= FSFE Newsletter March 2019 =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201903.it.html ]
This month's newsletter highlights the new project the FSFE recently
joined and the funding opportunities it offers, that you may want to
take advantage of. You can get the latest updates on the Copyright
Directive reform and the hottest news regarding Article 13, as well as a
short summary of what else has happened during the past month. In the
Editor's choice section this month you can find interesting news on
developments with the Radio Equipment Directive, and find out who else
have expressed their support for our "Public Money? Public Code!"
campaign and what they have to say about it.
== European Commission Next Generation Internet Initiative ==
The European Commission launched an initiative called "The Next
Generation Internet" and the FSFE is part of its NGI0 consortium [1].
The Initiative's purpose is to create technologies for a better internet
where the individual user's best interests are the top priority. In
other words, internet technologies that respect human rights and
important values like privacy, openness, transparency, cooperation, and
protection of data. To help achieve these objectives, the Initiative
runs two branch projects, led by the NLnet Foundation [2], in order to
award grants to applicant technologies that attest to those ideals. The
FSFE's role is to provide Free Software licensing recommendations and
consultation in these projects:
NGI0 PET [3] deals with technologies that enhance privacy and trust on
the Internet. It awards grants to applicants that can provide people
with new instruments to keep their data on the Internet confidential,
while still being able to act freely and independently online.
NGI0 Discovery [4], deals with technologies that enhance the ability to
search for information on the Internet. The project confers grants to
applicants that can help strengthen how we search for and discover
content on the internet in such a way that supports important social
values, such as freedom of expression, privacy, and transparency. The
best suited solutions would ensure that searching for information is
less centralised with as few intermediaries as possible.
All granted technologies will be based on and be made available as Free
and Open Source Software.
The NGI0 consortium acts as a sort of advisory body for successful
applicants and assists them with their technologies in specific areas,
such as security and accessibility. In this context, the FSFE
facilitates their software licensing, advising them on how to properly
apply best licensing practices, and making sure their technologies are
licensed and compliant.
Calls for applications for both projects are renewed every 2 months.
They are currently in the midst of their 2nd call, the deadline of which
is 1 April 2019. The first call, which ended in February, resulted in
over a hundred submissions from countries not only from Europe, but also
from Asia, Africa, and the Americas. If you are interested in getting
funding to develop your relevant technology, you can apply here [5].
== Copyright and Article 13 - What happened and what's next ==
Despite uncertainties and controversies along the way, the Copyright in
the Digital Single Market Directive seems to be reaching the end of the
road. There are many steps to finalise a legal text in the EU, but now
the EU Member States and the European Parliament have reached an
agreement on a consolidated text [6]. The next step is for the Directive
to be voted in the plenary session at the end of March/in early April.
As reported [7], the original proposal could have regulated the
platforms software developers use, cooling incentives to innovate and
making software more fragile in Europe. It was in response to this that
the OpenForum Europe and the FSFE started the SaveCodeshare.eu [8]
campaign. Together we wrote letters, petitions, and held meetings and
events in Brussels and in EU member states.
Article 13 now excludes “open source software development and sharing
platforms” from its scope (see article 2(5) in the provisional agreement
[9]. This one unintended consequence has at least been avoided. From a
wider perspective, no matter how the vote turns out, we were able to
raise awareness and understanding of what drives software development in
Europe today among many policymakers. We explained how the software
ecosystem operates, the pervasive use of Free and Open Source software
licenses, and the commercial nature of Free and Open Source Software.
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== Inside and Outside the FSFE ==
- The four universal freedoms of Free Software offer fertile soil for
emancipating technologies without restrictions towards gender or any
other backgrounds. However, women have traditionally been and still
are under-represented in those bodies and communities shaping these
technologies. It is time to change that. On March 8, the International
Women's Day, we used the occasion to share the FSFE's ongoing efforts
to improve gender balance and ensure gender equality [11].
- As a way to help ensure that in the FSFE everyone can, at all times,
feel at ease to participate without fearing any form of attack,
reprisal or harassment, we adopted a Code of Conduct [12] and
installed a CARE team [13]. To further support the aims of the CARE
Team, we welcome Gabriel Ku Wei Bin [14] as a new member.
- On February 23rd Alexander Sander [15], FSFE's policy analyst, spoke
about our Public Money - Public Code [16] campaign at the "Winter
Kongress Digitale Gesellschaft" in Zurich, Switzerland ( watch the
video [17] ). At the same event, Marcus Moeller, the FSFE's
Coordinator for Switzerland, and Michel Ketterle presented the next
version of Freedomvote [18]. Freedomvote is a campaign [19] and a Free
Software [20] that enables local groups to run political and electoral
campaigns by themselves. FSFE local groups have already been using it
to run campaigns in the Netherlands in 2017 [21] and in Switzerland in
2015 [22]
- Katharina Nocun, Internet activist and FSFE Freelancer, together with
Basanta E. P. Thapa from Fraunhofer Fokus presented the ongoing Public
Money - Public Code [23] campaign and our new expert policy brochure
[24], and used this occasion to talk about ways public procurement can
be modernised. The presentation took place on March 5th at c-base in
Berlin, hosted by the Netzpolitischen Abend [25] - (Watch the video)
[26]
- From March 16th to 17th, FSFE's booth and staff could be spotted at
the Chemnitzer Linuxtage [27] in Chemnitz, Germany. Erik Albers [28],
FSFE's Programme Manager, gave a workshop about F-Droid [29], G-Droid,
and the most useful Free Software apps to help people use more Free
Software on their mobile phones.
- Another place you could inform yourself about the FSFE and have a chat
with our supporters was at the the Dutch Linux Usergroup NLLGG [30] on
March 16th, in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
- FSFE supporter André Klöpfel was interviewed [31] (DE) by
Deutschlandfunk Marktplatz about how to install a Linux Distro for
beginners.
- This month we had local FSFE supporter meetings in Madrid, Hamburg,
Frankfurt (Main), Berlin and Bonn.
== Editor's choice ==
- Protect freedom on radio devices: raise your voice today! [32] - Alert
on an upcoming threat from a new EU regulation. In this entry Max
explains in greater detail how a single article in the EU Radio
Equipment Directive [33] has the capacity to make installing a custom
piece of software on most radio devices (like WiFi routers,
smartphones and embedded devices) impossible. Read his blog to find
out how you can contribute to the better development of events.
- Public Money? Public Code! campaign in EDRi's Newsletter EDRigram
[34]: "Publicly funded software has to result in public code." Read
their opinion on our initiative.
== Do not miss: upcoming events with the FSFE ==
- Pablo González, FSFE's local Coordinator Madrid, will be present with
an info-booth from March 26th to 28th at the Taller de Periodismo de
Datos [35] in Medialab Prado in Madrid, Spain. Pass by to get to know
local Madrid supporters and the FSFE.
== Get Active ==
We have a cool tool [36] for announcing events and promoting them on our
website and social channels. If you would like us to include your event
in our next newsletter and website, feel welcome to try out the event
submission tool [37]
== Contribute to our newsletter ==
If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, send them to
us. As always, the address is newsletter(a)fsfe.org. We are looking
forward to hearing from you!
Thanks to our community, all the volunteers [38], supporters [39] and
donors [40] who make our work possible. And thanks to our translators
[41], who enable you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.
Your editor, Galia Mancheva
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1: https://www.ngi.eu/about/ngi-zero/
2: https://nlnet.nl
3: https://nlnet.nl/PET/
4: https://nlnet.nl/discovery/
5: https://nlnet.nl/propose/
6: https://juliareda.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Copyright_Final_compromise.…
7: https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20171130-01.it.html
8: https://savecodeshare.eu/
9: https://juliareda.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Copyright_Final_compromise.…
10: https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-03
11: https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190308-01.it.html
12: https://fsfe.org/about/codeofconduct
13: https://fsfe.org/about/codeofconduct#CARE
14: https://fsfe.org/about/ku/ku.it.html
15: https://fsfe.org/about/sander/sander.it.html
16: https://publiccode.eu/
17: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHI3rR9UmqA&pbjreload=10
18: https://www.digitale-gesellschaft.ch/kongress/2019/talks/freedomvote_-_eine…
19: https://freedomvote.ch/
20: https://github.com/freedomvote/freedomvote
21: https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20170302-01.it.html
22: https://fsfe.org/news/2015/news-20150916-01.it.html
23: https://publiccode.eu/
24: https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190124-01.it.html
25: https://digitalegesellschaft.de/portfolio-items/netzpolitischer-abend/
26: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya-NY1d2e9c&pbjreload=10
27: https://chemnitzer.linux-tage.de/2019/en
28: https://fsfe.org/about/albers/albers.it.html
29: https://chemnitzer.linux-tage.de/2019/en/programm/beitrag/269
30: https://nllgg.nl/bijeenkomst/20190316
31: https://srv.deutschlandradio.de/dlf-audiothek-audio-teilen.3265.de.html?mdm…
32: https://blog.mehl.mx/2019/protect-freedom-on-radio-devices-raise-your-voice…
33: https://fsfe.org/activities/radiodirective/
34: https://edri.org/fsfe-publicly-funded-software-has-to-result-in-public-code/
35: https://www.medialab-prado.es/programas/taller-de-periodismo-de-datos-2019-…
36: https://fsfe.org/community/tools/eventregistration.it.html
37: https://fsfe.org/community/tools/eventregistration.it.html
38: https://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute
39: http://fsfe.org/join
40: https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus
41: https://fsfe.org/contribute/translators/translators
42: https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-03