The FSFE empowers users to control technology with its diverse activities and concrete engagement for software freedom. Follow us and make sure to receive regular updates and deeper insights on our various channels.
To keep up with our latest news, subscribe to our RSS feed and visit the different media channels.
Öppna skolplattformen was developed out of the frustration of some parents in Stockholm when they noticed some irregularities and security issues in the proprietary school platform provided by the city. The original app cost the city one billion Swedish krona (around €100 million) and it turned out to be badly flawed.
After many iterations and amendments, the European Parliament adopted the Digital Markets Act by 642 votes in favour, 8 votes against, and 46 abstentions. With this vote the principle of Device Neutrality is introduced. At the same time, the Parliament missed the chance to introduce strong requirements for interoperability based on Open Standards.
On December 15, the Digital Markets Act, the EU's comprehensive regulatory package for internet platforms, will go through plenary voting at the European Parliament. The FSFE calls for consolidating Device Neutrality to enable fair and non-discriminatory use of Free Software in digital devices.
We are looking for an office assistant for 20-25 hours per week in our Berlin office. As part of our office management team you will organise the FSFE's day-to-day operations. Your job will be to provide clerical support to our staff and coordinate daily administrative activities.
In our sixth birthday publication we are interviewing Vincent Lequertier about crucial aspects of artificial intelligence, such as its transparency, its connection to Open Science, and questions of copyright. Vincent also recommends further readings and responds to 20 Years FSFE.
We are looking for a working student to support our work to empower people to control technology. The person will work 10-15 hours per week and will maintain and improve the FSFE's websites. Applicants have to be enrolled in a German university and can work remotely.
Can organisations with limited resources be digitally sovereign and still provide modern services? It is not trivial, but the FSFE proves it's possible. Take a deep dive with us into our infrastructure to learn how we run all the different services within the FSFE and cope with numerous challenges. A story non only for techies.
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".
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.
Thanks to the support and hard work of our volunteers, our Public Money? Public Code! brochure is now available in Spanish. In this event we will explore the already implemented good practices, but also the challenges that lie ahead to modernise the public digital infrastructure with public code in Spain. The event will be held in Spanish.
In our fifth birthday publication we are interviewing Nico Rikken, and we focus on the FSFE Netherlands country team. Through our discussion you can also get a glimpse of how FSFE country teams work. And if there is no FSFE team in your country, this is a great opportunity for you to see how one forms.
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.
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!
Cancelling of large events, limitations in meetings, and travel restrictions: none of this stopped the FSFE from advancing software freedom in 2021. From Router Freedom to new podcast episodes to co-organising the Legal and Policy devroom at FOSDEM, we keep empowering people to control technology.
Watch our new video demonstrating how different practices in software lead to different models of society. Software is intangible, but its results often are not. The decisions we make about what type of software we use have real-life effects. There is a type of software that benefits the common good, and that is Free Software.
Latvia's reform of the telecom law weakens Router Freedom in the country. The national regulator, SPRK, has allowed ISPs to restrict the use of personal routers on the grounds of "technological necessity". We explain why this is problematic and what impact it can have for end-users' rights.
As a contribution to the revision of the EU ecodesign directive and to help understand the impact of software obsolescence, the FSFE publishes a study on the sustainability of software. The findings of the study culminate in five core demands for a more sustainable digitisation, covering the interplay of devices, software, and infrastructure.
The FSFE's translators team has been working tirelessly throughout the second year of Covid-19 to enable people all across Europe to read and learn about Free Software in their native language. Since the beginning of 2021 we have had over 230 new translations into 9 different languages, not counting the English originals.
The FSFE is organizing a Legal Education Day on Saturday, 6 November 2021. This online event is open for all to attend. It will include talks and Q&A sessions on the basics of copyright law, licenses, and other legal topics. The event will help Free Software developers to understand these legal topics so that their software projects can reach their full potential.
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.
The 2021 federal election in Germany (26.09.2021) is just around the corner. Digital sovereignty, through the use of Free Software, is at the centre of our exchange with the political parties, which we have also conducted via our organisations' election questions to the parties. We are pleased that, in a further step, we were able to talk personally with candidates from all parties with a chance of participating in the next government and ask them in more depth what they and their party would like to do to advance digitisation in Germany with Free software.
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.
The Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has published new rules that will move Router Freedom forward in the Netherlands. Within 6 months ISPs have to comply and offer the option for consumers and companies to connect a modem or router of their own choice. The FSFE acknowledges this decision as a major win for consumer rights.
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.
In the context of the telecom reform in the EU, Finland has assured Router Freedom in the country. The FSFE acknowledges this as a major win for end-users' rights. We interviewed Klaus Nieminen, a representative of the Finnish network regulator Traficom, to learn more about this decision.
In our fourth birthday publication we are interviewing Torsten Grote, who explored Free Software alternatives on smartphones for the FSFE as early as 2012. We reminisce about the emergence of our Free Your Android campaign and discuss with Torsten which options are available for liberating our phones today.
The Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) debates in public, as it should. But as not everyone has the opportunity to go to Den Hague and sit in the gallery, the Tweede Kamer released an app to follow the debates via livestream. Unfortunately, this app not is released under a Free Software licence. Our Dutch volunteer Jos van den Oever wanted to participate but was not able to run the app on his device and got active.
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.
Prolific Sci-fi author Cory Doctorow envisions the world in 2041 and informs us that we were able to solve major world problems thanks to collective work and sharing of knowledge. Doctorow is thanking the FSFE for our 20 years ahead contribution of fostering freedom and disestablishing monopolies.
It is no secret that the FSFE's activities are only possible with the priceless help of our contributors and supporters around Europe. In return we support local engagement financially, with our expertise, information material and networks. To help formalize this process, we run our next call for FSFE community projects.
In response to the recent mass resignation of volunteer staff from Freenode, an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network for Free Software communities, the FSFE is migrating its IRC presence to Libera Chat, a new IRC network with a similar focus founded by former Freenode staff.
"The Netherlands is losing grip on internet security, and is therefore in danger of losing control over democracy, the rule of law and the economic innovation system." This warning comes from the Cyber Security Council, a national and independent advisory body of the Dutch government and business community with members from the government, industry and academia.
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.
EU member states are updating their legislation and implementing rules on Router Freedom. Greece and Germany have taken the first steps. But while Greece has focused on interests of end-users, Germany has moved in the opposite direction. The next months are crucial for Router Freedom in Europe and local participation is paramount.
With the FSFE in its 3rd and final year of its involvement in the European Commission's NGI0 Initiative, the feedback of our work in this area has been positive. Today, we give you updates of what the team has been working on with this initiative, and share the feedback from various developers on how we've managed to help them.
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.
In our third birthday publication we interview Fernanda Weiden - co-founder of the FSF Latin America and former Vice President of the FSFE - about the early starts of Free Software in Latin America, nowadays use of Free Software in Big Tech and about support of diversity in different communities.
Finally! Spring is here, hot weather is coming, and it’s sale time in the FSFE shop! That's why we offer all our coloured T-shirts, magnets, pins, gym sacks and children shirts at a reduced price for a short period.
With a groundbreaking resolution, Dortmund has committed itself to the use of Free Software. With an overwhelming, cross-faction majority, the city council has paved the way for "Public Money? Public Code!” In the future, software developed or commissioned by the administration will be made available to the general public.
In the context of reform of telecommunication laws, EU member states are currently implementing legislation with direct impact on Router Freedom. The FSFE has launched an activity package for organisations and individuals to raise awareness and empower them to advocate for users' device sovereignty in their countries.
We learnt through a public announcement that Richard Stallman is again part of the board of directors of the Free Software Foundation, one of our independent sister organisations. We disapprove of this step that came without any message of remorse or willingness to change.
This year we celebrated the 11th edition of the "I Love Free Software Day". Every year on 14 February we show our love for Free Software and say thank you to the people working for software freedom. To all of you who took part and celebrated the "I Love Free Software Day", we - the Free Software Foundation Europe - would like to thank you so much.
More and more administrations are following the principle "Public Money? Public Code!" and are turning to Free Software. In Switzerland, the Free Software "Caluma" has been used very successfully for several years to manage the administration of construction applications.
FOSDEM, the biggest annual Free Software event in Europe, took place again this year on the first weekend in February. As we do every year, we organised a community event before FOSDEM and this year we also co-organised the Legal and Policy Devroom for the first time.
In 2021, the Free Software Foundation Europe turns 20. This is a moment that we want to use to celebrate our community with a series of publications. In our second publication we interview Reinhard Müller who has contributed as a volunteer since 2002 in various roles from local activities to the European core team.
In a historic judgment in Italy, in a case initiated by FSFE supporter Luca Bonissi, Lenovo was ordered to pay 20,000 euros in damages for abusive behaviour in denying to refund the price of a pre-installed Windows licence. In a motivating gesture for the Free Software cause, Luca donated 15,000 euros to the FSFE.
It is no secret that the FSFE's activities are only possible with the priceless help of our contributors and supporters around Europe. In return we support local engagement financially, with our expertise, information material and networks. To help formalize this process, we run our next call for FSFE community projects.
Today on the "I Love Free Software Day" we want to celebrate and share our love for Free Software. With this special day we say thank you to all the Free Software friends who supported, developed, campaigned, translated and worked for Free Software. On 14 February, let us show our love and thank all those people involved in Free Software.
We are looking for a person with a communications background to support us in our running and upcoming projects, including our upcoming digital sustainability campaign. The person will work full-time in our Berlin office.
In 2021 the Free Software Foundation Europe turns 20. This is a moment that we want to use to celebrate our community with a series of publications, both those who have accompanied us in the past and those are still doing so. In our first publication we look back where everything got started and have conducted an interview with the FSFE's first president, Georg C. F. Greve.
As every year, the FSFE will be present at FOSDEM, the biggest annual Free Software event in Europe. In 2021, the FSFE is honored to co-organise the Legal and Policy Devroom at FOSDEM. We are excited and look forward to presenting you an interesting programme throughout the whole weekend.
People around the world work hard to maintain Free Software and we rely on Free Software to keep us connected. On this year's I Love Free Software Day let us think about the developers, contributors, designers, those who promoted the use of Free Software and many more who spend their time to share, improve and create Free Software. On 14 February we show our love and thank those who work for Free Software.
We gave feedback to the EU consultation about "Energy labelling of mobile phones and tablets". Access to hardware, permission to replace the operating system of the device, and publication of the code are key to make phones last longer.
We are looking for a person with a strong technical background to support projects with software engineering and expertise. The person will work part-time, either in our Berlin office or remotely.