= Three conclusions to draw from Google denying Huawei access to software =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190520-01.en.html ]
Google denies the Chinese IT giant Huawei access to Google's proprietary
components of the Android mobile operating system which threatens IT
security. This highlights the importance Free Software has for
technology users, public bodies, and businesses. The Free Software
Foundation Europe (FSFE) presents three essential lessons from this
case.
Following the U.S. administration's decision to effectively ban American
companies from doing trade with the Chinese company Huawei, Google
suspended all business with the company. This affects all software which
is not covered under Free Software licences. In practice, Huawei's
upcoming and potentially also current phones will no longer get support
and updates for the Android operating system. They will also not have
access to the proprietary Google apps and services like Gmail and Google
Play. Although proprietary software should be avoided in the first
place, especially the latter will put future Huawei user at risk because
without access to the default app store on most stock Android phones
they will miss important security updates for the apps installed through
it.
Google offers only a base version of Android under a Free Software
licence but bundles it together with proprietary apps and services. The
non-free components of most stock Android devices have numerous
downsides for users, as the FSFE has documented since 2012 [1]. Now, the
current case demonstrates that even tech giants like Huawei face similar
dependencies and vendor lock-in effects as any individual users if they
rely on proprietary software.
== Three Conclusions ==
The following lessons can be drawn from this case:
1. The FSFE urges *users* to use Free Software operating systems and
applications on their computing devices. With proprietary software,
they are on the receiving end only and vendors may deny them access
to crucial security updates if the vendor or a government changes its
strategy. Free Software enables control of technology, and the more
important that technology becomes in our daily lives, the more
relevant Free Software becomes for users. For Android, the FSFE helps
users to regain more control with its Free Your Android initiative
[2].
2. *Governments and especially the European Union* should invest more
resources in Free Software to gain independence from large
enterprises and other states. The current case highlights the lack of
influence the EU has on outside technology providers. Instead of
waiting for a future European IT monopolist to enter the stage, the
EU and its members states should invest in Free Software development
[3] and focus on supporting local Free Software organisations as well
as businesses. This would effectively foster the inner-European
market and enable independence for European citizens and the EU
economy. This step is essential for avoiding exposing European
infrastructure to shutdowns controlled by external factors.
3. The FSFE urges *companies* to use as much Free Software as possible
in their supply chains. Proprietary software makes a company
dependent on its vendor and this vendor's government. The current
case shows that the US was able to force Google to stop delivery of
its proprietary products – but could not stop delivery of the Free
Software components of Android. Had Huawei invested more resources in
Free Software apps and services, the US strategy would not have hit
them as hard. Although the current events are linked to the scrutiny
the Chinese company is under right now, it is obvious that this could
happen to any other company based in any other country as well.
The earlier allegations against Huawei already showed that code for all
critical infrastructure should be published under a Free Software
licence [4]. The latest episode of the Huawei affair illustrates that
the same applies to apps and services. Just days before the European
Elections, this should be a wake-up call for the next constituent
Parliament to ask the European Commission for European directives that
foster independence of European technical infrastructure and that build
on Free Software, starting with the demand to release publicly funded
software as public code [5].
Discuss this article [6]
1: https://freeyourandroid.org
2: https://freeyourandroid.org
3: https://publiccode.eu
4: https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190205-01.en.html
5: https://publiccode.eu
6: https://community.fsfe.org/t/three-conclusions-to-draw-from-google-denying-…
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to
control technology. Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our
lives; and it is important that this technology empowers rather than
restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use,
understand, adapt and share software. These rights help support other
fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech, press and privacy.
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, encourage people to use and develop Free Software, and
provide resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software
in Europe.
http://fsfe.org
= Free Software in Munich - FSFE thanks cabaret artist Christine Prayon =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190515-02.en.html ]
Yesterday, political satirist Christine Prayon was awarded the 10,000
Euro Dieter Hildebrandt Prize of the City of Munich for demanding
political or decidedly socio-critical political satire. Prayon is
donating the prize money to the Free Software Foundation Europe.
The jury states [1], among other things, that the award recipient Prayon
"[...] does not simply accuse - she unmasks, and we are her witnesses".
Prayon herself used her thank-you speech to put the finger on one of
Munich's sore spots: Prayon describes the former genius, progressive
process of making Munich independent of the providers of proprietary
software and letting the complete administration run on a free system.
Prayon then criticised the switch back to proprietary systems.
The migration of workstations back to proprietary software will cost
Munich almost 50 million Euros over the next six years. A further 37
million Euros will have to be invested in implementation projects. The
Free Software Foundation Europe already criticised the migration-project
in the past. The migration will not solve existing organisational IT
problems in the day-to-day administrative business. At the same time new
dependencies on manufacturers of proprietary software will arise and
license fees will be paid to the proprietary manufacturers instead of
using these funds in tax payers' best interest for the further
development of the software and the cooperation with other
administrations. The systems become less transparent and no longer
comprehensible for citizens. Further information on the migration plans
of the City of Munich can be found here [2].
Munich is thus turning against the trend: in other administrations, Free
Software is being used with overwhelming success. Since the French
government decided to start using more Free Software back in 2012,
between 0.6% and 5.4% more companies using Free Software have been
created in France every year; between 6.6% and 14% more people find
employment in the IT sector every year. In Barcelona, 70% of the budget
for the development of new software is used to create Free Software.
Contracts have so far been awarded to 3,000 companies, 60% of them SMEs,
mostly from the region. In collaborative projects, more and more cities
are working on common software solutions and jointly develop them,
saving costs and sharing risks.
The Free Software Foundation Europe has launched the campaign "Public
Money? Public Code!" to convince other administrations to switch to Free
Software and support them in their migration. As part of the campaign,
we published the specialist publication "Public Money Public Code -
Modernising Public Infrastructure with Free Software". The brochure aims
to answer questions from decision-makers about the benefits of using and
developing Free Software for the public administration.
More information about the campaign and its supporters can be found on
our campaign website at publiccode.eu [3], and the brochure can be found
here [4].
The Free Software Foundation Europe would like to take this opportunity
to thank Christine Prayon for her commitment to Free Software and her
generous donation.
1: https://www.muenchen.de/rathaus/Stadtverwaltung/Kulturreferat/Kulturfoerder…
2: https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190515-01.html
3: https://publiccode.eu/
4: https://fsfe.org/campaigns/publiccode/brochure
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to
control technology. Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our
lives; and it is important that this technology empowers rather than
restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use,
understand, adapt and share software. These rights help support other
fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech, press and privacy.
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, encourage people to use and develop Free Software, and
provide resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software
in Europe.
http://fsfe.org
= Copyright Directive – EU safeguards Free Software at the last minute =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190326-01.en.html ]
The European Parliament adopted the controversial Copyright Directive by
348 votes in favour, 274 votes against and 36 abstentions. Today's vote
marks the end of years of debate in the European Union. Heated
discussions about the introduction of upload filters ended up in
protests of tens of thousands people in the streets all across Europe.
In a last minute action back in September 2018, the European Parliament
adopted an amendment and pushed it through the trilogue to at least
protect Free and Open Source Software.
“We are glad we were able to raise awareness and understanding of
what drives software development in Europe nowadays among many
policy makers. The exclusion of Free Software code hosting and
sharing providers from this directive is crucial to keep Free
Software development in Europe healthy, solid and alive. we are
dismayed that the EU missed the opportunity to renew copyright to a
reasonable extent. As upload filters are now introduced, we urge the
European Commission to avoid filtering monopolies by companies this
directive actually intended to regulate. We call on the European
Commission to promote the dissemination of Free Software filter
technologies, including financial support, for instance within the
framework of research programmes Horizon2020 and Horizon Europe.”
says Alexander Sander, Policy Manager of the Free Software
Foundation Europe.
The Free Software Foundation Europe and Open Forum Europe started a
campaign to “ Save Code Share [1] ” in 2017. More than 14.000 people
supported our call with an open letter which requests EU legislators to
preserve the ability to collaboratively build software online in current
EU Copyright Directive proposal.
1: https://savecodeshare.eu/
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to
control technology. Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our
lives; and it is important that this technology empowers rather than
restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use,
understand, adapt and share software. These rights help support other
fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech, press and privacy.
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, encourage people to use and develop Free Software, and
provide resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software
in Europe.
http://fsfe.org
= Join the I Love Free Software Day 2019 =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190214-01.en.html ]
Today, as with every year on February 14th, people around the globe are
celebrating *"I love Free Software"* Day by expressing their love and
thanks to all the people working behind each Free Software project.
Follow the love with the hashtag #IloveFS today and add your own love
dedication to the stream!
Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our lives; and it is
important that this technology empowers rather than restricts us. Free
Software gives everybody the rights to use, understand, adapt and share
software. These rights help support other fundamental freedoms like
freedom of speech, press and privacy. And Free Software is also the
result of people who work together collaboratively and dedicate their
skills to a project. "I love Free Software" Day is a day to show our
appreciation to all these people behind any Free Software project and
our gratitude for their dedication:https://ilovefs.org
== Becoming part of #ilovefs [1] ==
Everyone can participate in *"I love Free Software"* Day and join the
celebrations by sharing a message of love with the hashtag *#ilovefs* on
any (social) media channel. Be it on a general note or directly
dedicated to a particular Free and Open Source Software solution. The
more people contribute their part, the more we will enjoy a beautiful
*"I love Free Software"* Day together.
Or help by spreading the word in the offline world among your friends
and colleagues and bring them together. We know about interesting
offline events happening, for example in Barcelona, Berlin, Sofia,
Stockholm, Tirana, Plovdiv and Zurich. Follow the stream and enjoy a
lovely day packed with thankfulness and creativity!
Happy *"I love Free Software"* Day everyone!
1: https://ilovefs.org
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to
control technology. Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our
lives; and it is important that this technology empowers rather than
restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use,
understand, adapt and share software. These rights help support other
fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech, press and privacy.
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, encourage people to use and develop Free Software, and
provide resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software
in Europe.
http://fsfe.org
= Huawei case demonstrates importance of Free Software for security =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190205-01.en.html ]
The discussion of the Huawei security concerns showcases a general trust
issue when it comes to critical infrastructure. A first step to solve
this problem is to publish the code under a Free and Open Source
Software licence and take measures to facilitate its independently-
verifiable distribution.
The ongoing debate about banning Huawei hardware for the rollout of 5G
networks, following earlier state espionage allegations, falls too
short. It is not just about the Chinese company but about a general lack
of transparency within this sector. As past incidents proved, the
problem of backdoors inside blackboxed hard- and software is widely
spread, independently from the manufacturers' origins.
However, it is unprecedented that the demand to inspect the source code
of a manufacturer's equipment has been discussed so broadly and
intensely. The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) welcomes that the
importance of source code is recognised, but is afraid that the proposed
solution falls too short. Allowing inspection of the secret code by
selected authorities and telephone companies might help in this specific
case, but will not solve the general problem.
To establish trust in critical infrastructure like 5G, it is a crucial
precondition that all software code powering those devices is published
under a Free and Open Source Software licence. Free and Open Source
Software guarantees the four freedoms to use, study, share, and improve
an application. On this basis, everyone can inspect the code, not only
for backdoors, but for all security risks. Only these freedoms allow for
independent and continuous security audits which will lead citizens, the
economy, and the public sector to trust their communication and data
exchange.
Furthermore, in order to verify code integrity – so that the provided
source code corresponds to the executable code running on the equipment
– it is either necessary that there are reproducible builds in case of
binary distribution, or that providers are brought into the position to
compile and deploy the code on their own.
"We should not only debate the Huawei case but extend the discussion
to all critical infrastructure." says Max Mehl, FSFE Programme
Manager. "Only with Free and Open Source Software, transparency and
accountability can be guaranteed. This is a long-known crucial
precondition for security and trust. We expect from state actors to
immediately implement this solution not only for the Huawei case but
for all comparable IT security issues."
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to
control technology. Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our
lives; and it is important that this technology empowers rather than
restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use,
understand, adapt and share software. These rights help support other
fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech, press and privacy.
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, encourage people to use and develop Free Software, and
provide resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software
in Europe.
http://fsfe.org
= FSFE publishes expert brochure about “Public Money? Public Code!" =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190124-01.en.html ]
Why should governments develop Free Software? Where is Free Software
already generating benefits in the public sector? What are Free Software
business models? Answers to these questions and practical guidelines are
given in the new expert policy brochure published today by the Free
Software Foundation Europe. Produced with decision-takers in mind, the
brochure will be a helpful source of information for candidates and
parties running for the European Parliament election. Downloads and
prints are available under a Creative Commons license.
Today the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) releases its policy
brochure, *"Public Money Public Code - Modernising Public Infrastructure
with Free Software"* [1]. This brochure aims to answer decision-takers'
questions about the benefits of using and developing Free Software for
public administrations. To help understand the important role that
public procurement plays in this, the brochure presents an overview of
EU Free Software projects and policies, uncovering legislation on
software procurement. The FSFE will use this brochure in the upcoming
European Parliament elections to inform MEPs how to speed up the
distribution and development of Free Software in public administration
and putting in place appropriate legislation.
Download the brochure now:
https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/PMPC-Modernising-with-Free-Softwar…
=== About the brochure ===
The brochure evaluates the modernisation of public infrastructure with
using Free Software from the perspectives of academia, law, business,
and government. Expert articles, reports, and interviews help readers to
understand the opportunities for Free Software in public administration.
For decision-takers, practical guidance is provided to move forward and
start modernising public infrastructure with Free Software.
FSFE President Matthias Kirschner states: "Free Software licences have
proven to generate tremendous benefits for the public sector. This is
not a trend that will pass, but rather a long-term development that is
based on very positive experiences, and strategic considerations
resulting from serious vendor lock-in cases in the past. In a few years,
Free Software licences could become the default setting for publicly
financed IT projects. The Free Software Foundation Europe watches these
developments very carefully and we want to contribute our knowledge to
support the public sector in this transition."
First steps for making Free Software licenses the default in publicly financed
IT projects are outlined in the brochure. Other topics cover competition and
potential vendor lock-in, security, democracy, "smart cities", and other
important contemporary debates. The language and examples used have been
specifically chosen for readers interested in politics and public
administrations.
The brochure stars leading experts from various ICT areas. These include,
among others, Francesca Bria - Chief of Technology and Digital Innovation
Officer (CTIO) for the Barcelona City Council, Prof. Dr. Simon Schlauri -
author of a detailed legal analysis on the benefits of Free Software for the
Swiss canton of Bern, Cedric Thomas – CEO of OW2, Matthias Stürmer – head of
the Research Center for Digital Sustainability at the University of Bern,
and Basanta Thapa – from the Competence Center for Public IT (ÖFIT)
within the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems. The
brochure is released in digital and print, and is published under a CC
BY-SA 4.0 licence.
=== About the campaign ===
With the 'Public Money, Public Code' campaign [2], the FSFE demands that
publicly financed software developed for the public sector is made
publicly available under a Free and Open Source Software licence. The
campaign's open letter [3] has, until now, gained more than 19.000
signatures, as well as support from more than 150 organisations. If it
is public money, it should be public code as well!
1:
https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/PMPC-Modernising-with-Free-Softwar…
2: http://publiccode.eu/
3: https://publiccode.eu/openletter/
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to
control technology. Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our
lives; and it is important that this technology empowers rather than
restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use,
understand, adapt and share software. These rights help support other
fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech, press and privacy.
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, encourage people to use and develop Free Software, and
provide resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software
in Europe.
http://fsfe.org
= 32 European ministers call for more Free Software in governmental infrastructure =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20171109-01.en.html ]
On 6 October, 32 European Ministers in charge of eGovernment policy
signed the Tallinn Declaration on eGovernment that calls for more
collaboration, interoperable solutions, and sharing of good practices
throughout public administrations and across borders. Amongst other
things, the EU ministers recognised the need to make more use of Free
Software solutions and Open Standards when (re)building governmental
digital systems with EU funds.
The Tallinn Declaration [1], lead by the Estonian EU presidency, has
been adopted on 6 October 2017. It is a ministerial declaration that
marks a new political commitment at European Union (EU) and European
Free Trade Area (EFTA) level on priorities to ensure user-centric
digital public services for both citizens and businesses cross-border.
While having no legislative power, the ministerial declaration marks a
political commitment to ensure the digital transformation of public
administrations through a set of commonly agreed principles and actions.
The FSFE has previously submitted its input for the aforementioned
declaration [2] during the public consultation round, asking for greater
inclusion of Free Software in delivering truly inclusive, trustworthy
and interoperable digital services to all citizens and businesses across
the EU.
The adopted Tallinn Declaration proves to be a forward-looking document
that acknowledges the importance of Free Software in order to ensure the
principle of 'interoperability by default', and expresses the will of
all signed EU countries to:
"make more use of open source solutions and/or open standards when
(re)building ICT systems and solutions (among else, to avoid vendor
lock-ins)[...]"
Additionally, the signatories call upon the European Commission to:
"consider strengthening the requirements for use of open source
solutions and standards when (re)building of ICT systems and
solutions takes place with EU funding, including by an appropriate
open licence policy – by 2020."
The last point is especially noteworthy, as it explicitly calls for the
European Commission to make use of Free Software and Open Standards in
building their ICT infrastructure with EU funds, which is in line with
our "Public Money, Public Code" campaign [3] that is targeted at the
demand for all publicly financed software developed for the public
sector to be publicly made available under Free Software licences.
== What's next? ==
The Tallinn Declaration sets several deadlines for its implementation in
the next few years: with the annual presentation on the progress of
implementation of the declaration in the respective countries across the
EU and EFTA through the eGovernment Action Plan Steering Board. The
signatories also called upon the Austrian Presidency of the Council of
the EU to evaluate the implementation of the Tallinn Declaration in
autumn 2018.
"The Declaration expresses the political will of the EU and EFTA
countries to digitise their governments in the most user-friendly
and efficient way. The fact that it explicitly recognises the role
of Free Software and Open Standards for a trustworthy, transparent
and open eGovernment on a high level, along with a demand for
strengthened reuse of ICT solutions based on Free Software in the EU
public sector, is a valuable step forward to establishing a "Public
Money, Public Code" [4] reality across Europe", says Polina Malaja,
the FSFE's policy analyst.
== Tags ==
- front-page [5]
- policy [6]
- Public Code [7]
- OpenStandards [8]
- Digital infrastructure [9]
1: http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/document.cfm?doc_id=47559
2: https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20170710-01.html
3: https://publiccode.eu
4: https://publiccode.eu
5: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-frontpage.en.html
6: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-policy.en.html
7: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-pmpc.en.html
8: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-openstandards.en.html
9: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-digitalinfrastructure.en.html
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to
control technology. Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our
lives; and it is important that this technology empowers rather than
restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use,
understand, adapt and share software. These rights help support other
fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech, press and privacy.
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, encourage people to use and develop Free Software, and
provide resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software
in Europe.
http://fsfe.org
= FSFE makes copyrights computer readable =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20171108-01.en.html ]
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is proud to release its next
version of our REUSE practices [1] designed to make computers understand
software copyrights and licenses.
The REUSE practices help software developers make simple additions to
license headers which make it easier for a computer to determine what
license applies to the various parts of a programs source code. By
following the REUSE practices, software developers can ensure their
intent to license software under a particular license is understood and
more readily adhered to.
Together with the updated practices, which mostly clarify and make
explicit some points, the FSFE is also releasing a set of developer
tools and examples which show the REUSE practices in action. Three
example repositories, together with an example walkthrough of the
process used to make the cURL project REUSE compliant, are complemented
with a simple tool to validate whether a program is REUSE compliant.
With our REUSE initiative, we hope to inspire software developers to
think about writing copyright and license information -- the
metadata of software -- in ways which make them easier to parse
programmatically.
says Jonas Öberg, Executive Director of the FSFE.
The new REUSE practices and related documentation and examples can be
found on: https://reuse.software [2].
== Tags ==
- front-page [3]
- reuse [4]
- software [5]
- developer-tools [6]
- update [7]
- curl [8]
1: https://reuse.software/
2: https://reuse.software/
3: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-frontpage.en.html
4: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-reuse.en.html
5: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-software.en.html
6: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-developertools.en.html
7: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-update.en.html
8: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-curl.en.html
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to
control technology. Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our
lives; and it is important that this technology empowers rather than
restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use,
understand, adapt and share software. These rights help support other
fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech, press and privacy.
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, encourage people to use and develop Free Software, and
provide resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software
in Europe.
http://fsfe.org
= FSFE announces Software Licensing Best Practices =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20170906-01.en.html ]
The FSFE launches today its best practises in licensing for Free and
Open Source Software project. Targeted at developers and companies,
these best practices show you how to make it clear to others what
license your software is being distributed under, in a way which both
computers and humans can understand.
A recent study [1] conducted by GitHub discovered that less than 20% of
the projects hosted on their site included a license. This is
problematic because, although most developers want to share their code,
without their explicit consent spelled out in a legal document, you
cannot benefit from their generosity.
If you want others to be able to use your code, you have to include a
license, and do so in a way which can be understood by humans and
computers alike. Attaching a license to software that humans can
understand can be challenging in itself. Making a computer understand
your license is even more difficult.
As a project grows, it will incorporate code from other projects or
people. This means you will have to keep track of and retain copyright
notices, respecting the licenses used. Careless licensing and omitting
notices can infringe other people's rights. This can lead to legal
problems for both parties.
The Software Licensing Best Practices guide [2] will help you include
license and copyright notices correctly in your software. You will avoid
legal problems down the road and others will be able to share your
programs in accordance with your wishes. Computers will be able to
understand your license and copyright and, most important of all, your
rights and the rights of others will be respected.
Visit our site https://reuse.software/ [3], download our guide and
spread the word to your colleagues and friends. If you have any
questions regarding licensing, don't hesitate to ask our experts [4].
1: https://github.com/blog/1964-open-source-license-usage-on-github-com
2: https://reuse.software/
3: https://reuse.software/,
4: https://fsfe.org/activities/ftf/licence-questions
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to
control technology. Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our
lives; and it is important that this technology empowers rather than
restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use,
understand, adapt and share software. These rights help support other
fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech, press and privacy.
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, encourage people to use and develop Free Software, and
provide resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software
in Europe.
http://fsfe.org
= Input about Free Software for German OGP action plan published =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20170328-01.en.html ]
Today the civil society "working group OGP (Open Government Partnership)
Germany" (Arbeitskreis OGP Deutschland) published its input for a German
OGP action plan [1]. The goal of the Open Government actions is to
increase transparency, citizen friendlyness, reporting, and
effectiveness of governments and administrations. The input, which was
already handed over to the German Government on 20 March, consists of 30
Open Government topics, including a section about Free Software.
In December 2016 Germany joined the Open Government Partnership. Until
June 2017 a German action plan is to be developed and decided by the
German government.
To achieve this, on 17 February 2017 the German government invited
representatives from the civil society to a workshop to develop input
for a German action plan for the upcoming two years. After the workshop
members of civil society groups further developed the suggestions
published today. In the weeks to come the German federal ministries will
examine the different suggestions, debate internally, and draft a
national action plan with concrete goals. There will also be another
workshop to discuss the goals between administrations and the civil
society (see the German timetable for the action plan by the German
Government [2] ).
The OGP action plan will not just address the federal government but
should also affect administrations in the German federal states and
municipalities.
== Input from the civil society about Free/Open Source Software ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe worked together with other German
Free Software organisations and the "working group OGP Germany" to
summarise the topic of Free Software in the Open Government context and
develop concrete action items for the government.
By publishing the input we hope to enable civil society actors around
the world to learn about the OGP discussion in Germany, adapt
suggestions to other countries' contexts, and to enable people to give
further input to the German debate.
Below a rough translation of our input originally written in German.
(The full submission is available in German at the website for the
workgroup OGP [3].)
=== Introduction into the topic ===
Open Government offers the possibility to make the activities of the
state more persistent and plausible for its citizens. Open software
achieves this with its open/free licensing which is proved as an
international standard. The "Open Government Toolbox" sums up 1928
IT projects from 523 organisations to help in the transition to Open
Government. The spectrum of this stunning collection shows the
potential of Open Government software. From data visualisation to
participation tools and on up to tools for local urban initiatives,
numerous projects for administration and civil society are already
freely accessible.
- *Recycling*: Open Software can be used for various purposes and can be
re-used. Once it is developed in the scope of a governmental tender,
the software code can then be used by other administrations for
similar problems. A good example is "Fix My Street": originally
developed as a reporting tool for damage on roads in the United
Kingdom, it is now also being used in Switzerland, Ireland, Malaysia,
Norway, Sweden, Uganda and Uruguay. As additionally developed
extensions to the software and user experiences are shared between
nations, all users benefit from the increasing use.
- *Independence*: The use of Open Software offers more opportunities for
procurement and selection of partners. A strategic "lock-in", a
dependency on certain vendors, is avoided as the code can be
maintained by other market competitors as well.
- *Neutrality of platforms*: With open standards the public authorities
can achieve more platform neutrality. Thereby they are no longer
dependent on certain vendors and can choose a new one at any time.
- *Transparency*: While conventional government software is a blackbox
and is a proprietary secret, the source code of Open Government
software is basically always available.
- *Participation*: The Open Source code combined with a free license
allows synergies of government agencies (with civil society),
enterprises and citizens. Software provided by the state can be
maintained and used by external users - and vice versa. Open
Government software projects initiated by the state give an impetus
for collaborative projects where various perspectives from
administration, civil society, enterprises and citizens come together.
For the implementation of the Open Government road map, new software
will be developed. Open Government software should be accessible
under a suitable Free/Open license [1] to enable re-use and sharing
of solutions between authorities, companies and citizens.
=== Our vision until 2030: ===
Federal, regional and local administrations share their solutions
with other administrations, companies and civil society. For new
solutions, the participants can refer to a collection of pre-
existing solutions, re-use and improve these and share them with
everyone. All solutions guarantee use independent of the used
platform. Neither citizens, companies nor administrations should be
technically discriminated against. These German software solutions
enjoy an excellent reputation in administrations, civil society, and
commercial enterprises around the world. People enjoy using them and
they are further developed by other programming groups. Therefore
this results in investment protection and a higher sustainability
for the public sector, which will be developed further by third-
parties, even if individual German administrative authorities opt
for other solutions.
=== Further information sources and links: ===
- [1] Free/Open Source licensing model: See also the list of the Free
Software Foundation [4] and of the Open Source Initiative [5]
- OGP Toolbox [6]
- EU Joinup solutions [7]
- USA Portal Code.Gov [8]
- UK: Proof of concept [9]
- Fixmystreet UK [10] - Fixmystreet OGS [11]
- EUPL [12]
- Introduction into "Software Freedom" by FSFE [13]
=== Suggestions for commitments by the workshop for a NAP two-pager ===
- Level 1: Suggestions for organising the process Establishment of an
expert group, containing members of federal, state and municipal
administrations for re-use and sharing of open software for the state
and the administration (Re-use and Share OSS). Therefore, at least
twice a year, an internal dialogue can take place. There, the group
can tap into the topic of Open Source software and understand it in
terms of overlapping administrative needs. Due to this overlap,
employees from all levels of the public administrations should be
utilised as contributors and architects, and encouraged to integrate,
share, and promote more re-use of the administration's software.
- Establishment of a workgroup with members from administration, civil
society and companies for re-use and sharing of Free Software for the
state and the administration. The workshop should take place at least
twice a year to enable an exchange to listen to each other and receive
feedback by the civil society for further conceptional development.
There should be a strong link between the workgroup and the referring
expert group (see paragraph above) in the administration. Thereby a
transfer of knowledge into the public administration, and indirectly
into politics, is ensured.
- Commissioning of a study running until December 2018 to do basic
research about the cooperation in public administrations in usage of
free/open software. It should consider both users and
business/development associations so that national and international
knowledge and practical experience from study and usage are taken into
account. The full potential, with the help of workshops (Collaborative
Design), should be outlined. With this approach, all relevant
perspectives and proposals for implementation are available for the
second National Action Plan.
- Conducting two "Plug Fest" [14] events in Germany until 2018 as Open
Collaborative Workshops, where special departments of local
authorities can be brought into technical dialogue with providers of
document editing solutions. With those multi stakeholder events many
countries in Europe have made positive experiences for increasing
interoperability.
- Commission of a scientific study about open standards and open
interfaces in public administrations (including open document formats)
by June of 2018. With this the national and international knowledge
and practical experience (Germany: SAGA 5.1.0, EU, Austria,
Switzerland, France, Italy, Netherlands) will be taken into account.
The full potential with the help of workshops (Collaborative Design)
should be outlined so all relevant possibilities and proposals should
be available for the second National Action Plan.
- Commission of an evaluation study about the accessibility and platform
neutrality of public web interfaces by the federal authorities until
January 2018. Through this we can achieve transparency about how
certain user groups are technically discriminated against by the
websites of the authorities and how these sites are accessible
regardless of used devices. Based on this evaluation, best practices
will be introduced simultaneously. Also, basic principles acting as
suggestions for creating accessible and vendor-neutral websites for
authorities as well as for public institutions will be presented.
- Level 2: Precise legislative steps and regulation requirements
Establishment of the EU ISA2 law regarding the platform neutrality in
the acquisition of web service until 2019, so that citizens can use
public sector services regardless of the technology used by the
citizens (Operating systems: Mac OS, Linux, Windows, Android /
Browser: Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer.../ Hardware: Tablet,
Desktop-PC, Smartphone, Thin Internet Client).
- Proposal for a law to set up a national software archive by 2019 which
clarifies where German authorities and suppliers should deposit and
store (long-term-archive) the source code, documentation, interface
specifications and database schemes of their software solutions. This
enables security checks and the preservation of our digital cultural
heritage.
- Level 3: Minimal measures (Mandatory programme) Software, which is
being commissioned or developed in the course of realising the OGP
action plan, should re-use free/open software components and should be
made accessible on the EU software platform joinup [15] and in the
"OGP Toolbox" [16] for other governments, companies and the civil
society.
- Capacity-generating measures for the participation of Germany in the
further development of the Free/Open Source Software Contributor
Policy Template in the OGP [17] (Bulgaria, France, the United Kingdom
and the United States of America have already pledged to do this).
- Until mid 2018 evaluation of which software, of those created during
the implementation of the IT-planning council's action plan for 2017,
can be made available in the OGP Toolbox under a free/open license by
2019. (See Action Plan [18] )
- Federal government, federal states, and municipalities should
communicate information about the cooperation between the authorities
and other participants regarding software solutions to the EU portal
Joinup for publication. This will make this kind of cooperation more
popular and persuades other entities to participate.
1: https://opengovpartnership.de/2017/03/2069/
2: http://www.verwaltung-innovativ.de/DE/Internationales/OGP/zeitlicher_ablauf…
3: https://opengovpartnership.de/files/2017/03/170323_Zivilgesellschaftliche_E…
4: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.en.html
5: https://opensource.org/licenses/category
6: https://ogptoolbox.org/en/
7: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/interoperability/search
8: http:///code.gov
9: https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/technology/making-source-code-open-and-re…
10: http://fixmystreet.com/
11: http://fixmystreet.org/
12: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/community/eupl/og_page/european-union-public-li…
13: https://fsfe.org/about/basics/freesoftware.html
14: http://plugfest.opendocumentformat.org/
15: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/
16: https://ogptoolbox.org/de/
17: https://github.com/DISIC/foss-contrib-policy-template
18: http://www.it-planungsrat.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Entscheidungen/21_Sitz…
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to
control technology. Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our
lives; and it is important that this technology empowers rather than
restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use,
understand, adapt and share software. These rights help support other
fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech, press and privacy.
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, encourage people to use and develop Free Software, and
provide resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software
in Europe.
http://fsfe.org