Keep Android Open & Android distribution alternatives
Our phones outrank our laptops as our daily tool, yet we barely control them with Google and Apple keeping stalling EU interoperability. Our latest SFP episode covers Google's developer verification policy squeezing sideloading, and "Keep Android Open” while this month we start a series on each Android distribution alternative.
Google’s announcement that, for “security reasons”, apps installed on certified Android devices would need to be registered by verified developers has been widely discussed within the Free Software movement. In the 54 episode of the Software Freedom Podcast, we discuss and explain the initiative “Keep Android Open”, in which the FSFE participates. For everyone who is looking for Android distribution alternatives but have no time to check for the best one for their needs, our technical advisor did the work for you: starting this month, we are posting a series of reports about each of the different alternatives.
Smartphones are the most personal computers ever built; they typically know more about you than your closest friends do. Who should decide what happens with that information? Free Software operating systems on phones give users that choice. We looked into the differences and figured out what works and what doesn't so you are empowered to make a decision about what your phone does." Florian Snow, Technical Advisor
Legal Corner: if code is generated by an LLM, is that code copyrightable?
If the Android alternatives are about giving users a say over the software running on their phones, our Legal Corner this month looks at what rights, if any, developers hold over software that an AI helped write. If code is generated by an LLM, is that code copyrightable? And if so, who owns the copyright to that generated code?
If you have a legal or licensing question related to Free Software that is not covered here or in any of our other resources, you can consider asking our License Questions team by sending them an email at licence-questions@fsfe.org.
Podcast on civil society’s role in making the Digital Markets Act work in practice
In a new episode of the SCiDA Podcast, the FSFE Project Manager Jithendra Palepu joins Dr. Maria Luisa Stasi from ARTICLE 19 to discuss how civil society is contributing to the enforcement of the DMA. The conversation covers the FSFE’s research into Apple’s interoperability process, its court intervention in Apple v Commission, developments around Google and Android, as well as civil society complaints, coalition building and the role of private enforcement. The episode is already available on major podcast platforms and will soon be listed on the SCiDA Podcast website, together with further information about the discussion.
From the stages… and the back door
After the summer most of us are coming back to our routines and a lot of event are back. Check out Check out events.fsfe.org: September is starting with several gatherings!. In Berlin, we will take part in the Fediday 2026, an event that has grown into a full weekend with more than 60 talks. We will be also in the LibreOffice conference 2026 in Italy and at Veganmania in Vienna and at Plone Conference in Maastricht.
In August our System Hackers, the group of volunteers who are the backbone behind our IT infrastructure, had their yearly meeting. We cannot thank them enough their hard work keeping our motors working! Want to learn more? Read the post about it from our colleague Tobias!
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Your editor,
Ana