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Newsletter

DMA +++ LLW 2025 +++ PMPC +++SFP

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In April, our work on Device Neutrality continued with news and meetings on DMA; we had a PMPC meeting in Germany and talked about the German coalition agreement in one of our Podcast episodes; we also held our annual Legal & Licensing Workshop; and we published another article in our Legal Corner.

Collage of pictures: LLW logo; a train, software freedom podcast logo and the illustration of a snake forming an apple shape; some people, men and a woman, sitting in a event stage. The woman is holding a microphone

Table of contents

Quote of the Month

"A fully enforced Digital Markets Act (DMA) provides the opportunity to Free Software companies to break into markets that have long been dominated and restricted by gatekeepers. We encourage Free Software companies to seize the momentum to unwind and create Free Software alternatives also in mobile devices.”

Lucas Lasota, FSFE Legal Programme Manager

DMA: European Commission falls short on interoperability requirements for Apple

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.

On April 24, 2025, the FSFE participated in a session organized by the Open Source Business Alliance (OSBA), the association representing Free Software companies in Germany. We were invited to present our work on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the opportunities it creates for Free Software companies. The discussion was fruitful, and we were happy to see an increasing interest in this topic.

Please feel free to share this with people, organisations, and companies that might be interested in this specific aspect of the DMA.

SFP#33: Policy and EU: Coalition treaty in Germany and its role for Free Software

The German coalition treaty from the CDU/CSU and SPD has been published with over 140 pages. In our latest episode Alexander Sander and Bonnie Mehring talk about the coalition treaty as well as the current digital policy decisions in Germany and the sudden removal of Jutta Horstmann, the CEO of the German Center for Digital Sovereignty (ZenDiS). Together they break down the standing of Free Software in Germany.

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.

LLW 2025, “unperfect” discussions around Free Software in a legal environment

The Free Software Legal & Licensing Workshop convened once again, this time in Essen, bringing together over 100 legal and compliance professionals, technologists, and policy experts from across the globe. The 2025 edition delved into the evolving legal landscapes impacting Free Software, with a particular focus on Artificial Intelligence and cybersecurity.

Moreover, as part of the "Dialogue for Cybersecurity" project, the FSFE and the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) are working together with representatives from civil society, academia, industry, and government in a project on the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and its implications for Free Software. Watch the recording of the first event in this series, which took place on 3 April.

Symposium “Public Money? Public Code! in practice”: Digital sovereignty needs Free Software!

The FSFE symposium on “Public Money? Public Code!“ made it clear: Procurement of and investment in Free Software (also known as Open Source) are fundamental for innovation and digital sovereignty. Free Software is key to reducing the dependencies of public administrations. These administrations, including municipalities, have the opportunity to advance the controllability and manageability of their digital infrastructure by committing to Free Software in the long term. The time has come to take action, build networks, reduce dependencies, and establish digital sovereignty through Free Software.

Simplifying the FSFE translation process: integrating LibreTranslate

A new release of the Webpreview tool is here! This is our in-house Free Software designed to support our amazing volunteers in translating and checking website content. Among other improvements, this update integrates LibreTranslate, providing a helpful starting point to speed up the translation process.

A small kid holding a Ada and Zangemann book open
Thanks to the amazing work of our volunteers, Ada & Zangemann can now be translated on Weblate as well. This is a milestone for the automation that is continuously being improved.

Refund4Freedom Project

Refund4Freedom is an Italian initiative from the FSFE and the Italian Linux Society (ILS) that defends the right of consumers to choose their operating system and to receive a refund for pre-installed software when they buy a new device. The project will be launched on 29 May with an online kick-off meeting, open to any Italian enthusiast, volunteer, or supporter. This initiative will help Italians to claim their refund, but of course, if you live in another country, you can do it too! The process might be a bit different, so if you do it and you are successful, share your experience with us!

"YH4F encourages young students to be brave and resilient"

Youth Hacking 4 Freedom would not be possible without the amazing teenagers who join this contest, our incredible sponsors and donors whose support is vital, and our expert jury who evaluate the projects. One of these jury members is Brielen Madureira, who talked with us before the participants have to submit their projects.

40 years of software freedom and the FSF: join the celebrations

The FSFE is joining the celebrations of its sister organisation, the Free Software Foundation, and its 40 years of commitment to software freedom.

On 29 May, members of the FSFE will join the local celebrations in Warsaw (Poland). The event will include various activities to learn about what Free Software is and the work the Free Software Foundations have done over the last 40 years, as well as a panel discussion on software freedom and machine learning.

From our Italian community 🇮🇹

During the month of April, various Italian FSFE volunteers organised events mainly aimed at educating younger generations about Free Software. Among the 8 events, 6 were Ada & Zangemann readings followed by a robotics lab, organised by Giacomo Alessandroni, reaching a total of more than 200 students.

Contribute to our Newsletter

We would love to hear from you. If you have any thoughts, pictures, or news to share, please send them to us at newsletter@fsfe.org. You can also support us, contribute to our work, and join our community. We would like to thank our community and all the volunteers, supporters, and donors who make our work possible, with a special mention to our translators who make it possible for you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.

Your editor,
Ana