= Open Letter to EU institutions: Time to support Open Standards =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2014/news-20140326-02.en.html ]
In an open letter[1] to the European Parliament and the European
Commission, Free Software Foundation Europe and Open Forum Europe[2] are
asking the European institutions to improve their support for Open
Standards. The letter is directed to Giancarlo Vilella, the president of
the European Parliament's DG ITEC and chair of the Inter-Institutional
Committee for Informatics.
In a recent letter[3] to MEP Amelia Andersdotter, the EC acknowledges
that is is in a state of "effective captivity" to Microsoft. As FSFE has
pointed out repeatedly[4], this is a persistent problem for the
Commission, the Council and the Parliament.
"Recognising a problem is always the first step towards solving it. We
appreciate the Commission's newfound frankness on the subject," says
FSFE's president Karsten Gerloff. "Along with Europe's citizens and the
continent's software industry, we now expect the Commission to take
action and free itself from this captivity."
The letter also raises the issue of video formats. Currently, it is
difficult or impossible for Free Software users to follow the
proceedings of the Parliament and the Council in real time, because the
live video streams of these organisations rely on proprietary
technology. This is a problem which OFE and FSFE have highlighted for
many years.
"This would be a comparatively simple measure for the European
institutions to improve the transparency of their work for ordinary
citizens," says Gerloff. "We fail to understand why there has not been
more progress on this issue over the past six years."
1. http://fsfe.org/activities/os/2014-03-26.OpenLetterToVilella.en.html
2. http://openforumeurope.org
3. https://ameliaandersdotter.eu/sites/default/files/andersdotter_annex.pdf
4. https://blogs.fsfe.org/gerloff/2011/06/06/the-european-commissions-locked-i…
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
of the FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/
= Document Freedom Day delivers messages of interoperability around the world =
[Read online: http://fsfe.org/news/2014/news-20140326-01.en.html]
Over the following 24 hours Open Standards will be celebrated to the
ends of the earth. The Document Freedom Day campaign for
interoperability is being enacted from Tokyo to Rio[1], and Birmingham
to Taipei[2]. 41 Events are taking place in 18 countries so far.
Open Standards provide the means for apps and computers to communicate
together using common formats that everyone can use. This year two
Document Freedom Day events have been organised by Government bodies:
the Brazilian Federal Government CISL Committee[3], and the Nepalese
Department[4] of Information Technology. Events in the European
Parliament[5] are today exploring Open Standards used for encryption,
while the OpenStreetMap Foundation on Saturday received the Document
Freedom Day UK award[6] in Birmingham.
"Spying revelations of the last year have proven the value of Open
Standards for security as well for documents" says Sam Tuke, Campaign
Manager. "Encrypted messages and network connections using Open
Standards provide world-class privacy, used by Edward Snowden[7] and the
NSA alike."
Supporting organisations have marked the occasion in their own style,
with a series of articles[8] on SVG by Libre Graphics Magazine, a new
whitepaper by The Document Foundation later this week, and a standards
infographic by PHPList.
"This year, teams are using a broad range of multilingual educational
resources to introduce Open Standards to the public" says Erik Albers,
Community Manager. "Thousands of Cartoons, leaflets and posters have
already been dispatched, and online editions[9] have been printed in
Turkey and Japan. New groups can still participate by locally
distributing materials and registering[10] their event."
Document Freedom Day 2014 is facilitated by the Free Software Foundation
Europe, and made possible by support from Google, Commons Machinery, and
Freiheit Technologies. A report of all events will be published in
April, collecting highlights and media from participating groups.
1. http://documentfreedom.org/events/events.html
2. http://documentfreedom.org/events/events.html
3. http://www.softwarelivre.gov.br/eventos/dfd-document-freedom-day
4. http://www.ku.edu.np/cse/kucc/?event=one-day-workshop-on-open-standards
5. http://www.greens-efa.eu/greensefa-4th-document-freedom-day-in-the-european…
6. http://documentfreedom.org/news/2014/news-20140324-01.en.html
7. http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/17/encrypting-your-email-works-says-nsa-whist…
8. http://libregraphicsmag.com/blog/
9. http://documentfreedom.org/artwork.html
10. http://documentfreedom.org/registerevent.html
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
of the FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/
= Computers in the post-Snowden era: choose before paying! =
[Read online: http://fsfe.org/news/2014/news-20140324-01.en.html]
The revelations from Edward Snowden concerning massive surveillance of
communications demonstrates the need for each person to be able to
control their computers and phones. Yet computer and telephone
manufacturers and retailers typicall impose on users programs that
jeopardise their privacy.
Each person should therefore have the opportunity to refuse to pay for
non-Free software, and be allowed to choose the programs that run on
their telephone and computer.
Today, the Free Software Foundation joins other organisations throughout
the world[1] in requesting an unfettered choice of the operating system
on telephones, laptops and other computing devices.
- Sign the international petition![2]
- Further information.[3]
- Do you want help in promoting this petition?[4]
1. http://no.more.racketware.info/petition/support
2. http://no.more.racketware.info/petition/click/en
3. http://no.more.racketware.info/petition/en/index
4. http://no.more.racketware.info/petition/index
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
of the FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/