= Huawei case demonstrates importance of Free Software for security =
[ Version en ligne: https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190205-01.fr.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 =
[ Version en ligne: https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20171109-01.fr.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.
== Mots clés ==
- 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.fr.html
6: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-policy.fr.html
7: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-pmpc.fr.html
8: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-openstandards.fr.html
9: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-digitalinfrastructure.fr.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 =
[ Version en ligne: https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20171108-01.fr.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].
== Mots clés ==
- 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.fr.html
4: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-reuse.fr.html
5: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-software.fr.html
6: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-developertools.fr.html
7: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-update.fr.html
8: https://fsfe.org/tags/tagged-curl.fr.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
= Argent public ? Code public ! 31 organisations demandent l’amélioration des
procédures de marchés publics pour les logiciels. =
[ Version en ligne: https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20170913-01.fr.html ]
Les services numériques offerts et utilisés par nos administrations
publiques sont les infrastructures critiques du 21e siècle des nations
démocratiques. Afin d’établir des systèmes fiables, les institutions
publiques doivent faire en sorte d’avoir le contrôle entier du logiciel
et des systèmes informatiques au cœur de notre infrastructure numérique
étatique. Ce n’est pourtant pas le cas actuellement pour des raisons de
licences logicielles restrictives.
Aujourd'hui, 31 organisations publient une lettre ouverte [1] dans
laquelle elles appellent le législateur à mettre en œuvre une
législation qui requiert que le logiciel financé par le contribuable
pour le secteur public soit disponible publiquement sous une licence de
Logiciel Libre et Open Source. Les premiers signataires incluent CCC,
EDRi, Free Software Foundation Europe, KDE, Open Knowledge Foundation
Germany, Open Source Business Alliance, Open Source Initiative, The
Document Foundation, Wikimedia Deutschland, ainsi que plusieurs autres
organisations; elles invitent les individus à signer la lettre ouverte
[2]. La lettre ouverte sera envoyée aux candidats pour les élections
législatives en Allemagne et, pendant les prochains mois, jusqu'aux
élections européennes en 2019, aux autres responsables politiques de
l'UE et des États membres.
“Parce que le code source des logiciels propriétaires est souvent un
secret d’affaires, la difficulté de trouver des failles de sécurité
accidentelles ou volontaires dans des logiciels critiques augmente
radicalement. La rétro-ingénierie de logiciels propriétaires dans le
but de les améliorer ou les renforcer est une nécessité absolue dans
l’environnement d’aujourd’hui, mais cette condition technique
élémentaire est illégale dans de nombreuses circonstances et
juridictions. Après que des infrastructures stratégiques telles que
des hôpitaux, des usines automobiles et des cargos de fret aient
toutes été déconnectées cette année à cause de failles dissimulées
dans du logiciel propriétaire, un Code non vérifiable est un luxe
que les États ne peuvent plus compenser avec des privilèges
juridiques spéciaux sans le payer en vies humaines.
En ce moment-même, la majorité des plans de notre infrastructure la
plus critique n’est tout simplement pas disponible au public. En
alignant le financement public avec une obligation de Logiciel Libre
(NdT Free software en anglais) – “Free” dans le sens de la
disponibilité publique du code et non pas du coût – nous pouvons
trouver et réparer les failles avant qu’elles ne soient utilisées
pour éteindre la lumière dans l’hôpital d'à côté.” dit Edward
Snowden, Président de la Freedom of the Press Foundation à propos du
lancement de la campagne “Public Money Public Code” [3].
Les institutions publiques dépensent chaque année des millions d'euros
dans le développement de nouveaux logiciels sur mesure pour leurs
besoins. La procédure d'appel d'offre joue un rôle fondamental sur
quelles entreprises sont autorisées à entrer en compétition et quels
logiciels sont payés avec l'argent du contribuable. Les administrations
publiques à différents niveaux rencontrent souvent des problèmes pour
partager le code source du logiciel entre elles, même si elles ont
entièrement financé son développement. De plus, sans la possibilité pour
des tiers indépendants d'effectuer des audits ou d'autres contrôles de
sécurité sur le code, les données sensibles des citoyens sont en danger.
"Nous avons besoin de logiciels qui favorisent l’échange de bonnes
pratiques et solutions. C’est seulement ainsi que nous pourrons
améliorer les services informatiques aux personnes dans toute
l'Europe. Nous avons besoin de logiciels qui aident les
administrations publiques à reprendre le plein contrôle de leur
infrastructure numérique et stratégique, leur permettant de devenir
et rester indépendantes d’une poignée d’entreprises." dit Matthias
Kirschner, Président de la Free Software Foundation Europe.
C'est pourquoi les signataires appellent les représentants dans toute
l'Europe à moderniser l'infrastructure publique pour permettre aux
autres administrations, entreprises, ou individus de pouvoir librement
utiliser, comprendre, modifier et partager les logiciels. Ces droits
permettent de soutenir d'autres droits fondamentaux tels que la liberté
d'expression, la liberté de la presse et la vie privée. Ceci garantit
que les administrations publiques ne subissent le cloisonnement captif
d'entreprises spécifiques qui utilisent des licences restrictives pour
entraver la concurrence, ainsi que de veiller à ce que le code source
soit accessible afin de pouvoir sceller les portes dérobées et réparer
les failles de sécurité sans dépendre d’un unique prestataire de
services.
"Les institutions publiques sont financées par l’impôt. Elles
devraient utiliser les finances publiques d'une manière responsable
et le plus efficacement possible dans l’intérêt général. S’il s’agit
d’argent public, le code devrait être également public !" dit
Kirschner.
Argent Public ? Code Public ! = Public Money? Public Code!
== En savoir plus ==
- Lettre ouverte [4]
- Signer la lettre ouverte ! [5]
- Vidéo (3:47) sous formats [6] (publiée sous licence CC-By 4.0 ), ou
aussi pour l’intégration sur Vimeo [7] et Youtube [8]
== Les premiers signataires ==
- April: https://www.april.org/
- Associação Ensino Livre: https://ensinolivre.pt
- Associação Nacional para o Software Livre (ANSOL): https://ansol.org
- Chaos Computer Club (CCC): https://www.ccc.de
- Courage Foundation: https://couragefound.org/
- D3-Defesa dos Direitos Digitais: https://direitosdigitais.pt/
- Digitalcourage: https://digitalcourage.de/
- Digitale Gesellschaft: https://digitalegesellschaft.de/
- Dyne.org Foundation: https://dyne.org
- ePaństwo Foundation: https://epf.org.pl
- European Digital Rights (EDRi): https://edri.org
- Expose Facts: https://exposefacts.org/
- Free Software Foundation Europe: https.//www.fsfe.org
- GFOSS: https://gfoss.eu/
- HackYourPhD: https://hackyourphd.org/
- KDE: https://ev.kde.org
- Linux User Group Of Slovenia (LUGOS): http://www.lugos.si
- Linuxwochen: https://www.linuxwochen.at/
- Modern Poland Foundation: https://nowoczesnapolska.org.pl
- quintessenz: http://quintessenz.at
- Open Knowledge Foundation Deutschland: https://okfn.de
- Open Labs: http://theopenlabs.org
- Open Rights Group: https://www.openrightsgroup.org/
- Open Source Business Alliance: http://osb-alliance.de
- Open Source Initiative (OSI): https://opensource.org/
- openSUSE: http://opensuse.org
- Public Software CIC: https://publicsoftware.eu/
- Software Liberty Association Taiwan: https://slat.org/
- The Document Foundation: https://www.documentfoundation.org
- Wikimedia Deutschland: https://wikimedia.de
- Xnet: https://xnet-x.net/
1: https://publiccode.eu/fr/openletter/
2: https://publiccode.eu/fr/#action
3: https://publiccode.eu/fr/
4: https://publiccode.eu/openletter/
5: https://publiccode.eu/#action
6: http://download.fsfe.org/videos/pmpc/
7: https://vimeo.com/232524527
8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuVUzg6x2yo
== 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 =
[ Version en ligne: https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20170906-01.fr.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 =
[ Version en ligne: https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20170328-01.fr.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
= Berlin sends a message for "I love Free Software" day =
[ Version en ligne: https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20170214-01.fr.html ]
In celebration of the "I love Free Software" day on February 14, the
Berlin Reichtag has been illuminated with the message "Give Free
Software A Chance" last weekend. On numerous buildings and symbolic
places in Berlin other messages have been projected. "Build Free
Software - Not Walls" could have been read on the Berlin Wall, and the
Federal Ministry of Finances has been decorated by the slogan "Public
Money, Public Code". Thereby, activists draw attention to the importance
of larger appreciation of Free Software.
FSFE representatives also delivered an open letter together with a rose
to all members of German parliament in which they demand a higher
political support of Free Software and the a higher recognition of
voluntary Free Software development.
Max Mehl, program manager of FSFE, comments: "Free Software enables
everyone to use, study, share, and improve programs for any purpose.
These rights help support other fundamental rights like freedom of
speech, freedom of press and privacy. Therefore, we ask politics and
administration to put publicly financed software under a free
license. Software funded by public money should be a common good and
available to all people so that the whole society can benefit from
it."
The "I love Free Software" day is being celebrated on every Valentine's
Day and is dedicated to the countless voluntary contributors of Free
Software.
Further information:
- Pictures of the activity under a free license [1]
- Letter to the members of German parliament [2] (German)
- About "I love Free Software" day [3]
1: https://fsfe.org/campaigns/ilovefs/2017/berlin.fr.html
2: https://fsfe.org/campaigns/ilovefs/2017/ilovefs-OpenLetter.pdf
3: 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
= Russian Bill makes Free Software a Public Priority =
[ Version en ligne: https://fsfe.org/news/2016/news-20161110-01.fr.html ]
Legislators have drafted a bill[1] that will boost Free Software on
multiple levels within the Russian Federation's public sector.
The draft, approved by the Russian Federation's Duma (lower chamber) in
mid-October, requires the public sector to prioritise Free Software over
proprietary alternatives, gives precedence to local IT businesses that
offer Free Software for public tenders, and recognises the need to
encourage collaboration with the global network of Free Software
organisations and communities.
The text enforces prioritising Free Software over proprietary
alternatives by requiring public administrations to formally justify any
purchase of proprietary software. The purchase will be considered
unjustified if a Free Software solution exists that satisfies the list
of technical specifications and standards. In addition, all IT purchase
agreements in the public sphere must be registered in a dedicated
registrar and detail the overall quantity and price of both purchased
proprietary and Free Software.
In order to encourage local businesses, IT companies that distribute and
provide Free Software products and services will by default receive
bonus points in public tenders. With this measure, legislators intend to
reduce the administration's dependency on foreign IT providers of
proprietary software.
Despite the above, the bill also recognises the universality of Free
Software. As the legislators acknowledge in explanatory notes appended
to the text, the concept of "Russian Free Software" is meaningless due
to the global nature of Free Software. The text recognises the need to
support Russian Free Software companies in order to better integrate
into global Free Software communities.
"[...]законопроект предлагает тем самым уйти от понятия «российское
СПО», поскольку наборы программных кодов, открытых по разного вида
свободным лицензиям, представляют собой по сути единую мировую
платформу[...]"
English translation:
[...]the draft bill suggests to withhold the concept of "Russian
Free Software", because the source code available under different
open licences represents in essence one global platform[...]
Another interesting aspect of the law is how the authors of the bill
have made an extra effort to ensure the language used in the draft are
correct. For one, only software carrying licenses that allow the four
freedoms[2] may be legally labelled as "Free Software":
"Свободное программное обеспечение (СПО) - программное обеспечение,
имеющее открытый исходный код и распространяемое по открытым
лицензиям на условиях специального лицензионного договора, на
основании которого пользователь получает неограниченное право на его
установку, запуск, а также свободное использование, изучение,
распространение и изменение (модификацию) по своему усмотрению в
любых, не запрещенных законом целях."
English translation:
"Free Software - software which is open source and distributed under
open licences based on special licensing contract terms, allowing a
user unrestricted right to install, run, use, study, distribute and
modify it freely, according to one's needs and for purposes that are
not restricted by law."
Secondly, every time the bill text refers to the most famous free
operating system, it refers to it as "GNU/Linux", not simply "Linux".
This indicates an awareness not commonly found amongst authors of
national legislations.
"The bill is an example of public software procurement done right." says
Polina Malaja, Policy Analyst and Legal Coordinator at the FSFE. "The
FSFE has long advised having all public administrations prioritise Free
Software and recommended that all software developed by and for the
public sector be published under a Free Software licence. As the authors
of the Russian bill have come to realise, without Free Software public
administrations will never be able to claim they have real digital
sovereignty. Other European administrations should take note."
--
Free Software Foundation Europe <https://fsfe.org>
FSFE News <https://fsfe.org/news/news.en.rss>
Upcoming FSFE Events <https://fsfe.org/events/events.en.rss>
Fellowship Blog Aggregation <https://planet.fsfe.org/en/rss20.xml>
Free Software Discussions <https://fsfe.org/contact/community.en.html>
1. http://asozd2.duma.gov.ru/addwork/scans.nsf/ID/15186D4536B068A5432580420046…
2. https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.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/
= Heiki Lõhmus takes over FSFE vice-presidency from Alessandro Rubini =
[ Version en ligne: https://fsfe.org/news/2016/news-20161031-01.fr.html ]
Alessandro Rubini has stepped down as Vice-president of the FSFE.
Alessandro, an electronic engineer with Ph. D. in a computer science,
brought invaluable insight to the internal discussions within the FSFE
and has worked tirelessly to push the Free Software envelope in Italy
and the rest of Europe.
Alessandro has left the vice-presidency to concentrate on his work with
the Free Software community in Italy, but he remains an active member of
the FSFE and continues contributing his time generously to the
organisation.
Taking over from Alessandro is Heiki Lõhmus, a student of aeronautical
engineering from Estonia. Heiki started collaborating with the FSFE when
he "discovered some Estonian-language gibberish on fsfe.org purporting
to be a translation of an English original, which it definitely was
not". He quickly became involved in the translation process and became
the translation coordinator.
He also represented the FSFE community in its board from 2013 to 2015.
During his time in the post, he managed the transition to a new way of
valuing contributions, ensuring volunteers and paying members of the
organisation enjoy the same benefits for their contributions.
Beyond his work at the FSFE, Heiki has actively lobbied the Estonian
government to publish the software used for the Estonian elections as
Free Software. "Estonia is the only country in the world where it is
possible to vote over the Internet" says Heiki, and relying on
proprietary software to do so is a security risk and does not inspire
much trust. Heiki works along with other activists to get the software
published under a free license.
Heiki is an enthusiastic member of the FSFE and we are sure he will
carry on Alessandro's excellent work.
--
Free Software Foundation Europe <https://fsfe.org>
FSFE News <https://fsfe.org/news/news.en.rss>
Upcoming FSFE Events <https://fsfe.org/events/events.en.rss>
Fellowship Blog Aggregation <https://planet.fsfe.org/en/rss20.xml>
Free Software Discussions <https://fsfe.org/contact/community.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/