News

SFSCON +++ Apple v EU +++ YH4F winners

From facing Apple’s lawyer at the EU court defending interoperability to celebrating the unveiling of the 2025 YH4F winners, and finally walking through the autumn streets of Bolzano filled with Free Software enthusiasts, the past few weeks have been quite a roller coaster.

Quote of the Month

“I am extremely honoured to receive the European SFS Award. The Free Software multimedia community is quite niche and unknown, but we work hard so that video content can be free, can be played and processed. The work done around the VideoLAN community has been tremendous, despite its little resources. I want to thank the whole VideoLAN and FFmpeg teams, who spend their time on those projects, often with little recognition", Jean-Baptiste Kemp, winner of the European SFS Award 2025

SFSCON 25: Jean-Baptiste Kempf receives the European SFS Award

The FSFE and LUGBZ have recognized VLC president and core developer with this European award for his long-term dedication to the project. What began as a student initiative has, through his continuous effort, evolved into one of the most widely used media players, with billion of users worldwide.

Moreover, we joined Free Software enthusiasts from all over Europe in this Italian city to spend a whole weekend deepening our knowledge about Free Software and engaging in fruitful discussions.

The FSFE defends Interoperability from Apple at the EU’s highest court

On 21 October, the Free Software Foundation Europe participated as an intervener in the landmark Apple v. European Commission (T-1080/23) hearing before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The case will determine whether the Digital Markets Act can effectively guarantee interoperability, software freedom, and user choice.

While we wait to know the Court’s decision, you can read our recap about the Digital Markets Act (DMA), in which the main arguments of this litigation are explained as well as why interoperability is vital for an open European digital ecosystem. DMA litigation against Apple: a quick recap

Legal Corner: Apple’s “notarisation” – blocking software freedom of developers and users

Our latest Legal Corner article focuses on how Apple’s “notarisation” of mobile apps contradicts the aims of the DMA to give developers and users more choice. But Apple is trying to continue blocking the unfettered installation of software (sideloading), prohibiting alternative app stores, and hindering interoperability. Find out more about it and the implications of Apple’s notarisation for software freedom.

2025 Youth Hacking 4 Freedom: winners unveiled!

Once again, young Europeans had the chance to tackle their own projects, making their ideas a reality with Youth Hacking 4 Freedom, the programming competition for Europeans between 14 and 18 year old. A couple of weeks ago, we had the chance to meet them in Brussels for the 2025 awards ceremony.

The six winning projects, created by participants aged 14 to 18 and presented at the 2025 awards ceremony in Brussels, are: a language learning platform, a custom ROM page, a scroll wheel, a smart watering robot, a hyperbolic rendering engine, and a version control system.

Software Freedom Podcast: Openwashing and CRA

Leaving our cozy homes is getting harder and harder as winter approaches. Why not enjoy the long evenings by listening to the newest two episodes of the Software Freedom Podcast?

In the first episode, Alex and Bonnie bring you the latest updates on EU policy, including the relevant Cyber Resilience Act. You’ll also hear about the results of the questionnaire we ran a few months ago and the key insights gathered.

After that, join our colleague Johannes as he sheds light on the concept of openwashing, the misleading practice of presenting software as Free Software when it actually isn’t. He’ll explain the basics of this issue and how we can counteract it.

Ilovefs: “They are not alone in their work for software freedom”

Every year on 14 February we celebrate “I Love Free Software Day”, thanking all who contribute to Free Software. Without all of you we would not have such a great ecosystem today! Our Polish group joined our celebrations on 2025 for the first time, and we wanted to know more about them. So, we talked with Damian, our Poland group coordinator, about the Polish groups’ commitment to Free Software.

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Ana

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