Hi all!
Below are the questions on PDFreaders we want to send to the MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht who will forward them to the EC.
Please send us any comments you have, or additional questions you think we may ask.
Thank you!
Regards,
Natalia
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Subject: Software advertising on public websites
Numerous EU public websites refer to proprietary software, like the Acrobat Reader, as the only possibility to read PDF files and provide a download link. That is the case of direct advertising by public institutions, which creates a competitive advantage for this company to sell other products.
- Can the Commission give an overview of the frequency of such advertisements on the websites of public institutions in the Member States?
- Have the EU and the Member States' public institutions ever reported their reasoning (financial gain, lack of other software, etc) to advertise this particular software as the only possibility to read PDF files?
- If so, have the institutions explained whether they tried other PDF readers before? Which software have they mentioned?
- Will the Commission recommend the EU and the Member States' public institutions to avoid such advertisements on their websites?