= Children‘s book published about software, skateboards, and raspberry ice cream =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211129-01.en.html ]
Today, 29 November, O'Reilly Germany publishes the book "Ada & Zangemann
- A fairy tale about software, skateboards and raspberry ice cream"
written by FSFE President Matthias Kirschner and illustrated by Sandra
Brandstätter, among other things, character designer for the series
"Trudes Tier" from the show "Sendung mit der Maus".
The famous inventor Zangemann lives in a huge villa high above the
city. Adults and children alike love his inventions and are
desperate to have them. But then something happens: when Zangemann
once again wants to take a close-up look at his inventions during a
walk through the cityand with a loud thud, a child riding a
skateboard hits him in the shin! Enraged, the inventor makes a
momentous decision... The clever girl Ada sees through it all.
Together with her friends, she forges a plan.
This illustrated children's book tells the story of the famous inventor
Zangemann and the girl Ada, a curious tinkerer. Ada begins to experiment
with hardware and software, and in the process realises how crucial it
is for her and others to control technology.
A book for children from the age of 6 that arouses children's interest
in tinkering and encourages shaping technology.
"Kirschner's book introduces readers young and old to the power and
peril of software. It also highlights the accelerating effects of
sharing software freely - creating conditions for direct and
indirect collaboration which can be a metaphor for the conduct of
science. Behind it all is a backdrop of ethics of knowledge sharing
upon which the arc of human history rides."
Vint Cerf - Computer Scientist and one of the inventors of the
internet (after reading the English translation).
"Even as a non-child, I was captivated by the story from the first
page to the last. Kudos to the author for packaging difficult topics
such as monopolies, lobbyism, digital divide, software freedom,
digital autonomy, IoT, consumer control, e-waste and much more in a
child-friendly form in an easily understandable and exciting
storyline. And kudos to the publisher for having the guts to publish
a book under CC-BY-SA."
Jörg Luther, chief editor of the German Linux-Magazin, LinuxUser,
Raspberry Pi Geek
"After my son was read the book last night, he told me the whole
story this morning... He wants to make something out of old pallets
after school today. And then he wants to learn programming."
Ingo Wichmann, CEO Linuxhotel GmbH
The book "Ada & Zangemann - Ein Märchen über Software, Skateboards und
Himbeereis" [1] by Matthias Kirschner and Sandra Brandstätter, published
by dpunkt.verlag GmbH under ISBN 978-3-96009-190-5, is licensed under
"Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany (CC BY-SA 3.0 DE)
[2] ".
Matthias Kirschner wrote the text on a voluntary basis for the FSFE. All
author revenues go directly to the non-profit Free Software Foundation
Europe. The FSFE paid the illustrator Sandra Brandstätter and the
children's book editor Wiebke Helmchen for their work. Linuxhotel GmbH
made the project possble by already agreeding at the beginning of the
writing process to buy 1000 copies once the book was finished.
Currently, the FSFE is looking for a suitable publisher to for an
English translation. The FSFE would like to enable as many people as
possible to read the book in their mother tongue and asks for donations
for its work [3].
Further press material on "Ada & Zangemann" is available on the
publisher's website [4].
Discuss this [5]
1: https://oreilly.de/produkt/ada-und-zangemann/
2: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/
3: https://fsfe.org/donate
4: https://oreilly.de/presseinformationen/pressematerialien-ada-und-zangemann/
5: https://community.fsfe.org/t/773
== 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 understand how Free
Software contributes to freedom, transparency and self-determination. We
enhance 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.
https://fsfe.org
= Upcycling Android: Keep using your phone with Free Software =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211125-01.en.html ]
In the European Week for Waste Reduction the FSFE launches its new
initiative "Upcycling Android": Every time we keep using our phone
instead of buying a new one we support a more sustainable use of our
resources. Upcycling Android helps people to tackle software
obsolescence and to keep using their phones with Free Software.
It is the European Week for Waste Reduction, a week that is dedicated to
promoting the reuse of products and materials and to helping save
resources and reduce waste in everyday life. The FSFE joins in with the
new initiative "Upcycling Android" [1] - an initiative to help saving
resources by reusing one of our most valuable devices of our daily life,
our phones.
Every year, manufacturers produce 1.5 billion phones worldwide - and
unfortunately, probably almost as many are thrown away after what is
usually a far too short hardware lifespan. The short lifespan of these
phones often stems from so-called "software obsolescence", the situation
in which users are faced with the dilemma of either buying new hardware
or living with outdated software. The environmental consequences of
these short hardware lifespans can be dire. To help users in overcoming
this problem, with Upcycling Android we enable people to upcycle Android
phones with Free Software. Every time we keep using our current phone
instead of buying a new one we help avoid the production of new phones
and the growing disposal of e-waste.
Upcycling Android explains the issue of software obsolescence in the
Android world and helps people flashing their phones with Free Software
operating systems [2]. This process not only offers you greater control
of your phone, it can also provide a better experience than using
proprietary operating systems. But most important: in cases where phones
stop receiving software updates from the manufacturing company,
switching to a Free Software operating system helps keeping your phone
up-to-date. This way you can keep using your device, help the
environment, and enjoy many more benefits. Free Software gives you full
control over your device, as you can finally uninstall apps you could
not before, and you profit from extended privacy protection - just to
mention a few.
=== Political background & information material ===
The FSFE is steadily committed to a more sustainable use of technology
with Free Software. In the beginning of the year, we participated in the
EU consultation [3] about "Energy labelling of mobile phones and
tablets" and later in the year we published a study [4] on software
obsolescence with a call for Device Neutrality and Upcycling of
Software.
We have a huge collection of information and background material [5] to
help spread the word about the environmental impact of our phones. And
how to help reducing the problem by upcycling your Android device with
Free Software. The range of material includes stickers, infographics,
leaflets, videos, podcasts, articles and studies.
=== Upcoming activities ===
In the upcoming months, the FSFE's activities within the Upcycling
Android initiative will be two-fold: In cooperation with local groups we
provide several workshops [6] where people can gather and network around
the topic of Upcycling Android, can experiment or receive help in
flashing their phones. In addition, we watch and engage within the
current discussions on the European level surrounding the "Sustainable
Products Initiative" and the "Circular Electronics Initiative". Within
these activities we aim at explaining the benefits of Free Software for
a more sustainable use of our products to decision-makers.
Discuss this [7]
1: https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/upcyclingandroid.en.html#head
2: https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/howtoupcycle.en.html#head
3: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210127-01.en.html
4: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211015-01.en.html
5: https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/informationmaterial.en.html#he…
6: https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/workshops.en.html#head
7: https://community.fsfe.org/t/759
== 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 understand how Free
Software contributes to freedom, transparency and self-determination. We
enhance 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.
https://fsfe.org
= Digital Markets Act - the FSFE calls for Device Neutrality =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211122-01.en.html ]
On the imminent voting of the Digital Markets Act - the latest EU
proposal on internet platform regulation - the FSFE demands device
neutrality as a fundamental element for safeguarding consumer protection
in open, fair, and contestable digital markets.
While digital devices are a ubiquitous reality in all aspects of life,
control over the hardware and software running on them is increasingly
being limited by internet platforms, digital services providers,
hardware manufacturers, and vendors. The European Commission's Digital
Markets Act (DMA) [1] is a regulatory instrument for targeting large
internet companies that act as gatekeepers in digital markets. Such
gatekeepers may be internet platforms, service providers, manufacturers,
and vendors satisfying criteria defined by law. This regulatory
initiative is an attempt to create fairer and more competitive markets
for online platforms in the EU. On November 22, the European
Parliament's leading IMCO committee will vote on its position.
The FSFE urges the Members of the European Parliament in the upcoming
vote to safeguard device neutrality principles based on Open Standards
[2] and interoperability, securing the interest of consumers for a
contestable, open, and competitive digital market in the EU.
Freedom in the information society needs your financial contribution.
== Become a supporter now [3] Free Software and Device Neutrality ==
Device neutrality [4] translates as non-discrimination of services and
apps by providers, manufacturers, and vendors. The objective of device
neutrality is to enable consumers to bypass gatekeepers and enable a
fair and non-discriminatory use of Free Software in the application and
operating system layers of devices. The FSFE demands the inclusion of
the following principles in the DMA legislation:
- *Strict end-user consent for pre-installed apps*. The DMA must impose
on gatekeepers the obligation to allow their customers to uninstall
any pre-installed software applications they provide on their services
or with their hardware. This means more restrictive rules for pre-
installed apps, providing users the same access privileges for both
pre-installed and alternative apps, and the possibility to uninstall
pre-loaded apps;
- *No vendor lock-in*. The DMA should enable side-loading of apps in
dominant operating systems, so consumers can install any compatible
software on their devices. The DMA shall require gatekeepers to permit
third-party app stores and code repositories that compete with their
own. The law must prohibit gatekeepers limiting the ability of end-
users to switch between and subscribe to different software
applications and services. This prevents gatekeepers from locking
users into specific service providers;
- *Interoperability of services based on* Open Standards [5]. It is
urgent for the DMA to require gatekeepers to provide free of charge
access to and interoperability with the same hardware and software
features accessed or controlled via an operating system. This includes
communication apps and social media platforms. Interoperability should
be defined by Open Standards;
- *Real-time data portability*. The DMA should require gatekeepers to
provide real-time data portability for devices, so that consumers can
switch from one device to another - including operating systems - as
smoothly as possible.
== Next steps ==
After the committee voting on Monday, 22 November, the proposal will
incorporate the approved amendments. Next up is the plenary voting to
achieve the final position of the European Parliament, planned for
December. The FSFE will continue to monitor the whole process closely
and demand device neutrality to the full extent in the legislative text,
so users are empowered to control technology.
"The digital markets will benefit by the regulatory proposal of the DMA.
Device neutrality is fundamental for a fair, competitive, and
contestable market. We demand stricter consent rules for pre-installed
apps, no vendor lock-in, full interoperability, and real-time data
portability. Free Software and Open Standards are key to achieve these
goals", says Lucas Lasota, the FSFE's Deputy Legal Coordinator. Discuss
this [6]
1: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-…
2: https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/standards/index.en.html
3: https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-2021112…
4: https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/sustainability/sustainability.en.html#id-devi…
5: https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/standards/index.en.html
6: https://community.fsfe.org/t/763
== 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 understand how Free
Software contributes to freedom, transparency and self-determination. We
enhance 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.
https://fsfe.org
= Dutch government formation: open letter on Free Software and Public Money? Public Code! =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20211118-01.en.html ]
The Dutch government is about to form itself and setting up goals for
the next term. With an open letter, the FSFE urges the coalition parties
to implement the "open, unless" policy of 2020 and thus the principle of
Public Money? Public Code!
Free Software gives everybody the right to use, study, share, and
improve software. This right helps support other fundamental freedoms
like freedom of speech, press and privacy. With the principle of "Public
Money? Public Code!" implemented, the government will improve the
transparency and digital sovereignty.
Also it will help educational institutions with digital skills,
information literacy, and improving the privacy of students and staff.
At the same time it will stimulate the IT market and thus others like
the labour market. Open code encourages cooperation with governments at
home and abroad.
First attempts to promote Free Software among public bodies, like the
"open, unless" policy of 2020, need to be followed, implemented, and
extended. We urge for legislation requiring that publicly financed
software developed for the public sector be made publicly available
under a Free Software license. Code paid by the people should be
available to the people!
You can read the full open letter in Dutch [1] and in English [2].
Freedom in the information society needs your financial contribution.
Become a supporter now [3] Discuss this [4]
1: https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/FSFE_letter_20211116_NL.pdf
2: https://download.fsfe.org/campaigns/pmpc/FSFE_letter_20211116_EN.pdf
3: https://my.fsfe.org/donate?referrer=https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-2021111…
4: https://community.fsfe.org/t/758
== 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 understand how Free
Software contributes to freedom, transparency and self-determination. We
enhance 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.
https://fsfe.org
= Youth Hacking 4 Freedom: Coding Competition for teenagers about to start =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210928-01.en.html ]
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a charity that empowers
users to control technology. To inspire the younger generation to
software freedom, the FSFE is organising the coding competition ‘Youth
Hacking 4 Freedom' (YH4F), where teenagers from all around Europe have
the chance to compete in a fair and fun way. The winners receive a cash
prize and a trip to Brussels with other young hackers.
- Participants must be 14-18 years old and should register at yh4f.org
[1]
- The opening event will be hosted on 10 October 2021.
- Registration will be open until *31 October 2021*.
- Six winners will be awarded cash prizes (2 x 4.096€, 2 x 2.048€, 2 x
1.024€) and a trip to Brussels.
- The competition will take place online. The Award Ceremony will be in
Brussels.
Graphic by Lisa Schmidt [2], CC-BY-SA 4.0 [3]
The YH4F competition includes an online opening day to welcome everyone
on board, in a kick-off event on Sunday 10 October, 5pm CEST. The FSFE
will present the competition and answer questions. Please find more
information on how to join at yh4f.org [4].
=== Coding ===
On Monday 1 November 2021, a five-month coding phase starts and the
participants focus on coding until March 2022. Participants may bring
all their imagination to the competition; they may code any type of
software they want, as long as it is Free Software. The software project
can be a stand-alone program written from scratch, or you can modify or
combine existing programs. Everything is welcome! The participants will
have the chance to briefly follow each other’s work and exchange ideas.
=== Evaluation ===
After the participants submit their programs, an evaluation phase is
carried out by Free Software experts. Our jury members [5] excel in
software development; among them are Neil McGovern, Executive Director
of the GNOME Foundation, and Claudia Müller-Birn, Professor for Human-
Centered Computing at the Freie Universität Berlin.
=== Awards ===
The winners will be invited to receive their awards during a trip to
Brussels in June 2022. The 2-day trip includes the Award Ceremony and
social activities where the winners will have the chance to get to know
each other better.
Graphic by Lisa Schmidt [6], CC-BY-SA 4.0 [7]
We are dedicated to offering an inclusive environment in the YH4F, and
we would like to encourage people of all genders to join! We will make
sure that everyone will enjoy the process and will leave this
competition with added knowledge and a smile. The YH4F is made possible
thanks to the kind support of Reinhard Wiesemann, Linuxhotel, and
Vielrespektzentrum.
At the website yh4f.org [8] you can find all related information, such
as the process, the eligibility criteria, and FAQs [9]. You can also use
the illustrations in our dedicated media package [10] when sharing the
news of the competition.
Discuss this [11]
1: http://yh4f.org/
2: https://mullana.de/
3: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
4: http://yh4f.org/
5: https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/jury.en.html
6: https://mullana.de/
7: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
8: http://yh4f.org/
9: https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/faq.en.html
10: https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/media.en.html
11: https://community.fsfe.org/t/744
== 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 understand how Free
Software contributes to freedom, transparency and self-determination. We
enhance 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.
https://fsfe.org
= Public bodies fail: Volunteers have to sacrifice free time to make CovPass app available to all =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210830-01.en.html ]
After the successful liberation of the German Corona tracing app from
Google services last year, volunteers once more have to step in to take
over the government's task in order to make the CovPass app available to
everyone.
With the CovPass app, the EU digital COVID certificate for Corona
vaccination can be used on smartphones. Until today, it was only
available on Apple, Huawai and Google app stores due to proprietary
dependencies. The support team of the CovPass app also argued that the
app cannot be published in other app stores due to security reasons and
to prevent misuse. This argumentation is not only misleading and wrong,
as we have already seen with other Corona apps, but prevents the use of
many Corona apps for people who value privacy and software freedom on
their devices. A group of volunteers worked heavily in the past weeks to
make this app available to everyone and released it today on F-Droid, a
Free Software app store. [1]
To do so, the volunteers also removed proprietary Google libraries which
are not necessary for the app to function. This additional work could
have been prevented if the CovPass developers (who are paid with public
funds) would not include such unnecessary proprietary libraries from the
beginning. Furthermore, the company developing CovPass was unsupportive
towards external developers, which increased the difficulty for the
volunteers to contribute improvements. Because of this, improvements
which would have required little effort by the original developers
turned out to be a difficult task for volunteers. A positive example is
the COVID Certificate, the official app for storing and presenting Swiss
COVID certificates. It was developed by the Federal Office of
Information Technology, Systems and Telecommunication (FOITT) on behalf
of the Federal Office of Public Health, and the developers made sure to
include the app in the Free Software app store F-Droid themselves.
Felix C. Stegerman, software developer and part of the volunteers group
that worked on the CovPass app: "I want to make sure that everyone can
use publicly financed apps so we can tackle the pandemic. It is sad that
the processes of some of those publicly financed apps scare off external
contributions instead of working together on improvements. More
administrations should follow the example of the developers of the Swiss
COVID Certificate app." Matthias Kirschner, President of the Free
Software Foundation Europe expresses: "One more time volunteers are
taking over governments' and administrations' tasks to make Corona apps
available to everyone. The FSFE thanks @jugendhacker, @mythsunwind,
@rugk, @tzugen, Felix C. Stegerman and Marcus Hoffmann for their crucial
work in tackling the pandemic. But it should not be on volunteers to do
this job: we urge the government to quickly adapt its practices and make
sure everyone can use such apps without any restrictions from the start.
Furthermore, if ensured that solutions are published as Free Software,
they can be adjusted and reused by other institutions around the world."
Since the beginning of the Corona crisis, the FSFE has demanded that all
apps released to tackle the crisis must be Free Software. Only Free
Software offers enough transparency to validate complete data protection
and compliant use; allowing trust to be established. Also, global
problems need global solutions, and it is only Free Software that
enables global code development in a legally safe and cooperative
environment. Any proprietary solution will inevitably lead to countless
isolated solutions and thereby waste energy and time. Besides global
cooperation, Free Software licences allow sharing of code in any
jurisdiction and for every device.
Discuss this [2]
1: https://f-droid.org/packages/de.rki.covpass.app/
2: https://community.fsfe.org/t/720
== 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 understand how Free
Software contributes to freedom, transparency and self-determination. We
enhance 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.
https://fsfe.org
Press kit graphics for reuse:
* https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/757e1cb6599c1e9f76b202fa52033a73.jpg
* https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/53aeebdafa0a0c83324dcafc1e4bef1c.png
= FSFE: 20 years of empowering people to control technology =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210721-01.en.html ]
Marking twenty years of the FSFE, we highlight the importance of
software freedom in Europe and important accomplishments since 2001. We
shed light on our community with a birthday page where you can find
community interviews and videos. People are invited to celebrate with us
and share their own stories.
Long before the first smartphone was introduced, it was evident to the
FSFE's founders that it is the people who should be in control of
technology and not vice versa. In 2001, Free Software experts around
Europe therefore created [1] the Free Software Foundation Europe. 20
years later, we successfully concentrate our daily work on three main
pillars [2] to help software freedom thrive in Europe: public awareness,
policy advocacy, and legal support.
== Some highlights of the last 20 years ==
In 2021, the FSFE looks back on a successful history with major
successes in the public, legal, and policy fields. For example in 2005,
when our intense campaigning [3] and collaboration with other
organisations persuaded the European Parliament to vote [4] against
Software Patents. Or two years later, when the European Court of Justice
aligned with the FSFE, requiring Microsoft to publish interoperability
information [5]. During that time, we saw that it was needed to help
Free Software developers by clarifying the legal aspects of their work,
such as the enforcement in case of license violations. This led to the
FSFE starting to work with Free Software legal advocates and
practitioners for legal initiatives in 2006.
Meanwhile, the FSFE maintains the world's largest professional network
on legal issues related to Free Software [6]. The FSFE's legal experts
on this network help with concrete licensing consultancy. To this end in
2017 we also created the highly successful REUSE [7] initiative to
provide a set of recommendations that make licensing Free Software
projects easier for developers. REUSE has been adopted by well known
projects such as the German Corona Warn App and the KDE.
Since its founding, the FSFE has been committed to running public
campaigns and helping people to understand the benefits of Free
Software. As early as 2012, we helped users to overcome software
restrictions in their phones with the launch of our 'Free Your Android'
campaign [8]. Two years earlier we introduced "I Love Free Software Day"
[9] which is celebrated around the globe every year on 14 February. In
2017, we launched the extraordinarily successful 'Public Money? Public
Code!' campaign [10], convincing several public administrations to
change their IT strategy. The accompanying open letter [11] has been
signed by over 200 civil society organisations, 31.000 individuals, and
several public administrations like the city of Barcelona and the
Swedish JobTech Development center.
== FSFE20 campaign: handing over the mic to our community ==
Of course, all these accomplishments can only give a glimpse of the
impact of the FSFE and our activities in the last 20 years. They do not
tell how all these successes are the result of our large community that
we can rely on. To at least shed light on some of them we created the
FSFE20 campaign [12] this year, where we hand over the mic to our
community.
We have contacted people who paved the way of the FSFE since its
beginning, such as long term contributors and past staffers. In a series
of interviews we discuss the progress of the FSFE as well as
technological topics. Every person who is involved in the FSFE has
unique memories, expertise, and hopes for the future. They are all part
of the story of 20 Years FSFE.
So far we interviewed Georg Greve [13], founder president of the FSFE;
Reinhard Müller [14], long-term volunteer and former Financial Officer
of the FSFE; Fernanda Weiden [15], former Vice President of FSFE and
founding member of FSF Latin America; and Torsten Grote [16], Free
Software developer and long time volunteer in the FSFE.
And this is just the beginning. We will conduct several more interviews
to shed light on 20 Years FSFE. In addition, this autumn we want to
publish another dedicated birthday page whose content is entirely made
from our community contributions. You will find more on this and the
interviews on our birthday page [17]! Besides these interviews, you will
also find a birthday video from science-fiction author Cory Doctorow and
one by our current president Matthias Kirschner alongside information on
how people can join the celebrations.
=== A message from our President Matthias Kirschner ===
Although technology is ever-changing, our values have been consistent
throughout the last twenty years. The core of our work is, in a
nutshell: educating people on the nature of Free Software, highlighting
its political implications, and simplifying its legal preconditions.
Matthias Kirschner, President of the FSFE since 2015, explains this in
his own words in a short video on our birthday page:
https://fsfe.org/activities/20years/20years.en.html
1: https://lists.fsfe.org/pipermail/press-release/2001q2/000003.html
2: https://fsfe.org/about/ourwork.en.html
3: https://lists.fsfe.org/pipermail/press-release/2004q2/000057.html
4: https://lists.fsfe.org/pipermail/press-release/2005q3/000109.html
5: https://fsfe.org/activities/ms-vs-eu/ms-vs-eu.en.html
6: https://fsfe.org/activities/ftf/ln.en.html
7: https://reuse.software/
8: https://fsfe.org/activities/android/index.en.html
9: https://fsfe.org/activities/ilovefs/index.en.html
10: https://publiccode.eu/
11: https://publiccode.eu/openletter/
12: https://fsfe.org/activities/20years/20years.en.html
13: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210204-01.en.html
14: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210305-01.en.html
15: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210420-01.en.html
16: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210625-01.en.html
17: https://fsfe.org/activities/20years/20years.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 understand how Free
Software contributes to freedom, transparency and self-determination. We
enhance 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.
https://fsfe.org
= REUSE Booster helps Free Software projects with licensing and copyright =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210609-01.en.html ]
REUSE is a set of best practices to make Free Software licensing much
easier. It helps developers with simple guidelines to declare their
copyright and conditions for code re-use and provides help documents and
low-threshold tools to get the job done. With REUSE Booster, we start to
give direct support for Free Software projects.
Since its beginning, the aim of REUSE [1], an initiative led by the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), has been to make licensing and
copyright drastically easier for developers, especially those without
legal experience and assistance. It is fair to say that this goal has
already been achieved.
REUSE offers standardised ways to mark all files in a project with their
respective license and copyright. For developers, creating Free Software
and communicating their conditions for code re-use are easier than ever
before. REUSE offers a tutorial and FAQ, as well as the REUSE helper
tool and the API to automate once manual processes. We are continuously
working on improving all of these. But we won't stop here.
== Introducing REUSE Booster ==
With REUSE Booster, we go one step further. We invite Free Software
projects to register for getting help [2] by the FSFE's legal experts.
As the name suggests, this will boost the process of adopting the best
practices as well as general understanding of licensing and copyright.
Accepted projects will be onboarded in a kick-off workshop in which the
process and typical questions are clarified. Afterwards, each project
will receive an individual evaluation that reveals potential challenges
on their path to full REUSE compliance. If unforeseen problems arise,
there will be direct contact persons that can provide guidance. Last but
not least we will share practical suggestions on how to maintain a
stable licensing status.
The FSFE already provides similar support for all projects in the Next
Generation Internet Zero (NGI0) project [3]. As consortium partners, we
help developers to resolve licensing and copyright uncertainties and
avoid legal pitfalls. Furthermore, many of them adopt the REUSE best
practices to streamline their compliance. We now build on this practical
experience and enable other projects to benefit from it. This is made
possible by REUSE sponsors [4] like Siemens and individual support by
FSFE volunteers and supporters [5].
If your Free Software project wants to get support to become REUSE
compliant, register [6] before 8 July 2021. Please also spread the word
and inform other developers about this opportunity.
Discuss this [7]
1: https://reuse.software
2: https://reuse.software/booster
3: https://fsfe.org/activities/ngi/index.en.html
4: https://reuse.software/supporters/
5: https://my.fsfe.org/support
6: https://reuse.software/booster
7: https://community.fsfe.org/t/698
== 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 understand how Free
Software contributes to freedom, transparency and self-determination. We
enhance 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.
https://fsfe.org
= Telecom reform in Austria: consumers must benefit from Router Freedom =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210506-01.en.html ]
Austria is reforming its telecommunications law to incorporate the new
European directives on electronic communications. The Austrian
government has now an unique opportunity to leverage router freedom at
the legislative level to protect consumers and the market.
It should go without saying that anyone should be able to freely choose
and use a router and modem of their choice for Internet connection, like
one does with smartphones and other devices. Router Freedom [1] refers
to the right that consumers of any Internet Service Provider (ISP) have
to choose and use a private modem and router instead of equipment
supplied by the ISP. This right is consolidated in the EU by the Net
Neutrality Regulation [2]. However, as part of a major reform of the
telecommunications sector in Europe (the EECC directive), new rules are
being introduced that may have a negative impact on Router Freedom,
because they affect the status of routers being considered as terminal
equipment.
Like other European countries [3] Austria is in a process of
implementing the reform of the telecom sector. The Austrian government
has proposed the draft [4] (German) of the new Telecommunications Act
(TKG) with provisions affecting the ability consumers have to use their
own device to connect to the Internet. Austria has with this reform an
unique opportunity to leverage consumers' rights by guaranteeing Router
Freedom on the legislative level, fostering an open market.
== Router Freedom and consumer rights: a perfect match ==
Routers and modems are gatekeepers of most online activity. Consumers
need to be able to pick a device that allows them to use security and
data protection features which fulfil their requirements. Most ISPs only
provide a few router models. This raises risks to their consumers'
freedom and security. For instance, if major problems or security holes
appear, an enormous number of users would be affected at once. The lack
of Router Freedom compromises consumers' privacy and the security of
most sensitive personal data.
On the other hand, Router Freedom decreases the probability that the
router market will be dominated by only one or a few products or
manufacturers. Therefore, only with Router Freedom consumers' digital
sovereignty is properly assured and the market remains open for all
manufacturers.
=== Router Freedom is in danger ===
The FSFE and the Austrian organisation epicenter.works [5] urge the
Austrian government to include Router Freedom in the telecom law as a
standard, consumers' IT-security, privacy and data protection cannot be
traded off in favour of ISPs' commercial practices. Router Freedom
should be consolidated in the reform text.
As reported by epicenter.works [6] in February 2021 (German), under the
draft of the new Austrian TKG, the decision on Router Freedom will be
entirely delegated to the national regulatory agency (RTR) [7] instead
of consolidating this right in the law text. In extreme cases, this
could lead to rules [8] that could completely block consumers' rights to
use their own equipment.
Countries like Germany, Italy and the Netherlands have passed laws
enforcing Router Freedom in the last few years. More recently, in the
context of the EU telecom reform, Greece [9] has preliminary decided on
Router Freedom with the regulator proposing it as a standard choice.
=== How people can help protecting Router Freedom ===
The engagement from consumers is fundamental for protecting Router
Freedom in Austria and the EU. The FSFE has prepared an Activity Package
[10] for individuals and organisations who want to communicate with
regulators and decision makers of their countries and take a stand for
Router Freedom. Besides, we want to know more about consumer experience
with Router Freedom in Austria, so we can bring the issues to the
attention of decision makers. Please participate in the Router Freedom
survey [11]. It will take only a few minutes!
Discuss this [12]
1: https://fsfe.org/activities/routers/routers.en.html
2: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2015.310.…
3: https://fsfe.org/news/2020/news-20200601-01.en.html
4: https://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XXVII/ME/ME_00082/index.shtml
5: https://epicenter.works/
6: https://epicenter.works/document/3122
7: https://www.rtr.at
8: https://fsfe.org/news/2020/news-20200601-01.en.html
9: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210505-01.en.html
10: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210330-01.en.html
11: https://survey.fsfe.org/index.php/628449
12: https://community.fsfe.org/t/668
== 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 understand how Free
Software contributes to freedom, transparency and self-determination. We
enhance 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.
https://fsfe.org
= Bundestag Election 2021: Demands for a Digitally Sovereign Society =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210427-01.en.html ]
Digital civil society organisations make four demands for a digitally
sovereign society to politicians for the 2021 federal election. Among
them is the Free Software Foundation Europe, which works to ensure that
software developed with public money shall be published under a Free
Software licence.
On 1 April 2020, civil society organisations working for an independent
digital infrastructure and free access to knowledge called on
politicians: Learn from the crisis - strengthen digital civil society!
[1] (German) In an open letter, the undersigned organisations also made
concrete recommendations for action. However, far too little has
happened since then. The past year has made it clear that politics and
public administration are overwhelmed with their own digital
transformation and are setting priorities in digital policy that do not
meet the needs of society. We are far from a digitally sovereign
society.
That is why a broad spectrum of organisations, including the Free
Software Foundation Europe, has once again come together at
digitalezivilgesellschaft.org [2] to support politics with their
expertise. With four demands, the network shows how digitisation can
succeed for a digitally sovereign society - and calls on the parties in
light of the federal elections to make digitisation for the common good
a central topic.
=== Four demands to the federal government ===
1. Digital Sovereignty: politicians must anchor the digital sovereignty
of society as the highest maxim in digital policy. Instead of a
digital ministry, we need a mission for the coming legislative period
that elevates digital sovereignty to a guiding principle and is
drafted and evaluated together with representatives from civil
society, science and business.
2. Participation and Transparency: civil society must finally be given
the same opportunities as business and science to contribute its
expertise. This is achieved through a civil society quota in
political advisory bodies, communication and transparency on
procedures of political decision-making processes, legally defined
deadlines for consultations as well as machine-readable
documentation.
3. Public Money, Public Good: publicly funded solutions must be
accessible to all under a free licence so that no knowledge is lost
or problems are solved twice. This concerns software: We want legal
foundations that require software developed with public money for
public administrations to be published under a Free Software Licence
(also know as Open Source). If public money is involved, the code
should also be public! (Public Money? Public Code!) [3]. But also
public administration data (Open Data) as well as free knowledge and
open educational materials (Open Educational Resources).
4. Sustainable Digitisation: digitisation can only succeed if the
development of digital infrastructure is economically and socially
viable. To this end, diversity in digitisation and the development
and maintenance of secure, decentralised digital infrastructure for
society must be promoted in the long term.
== Launch event on 5 May 2021 ==
At the launch event, Julia Reda (former member of the EU Parliament),
Henning Tillmann (software developer and co-chair of D64) and Julia
Kloiber (co-founder Superrr Lab) will discuss these four demands on 5
May 2021 from 18:00 to 19:30. The panel will be moderated by Katja Jäger
(betterplace lab). Afterwards, all participants will have the
opportunity to exchange ideas on solutions, measures and calls for
action in four thematic rooms. FSFE's Alexander Sander will moderate the
room on "Public Money? Public Code!". Further information and
registration for the launch event will be available soon on
digitalezivilgesellschaft.org [4].
Signatory organisations of digitalezivilgesellschaft.org: Free Software
Foundation Europe, Superrr Lab, gut.org, betterplace lab, Social
Entrepreneurship Netzwerk Deutschland e.V. (SEND), Open Knowledge
Foundation Deutschland e.V., Liquid Democracy e.V., iRights.Lab, Forum
InformatikerInnen für Frieden und gesellschaftliche Verantwortung e.V.
(FIfF), Chaos Computer Club, Bundesverband Smart City e.V., mediale
pfade, Stiftung Erneuerbare Freiheit, Center for the Cultivation of
Technology, neuland21 e.V., Arbeitskreis Digitalisierung der BUNDjugend,
Verstehbahnhof, Bundesnetzwerk Bürgerschaftliches Engagement, Wikimedia
Deutschland e. V., Stiftung Neue Verantwortung, D64, epicenter.works
e.V., Digitale Gesellschaft e.V., Ashoka Deutschland e. V., Progressives
Zentrum e. V.
Discuss this [5]
1: https://lists.fsfe.org/pipermail/press-release-de/2020q2/000323.html
2: https://digitalezivilgesellschaft.org/
3: https://publiccode.eu/
4: https://digitalezivilgesellschaft.org/
5: https://community.fsfe.org/t/663
== 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.
https://fsfe.org
