= 172 public institutions removed non-free advertisement =
[permanent URL: www.fsfe.org/news/2010/news-20101217-01.en.html]
Only one month after the letters for the PDFreaders campaign of FSFE were sent, 172 public institutions have removed advertisements for proprietary PDF readers from their websites. Particularly outstanding were the responses from Croatia [1], Russia [2] and Slovenia [3]. In Croatia almost all reported institutions deleted the advertisement. Half of those contacted in Russia and Slovenia fulfilled FSFE's request.
"Several institutions replied stating that they agree with our concerns [4], and that they will modify their websites", said campaign manager Matthias Kirschner. Amongst those are a number of ministries, parliaments, law enforcement agencies, and the Belgian Prime Minister's chancellery.
Campaigns like this are made possible by a community of volunteers [5], and financial supporters [6]. FSFE is following-up with the remaining organisations [7] in order to get the remaining advertisements removed.
1. http://www.fsfe.org/campaigns/pdfreaders/buglist.html#HR 2. http://www.fsfe.org/campaigns/pdfreaders/buglist.html#RU 3. http://www.fsfe.org/campaigns/pdfreaders/buglist.html#SI 4. http://www.fsfe.org/campaigns/pdfreaders/letter.html 5. http://www.fsfe.org/contribute/index.html 6. http://www.fsfe.org/donate/donate.html 7. http://www.fsfe.or/campaigns/pdfreaders/buglist.html
= About the PDFreaders campaign =
What would you think about a sign on the highway saying “You need a Volkswagen to drive on this road. Contact your Volkswagen dealer for a gratis test drive – Your Government”? When it comes to software that opens PDF files, many public sector organisations do this every day. With the pdfreaders.org campaign FSFE has turned the spotlight on government organisations who behave in this way, exposing how frequent such advertisements for non-free software are. With the help of activists across Europe, FSFE is contacting these organisations to explain them how to improve their websites so that they respect our freedom.
http://fsfe.org/campaigns/pdfreaders/pdfreaders.en.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.