News
News Archive for 2023
The FSFE empowers users to control technology with its diverse activities and concrete engagement for
software freedom. Follow us and make sure
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20 December 2023
Companies increasingly aim to control how users interact with their
content online, threatening user freedom. As more companies crack down
on browser extensions and other third-party software used by internet
users to customise their experiences, two recent German court cases on
adblockers could strengthen the legal case for user control over
technology.

14 December 2023
In recent years we have focused on the policy and legal aspects of Router Freedom. Now, with the help of our Netherlands volunteer team, we are publishing the Router Freedom tech wiki, which provides information on the necessary steps you need to use and connect your own router. We need your help to get it printed!

11 December 2023
We are looking for a motivated intern to support the FSFE’s policy activities and contribute to our work to empower people to control technology. The person will work 35 hours per week with our team in the FSFE Berlin office for a period of six months.

07 December 2023
Pupils all over the world are learning about the story of "Ada &
Zangemann - A Tale of Software, Skateboards and Raspberry Ice Cream": it
is encouraging to see how new generations are inspired to start coding,
and to write to Zangemann about his behaviour. Below a message from our
president Matthias Kirschner to our readers.
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01 December 2023
The Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and
Telecommunications, RTR, has decided not to regulate the network
operators with regard to Router Freedom, allowing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to impose their
equipment on consumers. For RTR, routers configured in “bridge mode” is
synonymous with terminal equipment freedom. The FSFE laments this
decision as a missed opportunity for Net Neutrality in Austria.

16 November 2023
Abierto el plazo de inscripción para la edición de 2024 de Youth Hacking 4 Freedom, el concurso de programación para jóvenes europeos. Esta competición ofrece a los adolescentes la oportunidad de desarrollar su propio proyecto, individualmente o en equipo, entablar nuevas amistades por toda Europa y ganar hasta 4.096 euros.

15 November 2023
On 14 November, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) handed
over the Open Letter “The right to install any software on any device"
to Tabea Rößner, Chair of the Digital Affairs Committee at the German
Bundestag. The letter aims to enable a more sustainable use of
electronic products and devices in the European Union.

13 November 2023
Decision makers are meeting to agree on the final text of the
Interoperable Europe Act (IEA). There is a concerning wording related to
giving priority to Free Software when implementing interoperable
solutions and confusing criteria to do so. Overall, what could have
been a very ambitious initiative turned out to be another regulation
with ambiguous and problematic wording.

13 November 2023
The Belgian telecom regulator BIPT formally introduced Router Freedom. The decision encompasses all network types including fiber (FTTx) and the decision sets a deadline of twelve months for becoming compliant. The FSFE acknowledges this decision as a major win for consumer rights, and will monitor further implementation.
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10 November 2023
The founder of Nextcloud received the European SFS Award at SFSCON.
This recognition which was presented for the first time jointly by the
Linux User Group Bolzano and the Free Software Foundation Europe, went to "a tireless advocate of digital freedom as universal
right".

08 November 2023
We cannot wait to be in Bolzano for the South Tyrol Free Software
Conference (SFSCON) on 10 and 11 November. This two-day conference
brings together Free Software advocates, decision makers and the
general public at the gateway to the Dolomites. Our team will be there
with talks, side events and a booth. We are ready to talk to you, so
just drop by and say hello!

06 November 2023
The FSFE is back for the Chaos Communication Congress! Come and join us at the end of December in the "Bits & Bäume" habitat and end the year in a fun and chaos way attending interesting talks and making new friends! The Call for Participation ends on 11 November so hurry up!

02 November 2023
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) has adopted the REUSE
specification in some of its projects. We have talked to Tobias
Schlauch, research software engineer at the DLR, about the role of Free
Software for research and innovation, and the importance of clear
understanding and displaying of the legal information of software
projects. He highlights the special contributions that REUSE has to
offer for software development but also for research.

25 October 2023
More than 70 people came together, in Cologne on 22 September, to
get an insight into the Fediverse and to discuss the importance of
decentralised social networks for our society. If you were not able to
join our Fediverse Symposium or want to re-watch
the talks, we now have the German-language recordings on our PeerTube
instance for you!
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20 October 2023
In 2023, Software Freedom has been back on stage, while we have boosted
our activities for the coming generations with our children's book and
the coding competition for young Europeans. We have also continued to
bring our demands to lawmakers, helped projects to become REUSE
compliant, and shared many great moments with our community.

17 October 2023
A real-time plotter for microcontrollers; a classroom quiz platform; a
radio tool; a device that provides bags to pick up your dog's poo; a game
engine to help non-programmers develop their ideas; and a program to
search for a file on your computer by its hash. These are the six
projects that won the 2023 edition of Youth Hacking 4 Freedom.

11 October 2023
Both Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) and Software Freedom
Conservancy (SFC) are committed to defending and expanding software freedom
and the rights of people to use, understand, share and improve their software.

26 September 2023
Durante cuatro décadas la comunidad del Software Libre ha estado trabajando para
empoderar a los usuarios para que controlen la tecnología y para ayudar a nuestra
sociedad a entender cómo el Software Libre contribuye a la libertad, la transparencia y la
auto-determinación.

21 September 2023
The German Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) and the public IT
service provider Dataport are working on administrative workspaces to
enable digital sovereignty. But are both products Free Software? How
are they related? We asked the BMI and publish the answers here.
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20 September 2023
Speaking about Digital Public Infrastructures last week, EU
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pointed out that "the trick
is to build public digital infrastructure that is interoperable, open
to all and trusted". What exactly does this mean? What is required to
achieve such an accessible digital infrastructure that can help foster
innovation and allow cooperation on a global scale? What role does Free
Software play in such ambition?

15 September 2023
German network operators have requested the national regulator
Bundesnetzagentur to start procedures to exclude Router Freedom from
fiber networks. In a consultation, the FSFE picks apart all the telcos’
arguments and calls on the regulator to respect consumer rights.

07 September 2023
Join the first reading of the book 'Ada & Zangemann' in Italian! Celebrate with
us the Software Freedom Day 16 September listening to the story of Ada
while eating homemade ice cream.

06 September 2023
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is committed to empower
users to control technolgy to digital civil rights, transparency and
control over technology. It does this by promoting Free Software (also
known as Open Source Software). In addition, Free Software promotes
innovation and prevents vendor lock-in. Digital sovereignty is only
possible with Free Software.

31 August 2023
From 29 August the English version of the book "Ada & Zangemann - A
Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream" is available
internationally. The 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 realises how important it is
for her and others to control technology.
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29 August 2023
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), together with an
alliance of civil society and the Free Software industry, calls on the
German government to implement a sustainable digital policy and to
provide the necessary funds in the federal budget now.

25 August 2023
One of our favourite events was back this summer: Chaos Communication Camp 2023! This event brings together technologists, activists, and enthusiasts to discuss, share, and celebrate technology, privacy, and freedom in Brandenburg, Germany. This year, the Free Software Foundation Europe joined the campers as part of the 'Bits und Bäume' village.

24 August 2023
After the summer recess, EU institutions are resuming their
activities at the end of August. In the coming months, we expect to see
the adoption of legislation that could have an impact on Free
Software: the Cyber Resilience Act, the Product Liability Directive, the AI
Act, and the Interoperable Europe Act. What does all this legislation
mean for Free Software and its community?

15 August 2023
Have you heard about Free Software and you want to know more about
it? Are you already a Free Software advocate and do you want to help to bring
software freedom to our society? Then our paid internships are for you!
Learn by doing and gain knowledge and technical skills through an
internship with us.

07 August 2023
As users we sometimes face the issue of rooting our devices. We may
want to regain control of our
device or we may want to keep using a
device with an outdated operating system. But we are afraid of losing
our legal warranty. Let’s be clear: Just rooting your device and
installing new software will not void the statutory warranty.
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24 July 2023
The second edition of Youth Hacking 4 Freedom, the hacking
competition for young Europeans, has just ended. For the last six
months, the participants have worked on developing their own personal
Free Software projects.

19 July 2023
The European Parliament today voted on its position on the Cyber
Resilience Act (CRA). While the position improves on the Commission's
exemption to protect Free Software, it fails to introduce
a proper protection . We call on the institutions to put the burden of
liability only on those who significantly financially benefit from the
market, while protecting developers and non-profit work.

19 July 2023
Today the EU Parliament’s Committee responsible for the
Interoperable Europe Act has adopted its final position. It is a step
forward towards a more inclusive Interoperable Europe Board while it
introduces clearer indicators and statistics to monitor the progress of
the Act. This position must now be upheld during the upcoming
trilogue.

12 July 2023
Join our symposium in Cologne on September 22 to discuss the role of decentralised social media platforms in our society!

29 June 2023
La Comisión de Mercado Interior y Protección del Consumidor (IMCO, por
sus siglas del inglés) ha tomado hoy una decisión transcendental para la
protección de los desarrolladores de Software Libre en la Ley de
Ciberresiliencia (CRA, por sus siglas del inglés).
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29 June 2023
Los dos Comissiones de opinión del
PE, IMCO y LIBE, han adoptado hoy sus textos sobre la Ley de Europa
Interoperable (Interoperable Europe Board, en inglés). Aunque ambos
reconocen la importancia del Software Libre para esta legislación, la
inclusión de la comunidad del Software Libre en el Comité sigue siendo
incierta. La redacción sobre los procesos de supervisión y evaluación
va en la dirección correcta.

23 June 2023
El actual proyecto del Consejo sobre la Ley de Europa Interoperable
limita el Consejo de la Europa Interoperable (Interoperable Europe
Board, en inglés), excluyendo a las partes interesadas de contribuir a
una Europa más interoperable e innovadora. También hace falta una
redacción mejorada en el ámbito de la supervisión y la
presupuestación.

14 June 2023
El Parlamento Europeo votó hoy a favor de la Ley de IA con 499 votos a
favor, 28 en contra, y 93 abstenciones. Se han concedido garantías
al Software Libre; estas normas deberán ser ahora defendidas en el trílogo y transferidas a la Ley de
Ciberresiliencia y la Directiva de
Responsabilidad por Producto.

06 June 2023
A Free Software office and collaboration suite for the public sector is
one of the projects with which the German government aims to fulfil the
goals of the coalition agreement. But a closer look at the project
raises questions: Where is the source code? Who is responsible? What
happens to the public money involved? We asked the relevant ministry.

24 May 2023
El Comité Europeo de las Regiones aprobó su posicionamiento sobre la Ley
de Europea Interoperable. El cuerpo representativo de la UE ha
fallado a la
hora de reconocer la importancia que el Software Libre tiene para la
interoperabilidad y, por tanto, para la digitalización y la innovación.
Esto remarca la relevancia de la participación de la Comunidad del
Software Libre en el planificado Comité de Europa Interoperable.
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15 May 2023
A pan-European survey, run by the Free Software Foundation Europe,
has collected information from more than 1600 end-users and highlighted
several obstacles to Router Freedom, such as lack of freedom of choice,
provider lock-in and promotion of equipment running exclusively
proprietary software.

15 May 2023
In a comprehensive survey, end-users from all over Europe shared their experience about ISPs’ commercial
practices regarding terminal equipment and how Router Freedom is affected.

11 May 2023
Today the European Parliament's responsible committees voted by a large majority to protect Free Software in the AI regulation. The plenary is called upon to uphold the idea. Likewise, this principle must be anchored in the ongoing Cyber Resilience Act and Product Liability Directive and their upcoming votes.

11 May 2023
Youth Hacking 4 Freedom inspires European youth to use their skills for
change. Konrad's learning platform for the amateur radio service exam is
one example. Let's break down his project and see how YH4F helped him
bring his vision to life. Join us in the exciting world of YH4F!

09 May 2023
The 2023 edition of foss-north took place in Gothenburg on 24 and 25 April 2023. It was a great occasion to meet again in person with the Nordic Free Software community. Over 180 participants had the opportunity to learn about and discuss Free Software in more than 20 sessions.
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08 May 2023
After four years of waiting and many online conferences – probably too
many –, the Chaos Communication Camp is finally back! Come and camp
with us in the 'Bits & Bäume' village from 15th to 19th August 2023.
The Free Software Foundation Europe is part of this year's 'Bits &
Bäume' village.
28 April 2023
The Swedish city of Gothenburg hosted the 2023 edition of the Free
Software Legal & Licensing Workshop (LLW), the annual conference for
the Legal Network community. It was great to see so many old and new
faces in person after two years online, and to learn, share and network
about the legal and licensing issues facing current technology
developments.
25 April 2023
The Free Software Foundation Europe is a partner of the Next Generation
Internet Zero consortium, which aims to build a more resilient,
trustworthy and open Internet that empowers end users to control
technology. The FSFE team provides support to NGI0 grantee projects on
legal and licensing issues, as well as helping them to become REUSE
compliant.

18 April 2023
Vilnius Tech officials attempted to enforce the use of proprietary
two factor identification (2FA) methods. Some students were concerned
the methods would compromise privacy and could not be run in their
devices, and proposed an alternative way to get the authentication.
Finally, the university reversed its decision.

13 April 2023
While we wait for the projects developed by the participants of the second edition of the Youth Hacking 4 Freedom contest, let's go back to last year's edition to learn about two of the projects submitted.
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12 April 2023
The FSFE is organising a track covering political and legal aspects
of Free Software at foss-north, the conference in Gothenburg that
brings together Nordic Free Software communities. It will take place on
April 24 and 25 preceded by the community day that will take place on
April 23. It is time to register and get your tickets!

23 March 2023
The EU is currently debating the introduction of liability rules for
software, including Free Software. The relevant proposals are the AI
Act, Product Liability Directive (PLD), and Cyber Resilience Act
(CRA). The way they are, all proposals will harm the Free Software
ecosystem and thus the society and the economy.

23 March 2023
La Ley sobre la Europa Interoperable (IEA, por sus siglas en inglés) pretende
ayudar a la administración pública a compartir, reutilizar e integrar
tecnologías de la información y datos a través de las fronteras. Faltan
normas claras con actividades y presupuesto concretos. Se pasa por alto
el papel de la sociedad civil y aún no hay definiciones claras de
Software Libre y Estándares Abiertos.

21 March 2023
The coding period of the Youth Hacking 4 Freedom hacking contest has
been running for almost three months now. The
competition continues to be a fun contest for young hackers to
test and develop their skills. The previous edition
ended with 35 great projects submitted with inspiring stories
behind them. Read about Andrei's and David's projects.

13 March 2023
The Greek regulator has adopted new rules introducing Router Freedom
in the country. Since 2021, the FSFE has been working with policymakers
to protect the interests of end-users. Supporting civil society and
industry organisations backed the FSFE and contributed positively to
this new law.
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08 March 2023
Today we are celebrating Women’s Day. Thank you to everyone who is
making the tech sector more inclusive! Let’s continue working
together to achieve gender parity and embrace equity. There might be
problems coming our way, but we also have each other. Join us and
meet the FSFE Women team.

01 March 2023
On the 14th of February Free Software enthusiasts celebrated the 13th edition of the “I ❤️ Free Software Day”! Hundreds of people and numerous organisations shared their love for Free Software and reached out to the ones behind these projects. Thank you for taking part in the celebration of our favourite type of software: Free Software.

27 February 2023
Tanto si te perdiste la FOSDEM como si no llegaste a tiempo para
asistir a todas las sesiones, ¡no te preocupes! Echa un vistazo a
nuestras sesiones de la última edición y aprende, profundizando en tu
conocimiento, y mejorando tus habilidades sobre Software Libre.

22 February 2023
foss-north is a Free Software conference in Gothenburg that brings
together Nordic Free Software communities. This year, the Free Software
Foundation Europe is organising a track covering political and legal
aspects of Free Software, as well as best practices from Scandinavia.
We're looking forward to your contribution by March 5!

20 February 2023
Youth Hacking 4 Freedom, FSFE's coding competition for young
Europeans, has just started. The kick-off event took place on the 26th
of January with an online meeting for the participants of this year's
competition. There they got the most important information about the
contest while starting to get to know each other.
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15 February 2023
Gracias a vuestras valiosas aportaciones* hemos alcanzado nuestro
objetivo de recaudación de fondos. Gracias por vuestra confianza y
apoyo, incluso en estos tiempos difíciles. Estos fondos nos ayudarán a
impulsar nuestras campañas y a organizar eventos y charlas para
difundir nuestro trabajo, al tiempo que seguimos promoviendo la
libertad del software.

26 January 2023
On the 14th of February the FSFE community meets up in diverse cities
around Europe to celebrate ‘I Love Free Software Day’. Join our
events in Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Switzerland and Spain.

23 January 2023
FOSDEM 2023 is taking place in Brussels the first weekend of
February. The FSFE team will be participating at the main Free
Software convention in Europe with a booth and giving some keynotes.
Are you going to be there? Come to our booth and do not miss our
talks!

19 January 2023
Dortmund is opening a new chapter in Free Software Governance and
inspiring municipalities all over Germany. The recording of our event
on 11 January 2023 is now online. Are you interested in Free Software
and working in a municipal administration or in politics? Join our
new mailing list to exchange information on Free Software in
municipalities!

13 January 2023
Are you a motivated person who wants to support FSFE's activities as an intern? If your background is in computer science, law, political science or another social science field, apply to become part of our team in our Berlin office, working 35 hours per week for a period of 6 months. Join us in empowering people to take control of technology!.
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09 January 2023
The FSFE Swiss local group launches an initiative with GNU/Linux.ch to encourage public institutions to use federated free software solutions to communicate with their people. FediGov is the name of this campaign that is encouraging people to ask their governments to adopt ethical communications.

04 January 2023
Every February 14 the Free Software community around the world comes together to celebrate the “I Love Free Software Day”. On this special day we show our gratitude for every Free Software contributor. Join us in celebrating our love for Free Software and thank all the supporters of software freedom.