     </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220420-01
title: Online session: The future of Router Freedom in Austria
uri: Online-session-The-future-of-Router-Freedom-in-Austria
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220420-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>Online session: The future of Router Freedom in Austria</h1><p>
Austria has introduced a reform law for the telecommunications sector which will affect the ability of consumers to choose and use their own routers and modems. Together with the Alliance of Telecommunication Terminal Equipment Manufacturers (VTKE) the FSFE is organising a session on "The Future of Router Freedom in Austria".
</p><p>
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) and the <a href="https://vtke.eu/">Alliance of Telecommunication Terminal Equipment Manufacturers (VTKE)</a> are organising an online session about the future of Router Freedom in Austria. In this session, you will have the opportunity to learn more about why Router Freedom is fundamental not only for consumer rights but also for a functional and competitive router and modem market.
</p><p>
The event will be moderated by Barbara Steinbrenner, a tech journalist in Austria, and is open for all to attend free of charge. The event language will be German. You can check the agenda with details of all panelists (German) <a href="media/76c184ed.Agenda-RF-Austria-de.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/routers/Agenda-RF-Austria-de.pdf">here</a>. 
</p>
  <img src="media/e477c145.bb81a129aacae216337f88d5ce31ef1a.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/bb81a129aacae216337f88d5ce31ef1a.jpg"/>
  
<ul>
  <li>When: 04 May 2022, 09:30 - 11:00 CEST</li>

  <li>Where: <a href="https://conf.fsfe.org/b/workshop">FSFE Online Instance</a></li>
</ul><p>
We encourage you to <a href="https://registration.fsfe.org/RFworkshopAustria">register your attendance</a> as it will help us getting an overview of our audience and keeping in touch with you for the next activities regarding Router Freedom.
</p><h2>Router Freedom in Austria</h2><p>
In October 2021, the Austrian Parliament passed the reform of the <a href="media/447ad924.fname_997821.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XXVII/I/I_01043/fname_997821.pdf">Telecommunications Act (TKG 2021)</a> with provisions affecting the ability of consumers to use their own device to connect to the Internet. With the new law, the <a href="https://www.rtr.at/">Austrian regulatory agency (RTR)</a> can decide on the location of the Network Termination Point (NTP), a technical definition of the point that determines the boundary between the Internet Service Providers' (ISPs') public network and consumers' private network. Depending on the position of the NTP adopted, either ISPs will continue to be allowed to impose their own routers/modems on customers or internet users will be able to choose their preferred router/modem for broadband connection.
</p>
  <img src="media/5ce93e5c.37c03c4a34cb2a6c58d347c0b29f0a4d.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/37c03c4a34cb2a6c58d347c0b29f0a4d.png"/>
  
    Setting the network termination point at A allows end-users to deploy their own modem/router. Picture source: BEREC
  
<p>
The FSFE <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210506-01.html"> urged the Austrian government</a> to include Router Freedom in the reform. Consumers' IT security, privacy, and freedom of choice cannot be traded off in favour of ISPs' commercial practices. Besides, Router Freedom is important for market competition, device innovation, and sustainability. It is now up to the Austrian regulatory agency to seize the opportunity to establish Router Freedom in Austria. Defining the NTP at point A will safeguard consumer rights.
</p><h3>The Router Freedom initiative</h3><p>
<a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/routers/routers.html">Router Freedom</a> is the right that consumers of any ISP have to be able to choose and use a private modem and router instead of equipment that the ISP provides. Since 2013, the Free Software Foundation Europe has been successfully engaged with Router Freedom, promoting end-users' freedom in many European countries. Join us and learn more about the several ways to <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210330-01.html">get involved</a>. Please consider becoming a FSFE donor; you help make possible our long-term engagement and professional commitment in defending people's rights to control technology.
</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220425-01
title: CfP is open for Bits & Bäume 2022 about Digitisation and Sustainability
uri: CfP-is-open-for-Bits-Bäume-2022-about-Digitisation-and-Sustainabili
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220425-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>CfP is open for Bits &amp; Bäume 2022 about Digitisation and Sustainability</h1><p>
    Technology experts and ecologists join forces in the Bits &amp; Bäume 
    ('Bits and Trees') conference in October 2022 in Berlin. This year 
    the FSFE is part of its organising committee. We look for exciting 
    talks and insights about how Free Software can help realising a 
    sustainable digital society. Share your expertise and apply until 7 
    June.
  </p><p>
    In the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) we want to empower 
    users to control technology. This is a necessity for a free society 
    but it is also fundamental for a more just and sustainable society.  
    With Free Software we can keep maintaining programs and prevent 
    software obsolescence. Using Free Software, we can repair and 
    repurpose hardware, extending its lifetime and saving natural 
    resources. It is only with Free Software that we can build long 
    lasting and sustainable IT infrastructures.
  </p><p>
    Free Software relates to ecological sustainability. Last year, we 
    <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html">published a study</a> on the topic and we put theory into action by encouraging 
    users to <a href="https://upcyclingandroid.org">upcycle their Androids</a> with Free Software operating systems. This year we 
    joined the organising committee of the Bits &amp; Bäume 2022, a 
    prominent conference on digitisation and sustainability but also a 
    movement.
  </p>
    <img src="media/871284d4.c470d3d63dc898d543a54452b8c6fdfc.jpeg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/small/c470d3d63dc898d543a54452b8c6fdfc.jpeg"/> 
  <p>
    On 30 September <a href="https://bits-und-baeume.org">Bits &amp; 
    Bäume 2022</a> is starting its three-day conference. <a href="https://pretalx.com/bitsundbaeume/cfp">Environmental 
    activists, technical experts and human rights activists are invited 
    to contribute</a>. The FSFE particularly encourages you to give 
    talks about sustainable solutions involving Free Software. 
    <strong>The key questions of this year's conference 
    are</strong>:
  </p><ol>
  <li>
    How should digitisation be shaped in a way that it contributes to a 
    sustainable and democratic transformation of our society?
  </li>
  <li>
    What does a globally, economically, socially and ecologically just 
    future look like in the digitalised world?
  </li>
  <li>
    What can the tech community (bits) and the justice and 
    environmental movement (bäume) learn from each other? And how can 
    those communities get in touch with social-ecological pioneer 
    companies, science and politics?
  </li>
  <li>
    How can we become politically active together?
  </li>
</ol><p>
    If your work or passion includes these themes, this is a perfect 
    opportunity for you to share your knowledge. Possible formats 
    include discussion rounds, lightning talks, project presentations, 
    campaign planning, (hands-on) workshops, activist info tables, 
    installations, film screenings, hackathons, design thinking 
    sessions, interviews, live podcasts, small group work, cultural 
    formats, world cafés, craft workshops, art performances, design 
    elements or anything else creative and innovative you can think of! 
    The talks in the conference are in English or German. <strong>You 
    can enter proposals until 6 July 2022 23:59 
    (Europe/Berlin)</strong>.
  </p>
    <a href="media/85426308.3420a369b0c16b5bf690eedb1a641f23.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/3420a369b0c16b5bf690eedb1a641f23.png">
      
    </a>
    
      Edited version of a photograph taken in Bits &amp; Bäume 2018 by Santiago Engelhardt. Licence: CCBY
    
  <p>
    <em>Bits &amp; Bäume is organised by Bund für Umwelt und 
    Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND), Brot für die Welt, Chaos Computer 
    Club (CCC), Deutscher Naturschutzring (DNR), Einstein Centre 
    Digital Future / Technische Universität Berlin, Forum 
    InformatikerInnen für Frieden und gesellschaftliche Verantwortung 
    e. V. (FIfF), Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), Germanwatch 
    e.V., Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (IÖW), 
    Konzeptwerk Neue Ökonomie, Open Knowledge Foundation Deutschland e. 
    V. (OKF), Weizenbaum Institut e.V., Vereinte 
    Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (ver.di)</em>
  </p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220427-01
uri: Éco-conception-à-l-UE-38-organisations-demandent-le-droit-d-accé
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220427-01.fr.html
title:
Éco-conception à l'UE : 38 organisations demandent le droit d'accéder à et de réutiliser les matériels

content:
<h1>Éco-conception à l'UE : 38 organisations demandent le droit d'accéder à et de réutiliser les matériels</h1><p>
    La FSFE publie une lettre ouverte, co-signée par 37 organisations et entreprises, pour demander aux législateurs de l'UE le droit d'installer tout logiciel sur tout appareil, incluant le plein accès au matériel. Ces droits viennent au soutien de la réutilisabilité et la longévité de nos appareils. L'alliance est composée d'entités des secteurs environnemental, économique et technologique.
  </p><p>
    L'Union européenne est sur le point de redéfinir le critère d'éco-conception pour les produits dans plusieurs propositions législatives, incluant l'Initiative pour des Produits Durables, l'Initiative pour l'Électronique Circulaire, et le Droit de Réparer. Ces propositions ont pour objectif d'étendre la durée d'utilisation des matériels et de faciliter l'utilisation circulaire des appareils électroniques. Les régulations actuelles datent de 2009 et n'incluent aucun critère visant la conception et les licences des logiciels comme facteur important pour la durabilité des produits électroniques. Les logiciels influencent directement pendant combien de temps les consommateurs peuvent continuer d'utiliser leurs appareils.
  </p>
  <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/openletter.html"/>
 <p>
    De nos jours, les utilisateurs qui veulent continuer d'utiliser leurs appareils pendant plus longtemps, ou réutiliser leurs matériels de façon créative, font face à une grande gamme de barrières logicielles : de l'obsolescence à une inattendue fin du support, de la sérialisation des pièces de rechange aux chargeurs d'amorçage bloqués. En pratique, ces restrictions artificielles sur l'utilisation et la réutilisation des matériels sont finalement imposées par les logiciels. Ni les consommateurs ni les services tiers professionnels ne peuvent les vaincre, souvent simplement à cause de l'obscurité imposée par les modèles de licences des logiciels propriétaires. Utiliser des licences de Logiciels Libres résout un grand nombre de ces problèmes et de cette façon devient crucial pour une conception écologique et pour la durabilité des matériels ; c'est le message au cœur d'une <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/openletter.html">Lettre ouverte publiée aujourd'hui par la Free Software Foundation Europe et co-signée par 37 organisations et entreprises européennes</a>.
  </p><p>
    Parmi les signataires initiaux se trouvent de grandes unions pour la réparation : la Campagne européenne Droit de Réparer, la Round Table Repair, et l'Initiative Netzwerk Reparatur — représentant ensemble des centaines d'initiatives et d'associations du secteur de la réparation européen. Avec iFixit, Fairphone, Germanwatch, Open Source Business Alliance, Wikimedie DE, Digitalcourage, European Digital Rights Initiative, et 28 autres organisations, elles demandent aux législateurs européens une économie numérique plus durable en donnant aux utilisateurs le droit de choisir librement les systèmes d'exploitation, les appareils et les services. La lettre divise ce droit en quatre demandes clés :
  </p>
    <h3>Le droit universel d'installer tout logiciel sur tout appareil</h3>
  
    <img src="media/34ec35e3.4bc66bc88db53000d4c61158a2c59ed8.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/4bc66bc88db53000d4c61158a2c59ed8.png"/>
    
      <p>
        Les utilisateurs douvent avoir le droit universel d'installer et développer tout système d'exploitation et logiciel qu'ils veulent pour tout appareil. Les obstacles juridiques, techniques ou autres à la réutilisation de ces appareils pour tout objectif doivent être interdits.
      </p>
    
  
    <h3>Choix libre des fournisseurs de services en ligne</h3>
  
    <img src="media/aa4ea5bc.3a188e6f8005efc058a948f46f8055fe.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/3a188e6f8005efc058a948f46f8055fe.png"/>
    
      <p>
        Utiliser un certain matériel ne doit pas dicter quels services en ligne utiliser. L'obligation de se connecter aux services en ligne via les Standards Ouverts doit donner aux utilisateurs le pouvoir de choisir des services de divers fabricants, incluant les services auto-hébergés ou ceux hébergés par des tiers.
      </p>
    
  
    <h3>Appareils interopérables et compatibles</h3>
  
    <img src="media/7498c3c7.5d9d8a311d507cef799ce719b554094f.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/5d9d8a311d507cef799ce719b554094f.png"/>
    
      <p>
        Utiliser un certain matériel ne doit pas dicter quels autres matériels acheter afin de conserver ces appareils connectés. Les fabricants doivent fournir toutes les données nécessaires pour utiliser un appareil dans le format des Standards Ouverts, permettant l'interopérabilité des appareils. L'incompatibilité artificielle des appareils doit être interdite.
      </p>
    
  
 <h3>Publication du code source des pilotes, outils et interfaces</h3>

    <img src="media/bfa525e0.2846e7dcfaca4da119444ed8563f9f78.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/2846e7dcfaca4da119444ed8563f9f78.png"/>
    

  <p>
    Les fabricants doivent permettre aux utilisateurs de remanier, remplacer ou réparer toute partie des appareils. Cela n'est possible que si les utilisateurs peuvent accéder à et réutiliser le code source de tous les pilotes, outils et interfaces nécessaires pour utiliser l'appareil et ses composants. Cela signifie que le code source des outils, pilotes et interfaces de chaque élément matériel dans un appareil doit être publié sous une licence de Logiciel Libre.
  </p>
      
  <p>
    La FSFE et 37 organisations et entreprises européennes présentent les demandes ci-dessus comme nécessaires pour l'utilisation et la réutilisation durables de nos matériels. Garantir aux utilisateurs le droit de choisir librement les systèmes d'exploitation, les logiciels et les services leur permettra d'utiliser et de réutiliser leurs appareils pendant plus longtemps.
  </p><p>
    Les signataires initiaux de la lettre ouverte incluent des organisations de la société civile issues des secteurs environnemental, économique et technologique. Plusieurs entreprises soutiennent également ces demandes, montrant qu'une société numérique plus durable et la croissance économique ne sont pas contradictoires. La liste de ces signataires initiaux par ordre alphabétique est :
  </p><ol>
  <li>/e/ Foundation</li>
  <li>Associação Nacional para o Software Livre (ANSOL)</li>
  <li>European Open Source Business Association (APELL)</li>
  <li>Back Market</li>
  <li>Barcelona Free Software Group</li>
  <li>Citizen D</li>
  <li>Deutscher Naturschutzring</li>
  <li>Digitalcourage</li>
  <li>Digitale Gesellschaft CH</li>
  <li>Document Foundation</li>
  <li>Environmental Coalition on Standards</li>
  <li>Epicenter.works</li>
  <li>European Digital Rights (EDRi)</li>
  <li>Elektronik Forpost Norge</li>
  <li>European Right to Repair Campaign (repair.eu)</li>
  <li>Fairphone</li>
  <li>Forum InformatikerInnen für Frieden und gesellschaftliche Verantwortung e.V. (FifF)</li>
  <li>Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE)</li>
  <li>Germanwatch</li>
  <li>Greek Open Technologies Alliance (GFOSS)</li>
  <li>Heinlein Support</li>
  <li>iFixit</li>
  <li>KDE</li>
  <li>Mailbox.org</li>
  <li>Mouvement Ecologique</li>
  <li>Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU)</li>
  <li>Netzwerk Reparatur Initiativen</li>
  <li>Nextcloud</li>
  <li>Nitrokey</li>
  <li>Norwegian Unix User Group</li>
  <li>Oekozenter Pafendall</li>
  <li>Open Kowledge Foundation DE</li>
  <li>OPNTEC</li>
  <li>Open Source Business Alliance (OSBA)</li>
  <li>Runder Tisch Reparatur</li>
  <li>Shift</li>
  <li>Vrijschrift</li>
  <li>Wikimedia DE</li>
</ol><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220503-01
uri: European-Parliament-votes-for-Free-Software-in-AI-resolution-This
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220503-01.fr.html
title:
European Parliament votes for Free Software in AI resolution – This position must now be included in the AI regulation

content:
<h1>European Parliament votes for Free Software in AI resolution – This 
position must now be included in the AI regulation</h1><p>Today the European Parliament passed a resolution on Artificial 
Intelligence (AI) with a huge majority of 495 votes in favor, 34 against 
and 102 abstentions. There are many references to the advantages of Free 
Software included in the text - the FSFE now urges the Parliament to 
transfer its own position into the AI regulation.
</p><p>The resolution states that in public procurement Free Software 
should be mandated, where appropriate, with the goal to encourage cross 
border collaboration. The parliament also highlights the importance of 
Free Software as a way to enhance investments and boost innovation in 
AI technologies in the EU.
</p>
<img src="media/fbb8cdb7.38b616e14b3fb374ce7755bb3419b899.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/38b616e14b3fb374ce7755bb3419b899.jpg"/> 
Artificial Intelligence starts with machine learning
 <em>"We welcome the assessment and the demands of the 
European Parliament. With this resolution, the Parliament recognises 
the importance and relevance of Free Software for AI." explains Lina 
Ceballos, FSFE Project Manager.</em><p>The FSFE demands with its "Public Money? Public Code!" Initiative 
that publicly financed software made publicly available under a Free 
Software licence. It is also important to rely on Free Software in AI 
as it helps to foster innovation, boosts local economy, ensures 
transparency and thus helps to protect fundamental rights.
</p><em>“We ask Members of the European Parliament to take into 
account their position they voted on today and make sure this important 
position on Free Software and AI will be also included in regulation.” 
demands Alexander Sander, FSFE Policy Consultant.</em><p>In the upcoming weeks the European Parliament will get closer to its 
position on the AI regulation, until end of May members can table 
amendments to the commission text from which the position of the 
Parliament is formed. The FSFE recently <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220330-01.html">shared a dedicated 
document for decision-makers</a>, with elaborated arguments on the use 
of Free Software in AI technologies, which highlights the benefits that 
Free Software can offer to this crucial regulation.
</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220504-01
title: EU Declaration of Digital Rights & Principles: Free Software included by European Parliament
uri: EU-Declaration-of-Digital-Rights-Principles-Free-Software-included
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220504-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>EU Declaration of Digital Rights &amp; Principles: Free Software included by European Parliament</h1><p>Early this year, the Commission proposed a draft for an EU 
 Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles that aims to guide the 
 digital transformation in the EU. Now the European Parliament has 
 agreed on a text and Free Software makes part of it.
</p><p><a href="https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/declaration-european-digital-rights-and-principles">The 
 European Commission has presented its proposal</a> for the EU 
 Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles which will serve as 
 reference point in the future and as a common vision of our digital 
 rights in Europe. After receiving the contributions to the text from 
 different committees and finding a compromise, the European Parliament 
 has now agreed on a common text. The FSFE welcomes that the text by 
 the European Parliament now includes Free Software as a way to ensure 
 transparency in the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence. It 
 further highlights the importance of promoting "trustworthy 
 standards and, wherever possible, open source standards".</p>
<img src="media/1cd4ef1f.e03669d329cb650b7e36a9a5ba70ae3b.jpg" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/e03669d329cb650b7e36a9a5ba70ae3b.jpg"/> 
 <em>"The EU Declaration of Digital Rights and Principles 
 will be an important guideline to our fast pace digitalisation. 
 Therefore, we welcome the agreed text from the European Parliament for 
 acknowledging the role that Free Software has on trustworthy 
 technologies, specially with regard to AI. Now we expect the 
 ongoing-discussed AI regulation to be consistent with these 
 principles" says Lina Ceballos, FSFE Project Manager. 
 </em><p> Furthermore, in Chapter VI of the agreed text named 
"Sustainability", there is the commitment to support the "development 
of sustainable by design digital technologies, that are durable, 
repairable, and interoperable, both on a hardware and a software level, 
and banning practices leading to premature obsolescence".
</p><em>"The European Parliament's call for the development of 
 sustainable technologies, that are durable, repairable, and 
 interoperable is in fact a call for the development of Free Software." 
 as Erik Albers, FSFE Digital Sustainability Programme Manager, 
 emphasizes. From here on we expect future legislations aligned to 
 these principles and making use of the crucial role that Free Software 
 plays for an eco-friendly design and the sustainability of our 
 hardware" </em><p>The FSFE has published an <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/openletter.html">open 
 letter</a> co-signed by meanwhile more than 45 organisations and 
 companies from the environmental, economic, and technological sectors. 
 In the letter, the broad alliance asks EU legislators for the right to 
 install any software on any device, including full access to hardware. 
 These rights support reusability and longevity of our devices.</p><p>The FSFE keeps monitoring the ongoing inter-institutional dialogue 
 trying to make sure that the Parliament proposal remains. So that the 
 final text of Declaration of Digital Rights and Principles can become 
 a milestone for software freedom.</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


feed_id: news-20220510-01
title: FSFE calls for digital sustainability in the telecom sector
uri: FSFE-calls-for-digital-sustainability-in-the-telecom-sector
url: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20220510-01.fr.html
content:
<h1>FSFE calls for digital sustainability in the telecom sector</h1><p> 
As a contribution to a consultation organised by the European telecom regulator, BEREC, the FSFE calls for increasing the level of digital sustainability in the telecommunications sector by safeguarding device neutrality and establishing the right to install any software on any device.
</p><p>
Last month BEREC, the European telecommunications regulator, organised a  <a href="https://berec.europa.eu/eng/news_consultations/ongoing_public_consultations/9344-public-consultation-on-draft-berec-report-on-sustainability-assessing-berecs-contribution-to-limiting-the-impact-of-the-digital-sector-on-the-environment">public consultation</a> on a report about the impact of the telecommunications sector on the environment. The <a href="https://berec.europa.eu/eng/document_register/subject_matter/berec/reports/10209-draft-berec-report-on-sustainability-assessing-berec8217s-contribution-to-limiting-the-impact-of-the-digital-sector-on-the-environment">report</a> is an initiative to assess and better understand the impact of the digital sector, including electronic communications networks and services, on the environment and to set an outline for BEREC activities in support of environmental sustainability of the sector. 
</p><p>
The FSFE  <a href="media/c9124109.fsfe-report-telecom-sustainability-en.pdf" data-original-source="https://download.fsfe.org/routers/fsfe-report-telecom-sustainability-en.pdf">took part in the consultation</a> as a civil society stakeholder with years of experience in digital sustainability. Our position offered recommendations that could be further used to improve environmental transparency and data accuracy on the telecom sector’s environmental footprint by developing regulatory frameworks to safeguard and promote software and hardware sustainability. FSFE's position in this consultation was aligned with the publication of the <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/openletter.html">Open Letter "The universal right to install any software on any device"</a>, co-signed by more than 45 organisations, demanding the universal right to install any software on any device.  Publication of source code of drivers, tools, and interfaces is fundamental for extending devices’ lifespan. 
</p><h3>Router Freedom: a sustainability case study for the telecom sector</h3><p>
The FSFE highlighted how it is possible to develop policies for consumer protection which have a significant positive impact on the environment. Our  <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/routers/routers.html">Router Freedom activity</a> is a perfect example of how to enable consumers' rights to choose and use their own internet devices as a close and direct connection with sustainability by mitigating e-waste and increasing the lifespan of terminal equipment. 
</p>
    <img src="media/f3bc92f9.46b75332cd55373e57cf6b04e0c294c1.png" data-original-source="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/46b75332cd55373e57cf6b04e0c294c1.png"/>
    Router Freedom mitigates e-waste and empowers users to control their own internet devices.
  <p>
However, we also raised the point that <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2020/news-20200601-01.html">the current EU regulatory framework</a> negatively impacts sustainability by restricting freedom of terminal equipment. This directly impacts the sustainability of the whole telecom sector. Based on our experience, we encouraged BEREC to consider other regulatory ways directed to software and hardware re-use in telecom markets that would enable sustainable approaches and safeguard end-users' rights. We also called for strict collaboration with national regulators in achieving a favourable regulatory landscape for terminal equipment, including routers and modems, which would positively affect the more efficient use of internet devices and equitable use of public networks. 
</p><h3>Free Software, device neutrality and right to repair are important for the environment</h3><p>
The FSFE acknowledged the regulator's initiative to raise concerns on how the telecom sector impacts the environment and recommended including in the agenda for future work the policy principles that can have a profound impact on digital sustainability and consumer protection. 
</p><ul>
  <li>
    Software design and Free Software licensing are key to enabling repairability and extending usage lifetimes of electronic devices.  Free Software is key to avoiding software obsolescence and protecting end-users' ability to install any program on their devices, thereby reducing e-waste and prolonging the lifespan of devices.
  </li>

  <li>
    The universal right to install any software on any device and the publication of source code of drivers, tools, and interfaces are fundamental for extending devices’ lifespans. The right to repair is crucial for extending the lifespan of devices, which directly affects sustainability. Therefore, for the ability to reuse and repurpose resources in a creative and sustainable way, the universal right to install and develop any operating system and software is key. Legal, technical, commercial, or other obstacles to reuse of these devices for any purpose should be discouraged.
  </li>

  <li>
    Device Neutrality is necessary for a non-discriminatory environment for digital services and software applications in devices. The sustainability of the telecom sector has much to gain with <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#id-device-neutrality">Device Neutrality</a>, a concept that has been introduced to describe a non-discriminatory IT environment in that all service and software applications are treated equally within the running operating systems, their dominant platforms, and their respective hardware companies by fostering more competition in device markets, consumer choice, and innovation.
  </li>

</ul><h3>FSFE: several initiatives for digital sustainability</h3><p>
The FSFE has been deeply involved in working to protect and enhance freedoms of technology users in Europe and defending the rights of end-users to choose and use terminal equipment for internet connection. In recent years, the FSFE has developed and conducted several initiatives oriented to the sustainability of software and hardware, including technologies with direct impact on the telecommunications sector,  for instance: 
</p><ul>
  <li>
    The comprehensive study <a href="https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.html#about-the-sustainability-of-free-software">On the Sustainability of Free Software</a>, focused on the analysis of how Free Software impacts the sustainability of IT infrastructures, including policy recommendations for a more sustainable digital society.
  </li>

  <li>
    The <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/routers/routers.html">Router Freedom</a> activity, aimed to protect end-users' rights in regard to terminal equipment and sustainability and competition on router markets.
  </li>

  <li>
    The <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/">Upcyling Android</a> campaign to overcome software obsolescence and to extend the lifespan of hardware - mainly smartphones - with the help of Free Software.
  </li>
  
  <li>
    The <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/radiodirective/radiodirective.html">Radio Lockdown Directive</a> initiative, which was intended to safeguard Free Software on radio equipment.  It has positive consequences for the environment.  
  </li>
  
</ul><p>
Join us to support our work in engaging with telecom regulators all around Europe to influence legislation and raise awareness for sofware and hardware sustainability <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate">with a financial support</a>. 
</p><p><a href="https://my.fsfe.org/support">Support FSFE</a></p>


