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Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to control technology.
Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our lives. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use, understand, adapt, and share software. These rights help support other fundamental rights like freedom of speech, freedom of press, and privacy. Learn more...
News
The FSFE symposium on “Public Money? Public Code!“ makes it clear: Procurement of and investment in Free Software (also known as Open Source) are fundamental for innovation and digital sovereignty. Only Free Software can reduce the dependencies of public administration.
Community
Software is a major component of modern life, affecting large parts of our lives. When software is embedded in vehicles, the ability to control our digital technology becomes even more important in the name of public safety. Despite that, a recent court case in Poland highlights how the law, and legal processes, can sometimes work against that.
News
Despite initial promising steps, the European Commission’s measures on Apple’s compliance with interoperability procedures under the Digital Markets Act fall short. The less stringent obligations on API documentation and long deadlines for interoperability solutions will impact how Free Software projects get interoperability from Apple.
Webinar: Free Software and Open Educational Resources in Schools – Let's talk? (online)
17:00 – 19:00 UTC
16 April 2025
SAVE THE DATE! MERGE-it 2025 in Verona, Italy
09:0020 – 17:00 UTC
22 June 2025
I believe Free Software needs a voice at the national as well as the EU level in politics: Software does not exist in an isolated bubble, it's heavily dependent on the ecosystem that it lives in. In my opinion Free Software as well as open standards are key to creating a society that provides equal access.
Isabel Drost-Fromm (Software Engineer and Member of the Apache Software Foundation)
I'm a supporter of the FSFE as I want to sustain their work to promote Free Software. As a person that uses computers quite heavily every day, I'm very concerned with the current trend of locking down computing which is taking control away from the users. This is increasingly problematic since people's lives are more and more dependent on computers for personal communications, managing finances, employment, etc. Free Software is a necessary requirement for retaining control over your computing.
Think about these claims:
"It's better if we control how you may or may not use your tools."
"It's better if you don't know how your tools work."
"It's better if we forbid you to share your tools."
"It's better if you are not allowed to improve your tools."
If you find those as absurd as I do, you understand why I'm a Free Software activist.
