= Cyber Resilience Act & Free Software: Parliament waters down its own position =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230719-01.nl.html ]
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.
The Commission’s proposal to exclude Free Software “outside the course
of a commercial activity” would fail to address a large part of software
that will not be covered but is deployed. At the same time, smaller and
non-profit projects would be harmed as they would have to bear major
costs.
Therefore we have already proposed a solution that will lead to more
security while safeguarding Free Software:
1. Liability should be shifted to those *deploying* Free Software
instead of those *developing* Free Software and
2. Those who significantly financially benefit from this deployment
should make sure the software becomes CE-compliant
While the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO), a
committee for opinion in CRA, backed our demand and voted for the
protection of Free Software developers in the Cyber Resilience Act, the
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) introduced less far
reaching protections with today's vote. Regular corporate donations or
contributions by corporate employees to a project could turn non-profit
work into a “commercial activity”, and thus lead to liability.
/Alexander Sander, FSFE Senior Policy Consultant explains:/ "With
today's vote, the EU Parliament has watered down its own position.
Placing the burden of liability on small or non-profit entities that
rely on regular donations would harm the Free Software and thus society
and business alike. Due to the lack of funding and resources to go
through the proposed procedures to become CE compliant, some of these
projects might have to stop completely. We call on the institutions to
find a compromise that safeguards the Free Software ecosystem while
shifting liability to those who significantly financially benefit from
the deployment” /./ Interinstitutional negotiations will start start
soon and should be concluded this year if possible. You can read more
here [1].
1: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230323-01.nl.html
== Over de Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is een goed doel dat gebruikers in staat
stelt om technologie te controleren. Software is sterk verweven met
alle aspecten van onze levens. Het is belangrijk dat deze technologie
ons tot iets in staat stelt in plaats van ons te beperken. Vrije
Software geeft iedereen het recht om software te gebruiken, te
begrijpen, aan te passen en te delen. Deze rechten helpen het
ondersteunen van andere fundamentele vrijheden zoals de vrijheid van
meningsuiting, pers en privacy.
De FSFE helpt individuen en organisaties begrijpen hoe Vrije Software
bijdraagt aan vrijheid, transparantie en zelfbeschikking. We verbeteren
gebruikersrechten door het opheffen van barrières voor de adoptie van
Vrije Software, moedigen mensen aan om Vrije Software te gebruiken en te
ontwikkelen en voorzien in middelen om iedereen in staat te stellen
Vrije Software in Europa verder te promoten.
https://fsfe.org
= EU Parliament intends to widen participation in the Interoperable Europe Board =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230719-02.nl.html ]
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 trialogue.
Today the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) has voted on
its final text of the Interoperable Europe Act which is an improvement
of the Commission proposal. The EU Parliament has introduced the
possibility for relevant stakeholders to participate with observer
status in the Interoperable Europe Board meetings and activities,
including within those, the Free Software community.
Furthermore, the EU Parliament has also followed our demand [1]
suggesting the introduction of clearer objectives and statistics, that
will allow to evaluate and properly measure the progress of the
activities that will fall under this Act. Especially, when it comes to
monitoring the use and uptake of Free Software solutions among public
administrations.
“The inclusion of relevant stakeholders and experts, such as the Free
Software community, in the Interoperable Europe Board must be part of
the final text of the Interoperable Europe Act. Likewise, proper
monitoring and evaluation procedures need to be set up to improve and
adapt the interoperability of Europe in the long run. We, therefore,
call upon the EU Parliament, especially the rapporteur Ivars Ijabs, to
safeguard its position during the upcoming trialogue and to not allow
any backwards step”, /mentions Lina Ceballos, FSFE Policy Project
Manager./ The ITRE Committee has also voted with a large majority to
enter the inter-institutional negotiations. This means that the European
Parliament must now defend its position and anchor it to the final text
which will be negotiated together with the Council and Commission in the
coming weeks. This is of high importance bearing in mind that the latest
compromise text of the Council is hindering the inclusion of relevant
stakeholders [2] in the governance structure of this Act.
1: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230323-02.nl.html
2: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230623-01.nl.html
== Over de Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is een goed doel dat gebruikers in staat
stelt om technologie te controleren. Software is sterk verweven met
alle aspecten van onze levens. Het is belangrijk dat deze technologie
ons tot iets in staat stelt in plaats van ons te beperken. Vrije
Software geeft iedereen het recht om software te gebruiken, te
begrijpen, aan te passen en te delen. Deze rechten helpen het
ondersteunen van andere fundamentele vrijheden zoals de vrijheid van
meningsuiting, pers en privacy.
De FSFE helpt individuen en organisaties begrijpen hoe Vrije Software
bijdraagt aan vrijheid, transparantie en zelfbeschikking. We verbeteren
gebruikersrechten door het opheffen van barrières voor de adoptie van
Vrije Software, moedigen mensen aan om Vrije Software te gebruiken en te
ontwikkelen en voorzien in middelen om iedereen in staat te stellen
Vrije Software in Europa verder te promoten.
https://fsfe.org
= IEA: EU Parliament advances in stengthenting the role of Free Software, yet needs more to improve =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230629-02.nl.html ]
The two EP Committees for opinion, IMCO and LIBE, have today adopted
their texts on the Interoperable Europe Act. While both recognise the
importance of Free Software for this regulation, the inclusion of the
Free Software community in the Board remains uncertain. The wording on
proper monitoring and evaluation goes in the right direction.
The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and
the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) have
today adopted by a large majority their opinions on the Interoperable
Europe Act.
The IMCO Committee, following some of our demands [1] has highlighted
the need for public bodies and institutions to prioritise the use of
Free Software in order to support the creation of reusable solutions.
Furthermore, it has also recognised our demand for clearer objectives
and indicators to measure its achievement. Moreover, it has included
measures to report and monitor the number of Free Software solutions
developed and adopted by the public sector within the scope of the
Regulation.
Unfortunately, no amendments to include more stakeholders in the
Interoperable Europe Board were adopted, apart from the proposal to
include the European Parliament as an observer. Therefore it is now up
to the lead Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) to take
further steps forward in the direction of enriching the Board.
On the other hand, the LIBE Committee has briefly included the wording
to encourage Free Software solutions when it comes to enhancing
transparency in the processing of personal data within the scope of this
regulation. However, this wording still needs to be improved by more
firmly prioritising the use of Free Software for such purpose.
/Lina Ceballos, FSFE Project Manager states:/ “We welcome that the
European Parliament has taken notice of some of our demands, especially
when it comes to proper monitoring and evaluation. However, there is yet
the need to include more stakeholders in the governance. Thus we urge
decision makers to recognise the role that the Free Software community
could play in the Interoperable Board" /./ In the coming weeks, the
Committee on Industry, Research and Energiy (ITRE) will agree on its
text, which will most likely be voted in plenary after the summer break,
and then enter into the inter-institutional negotiations. We call upon
the decision makers to not only anchor the progress that IMCO and LIBE
have achieved with its opinion but also to undertake the actions needed
for a more inclusive governance approach by including the Free Software
community as part of the Interoperable Europe Board. This is also true
for the Council, that wants to exclude relevant stakeholders from
contributing to an Interoperable Europe [2].
1: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230323-02.nl.html
2: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230623-01.nl.html
== Over de Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is een goed doel dat gebruikers in staat
stelt om technologie te controleren. Software is sterk verweven met
alle aspecten van onze levens. Het is belangrijk dat deze technologie
ons tot iets in staat stelt in plaats van ons te beperken. Vrije
Software geeft iedereen het recht om software te gebruiken, te
begrijpen, aan te passen en te delen. Deze rechten helpen het
ondersteunen van andere fundamentele vrijheden zoals de vrijheid van
meningsuiting, pers en privacy.
De FSFE helpt individuen en organisaties begrijpen hoe Vrije Software
bijdraagt aan vrijheid, transparantie en zelfbeschikking. We verbeteren
gebruikersrechten door het opheffen van barrières voor de adoptie van
Vrije Software, moedigen mensen aan om Vrije Software te gebruiken en te
ontwikkelen en voorzien in middelen om iedereen in staat te stellen
Vrije Software in Europa verder te promoten.
https://fsfe.org
= Cyber Resilience Act: First committee backs FSFE demand to protect Free Software =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230629-01.nl.html ]
The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) today
launched a landmark decision to protect Free Software developers in the
Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).
The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) today
launched a landmark decision to protect Free Software developers in the
Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). In September last year, the EU Commission
presented the CRA. The proposal to exclude Free Software “outside the
course of a commercial activity” would fail to address a large part of
software that will not be covered but is deployed. Furthermore, smaller
and non-profit projects would be harmed as they would have to bear major
costs. We, therefore, proposed a solution [1] that will lead to more
security while safeguarding the Free Software ecosystem:
1. Liability should be shifted to those deploying Free Software instead
of those developing Free Software and
2. Those who significantly financially benefit from this deployment
should make sure the software becomes CE-compliant
/Alexander Sander, FSFE Senior Policy Consultant explains:/ "The
Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, a committee for
opinion in CRA, has backed our demand and voted for the protection of
Free Software developers in the Cyber Resilience Act. We are
particularly delighted with the transfer of those protections into an
article and the precise description of how Free Software should be
protected in the future. The lead committee is now called upon to follow
this vote" /./ Shortly, the leading committee, Committee on Industry,
Research and Energy (ITRE), will define its position and submit it to
the plenary for a vote. After that, the trialogue with Parliament,
Council and Commission will begin in order to reach a final agreement.
At the same time, similar rules are being negotiated in the Product
Liability Directive (PLD). Here, too, FSFE is calling for the protection
of developers of Free Software [2]. We thank all those organisations and
individuals contributing to this position and making sure to safeguard
Free Software in those files.
1: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230323-01.nl.html
2: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230323-01.html)
== Over de Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is een goed doel dat gebruikers in staat
stelt om technologie te controleren. Software is sterk verweven met
alle aspecten van onze levens. Het is belangrijk dat deze technologie
ons tot iets in staat stelt in plaats van ons te beperken. Vrije
Software geeft iedereen het recht om software te gebruiken, te
begrijpen, aan te passen en te delen. Deze rechten helpen het
ondersteunen van andere fundamentele vrijheden zoals de vrijheid van
meningsuiting, pers en privacy.
De FSFE helpt individuen en organisaties begrijpen hoe Vrije Software
bijdraagt aan vrijheid, transparantie en zelfbeschikking. We verbeteren
gebruikersrechten door het opheffen van barrières voor de adoptie van
Vrije Software, moedigen mensen aan om Vrije Software te gebruiken en te
ontwikkelen en voorzien in middelen om iedereen in staat te stellen
Vrije Software in Europa verder te promoten.
https://fsfe.org
= EU: Majority for AI Act – and safeguards for Free Software =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230614-01.nl.html ]
The European Parliament today voted in favour of the AI Act with 499
votes in favour, 28 against, and 93 abstentions. Free Software is given
safeguards, these rules must now be defended in the trilogue and
transferred to the Cyber Resilience Act and the Product Liability
Directive.
With a large majority, the plenary of the EU Parliament today confirmed
the compromises [1] of the lead committees from May. The AI Act contains
a far-reaching exemption from this regulation for non-profit
organisations as well as small Free Software projects up to the size of
micro-enterprises. The position of the EU Parliament must now be
defended in the upcoming trilogue, in which the final text will be
negotiated together with the Council and the Commission.
/"With today's decision, the EU Parliament has demonstrated how Free
Software can be regulated in a meaningful way. Developers must be
protected, but at the same time those who significantly benefit on the
market with the use of Free Software must also be responsible. This
principle must now also be anchored in the Cyber Resilience Act and the
Product Liability Directive", explains Alexander Sander, Senior Policy
Consultant of the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE)/
More information on the negotiations on the Cyber Resilience Act and the
Product Liability Directive can be found here [2].
1: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230511-01.nl.html
2: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230323-01.nl.html
== Over de Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is een goed doel dat gebruikers in staat
stelt om technologie te controleren. Software is sterk verweven met
alle aspecten van onze levens. Het is belangrijk dat deze technologie
ons tot iets in staat stelt in plaats van ons te beperken. Vrije
Software geeft iedereen het recht om software te gebruiken, te
begrijpen, aan te passen en te delen. Deze rechten helpen het
ondersteunen van andere fundamentele vrijheden zoals de vrijheid van
meningsuiting, pers en privacy.
De FSFE helpt individuen en organisaties begrijpen hoe Vrije Software
bijdraagt aan vrijheid, transparantie en zelfbeschikking. We verbeteren
gebruikersrechten door het opheffen van barrières voor de adoptie van
Vrije Software, moedigen mensen aan om Vrije Software te gebruiken en te
ontwikkelen en voorzien in middelen om iedereen in staat te stellen
Vrije Software in Europa verder te promoten.
https://fsfe.org
= Interoperable Europe Act: Committee of the Regions fails to substantially promote Free Software =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230524-01.nl.html ]
The Committee of the Regions approved its opinion on the Interoperable
Europe Act. The EU representative body has failed to recognise the
importance that Free Software has for interoperability and thus for
digitalisation and innovation. This underlines the relevance of Free
Software Community's participation in the planned Interoperable Board.
With the EU's objective of establishing a legal framework on
interoperability through the Interoperable Europe Act, today the
Committee of the Regions has adopted its opinion in plenary. While the
opinion has feebly mentioned the role of Free Software in achieving
cross-border interoperability and avoiding vendor lock-in in its policy
recommendations, the Committee of the Regions has failed in
substantially improving the original text and bringing up more solid and
necessary measures. It lacks to introduce a “Free Software first”
approach and the involvement of stakeholders in the Interoperable Europe
Board, an intended body that shall decide on upcoming steps arising from
this legislation.
/““It is incomprehensible that the institution who has the
responsibility to bring up the demands of thousands of local and
regional administrations fails in featuring the importance of Free
Software for interoperability. Hence, this decision only reaffirms the
importance of the involvement of stakeholder, who have actual
competence, in this decision making processes . We, therefore, urge the
European Parliament to include the Free Software community in the
Interoperable Europe Board to guarantee sustainability and innovation in
digitalisation. Furthermore a 'Free Software first' approach still needs
to be introduced", explains Lina Ceballos, FSFE Policy Project Manager./
The role that Free Software plays in the digitalisation of local and
regional administrations has shown to be of the great importance,
especially during the corona pandemic. Among other, it strengthens
digital sovereignty allowing administrations to have control over the
software they are using, while it enables that public funds are spent in
the most efficient way. For these reasons, over the last years the FSFE
has been demanding with its 'Public Money? Public Code!' initiative [1]
that publicly financed software should be made publicly available under
a Free Software licence. It is now up to the European Parliament to
ensure interoperability is introduced by a “Free Software first”
approach while including the Free Software community on the path to
digitalise European public administrations. First Amendments in this
direction have been introduced already, however, the position has to be
further improved. Further read [2].
1: https://publiccode.eu/
2: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230323-02.nl.html
== Over de Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is een goed doel dat gebruikers in staat
stelt om technologie te controleren. Software is sterk verweven met
alle aspecten van onze levens. Het is belangrijk dat deze technologie
ons tot iets in staat stelt in plaats van ons te beperken. Vrije
Software geeft iedereen het recht om software te gebruiken, te
begrijpen, aan te passen en te delen. Deze rechten helpen het
ondersteunen van andere fundamentele vrijheden zoals de vrijheid van
meningsuiting, pers en privacy.
De FSFE helpt individuen en organisaties begrijpen hoe Vrije Software
bijdraagt aan vrijheid, transparantie en zelfbeschikking. We verbeteren
gebruikersrechten door het opheffen van barrières voor de adoptie van
Vrije Software, moedigen mensen aan om Vrije Software te gebruiken en te
ontwikkelen en voorzien in middelen om iedereen in staat te stellen
Vrije Software in Europa verder te promoten.
https://fsfe.org
= European citizens demand Router Freedom =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230515-01.nl.html ]
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.
More than a thousand consumers from across Europe have shared their
experience of the commercial practices of Internet Service Providers
(ISPs) in the most comprehensive end-user survey regarding freedom of
terminal equipment to date [1], resulting in a call for Router Freedom.
The responses from end-users all over Europe demonstrate how network
operators still hamper consumer freedom of choice, exercise lock-in over
internet equipment and promote proprietary devices, negatively affecting
consumer welfare, security, privacy and data protection.
Router Freedom is the right that customers of any internet service
provider have to be able to choose and use a private modem and router
instead of equipment provided by the ISP. Freedom of choice for routers
and modems has been regulated in the EU since 2015 (Net Neutrality
Regulation) but national implementation has led to fragmentation of the
digital markets, negatively impacting end-users’ rights. The survey
demonstrated that Router Freedom is not only a technical issue, but also
a policy demand [2]. More than 90% of the survey participants agreed
that freedom of terminal equipment is key for net neutrality and open
internet, security and data protection, fair competition and digital
sustainability.
/“The outcome of this survey serves as key insight for policy makers
regulating Router Freedom and consumer organisations protecting and
promoting the rights of end-users. Critically important are the reported
practices that could be considered infringements against Router Freedom.
Limitation to freedom of choice, ISP’s lock-in, provision of proprietary
devices, security issues and unlawful practices are some of the threats
reported against end-users”, states Lucas Lasota, FSFE’s senior project
manager./
1: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230515-02.nl.html
2: https://download.fsfe.org/routers/rf-survey-report-2023.pdf
== Over de Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is een goed doel dat gebruikers in staat
stelt om technologie te controleren. Software is sterk verweven met
alle aspecten van onze levens. Het is belangrijk dat deze technologie
ons tot iets in staat stelt in plaats van ons te beperken. Vrije
Software geeft iedereen het recht om software te gebruiken, te
begrijpen, aan te passen en te delen. Deze rechten helpen het
ondersteunen van andere fundamentele vrijheden zoals de vrijheid van
meningsuiting, pers en privacy.
De FSFE helpt individuen en organisaties begrijpen hoe Vrije Software
bijdraagt aan vrijheid, transparantie en zelfbeschikking. We verbeteren
gebruikersrechten door het opheffen van barrières voor de adoptie van
Vrije Software, moedigen mensen aan om Vrije Software te gebruiken en te
ontwikkelen en voorzien in middelen om iedereen in staat te stellen
Vrije Software in Europa verder te promoten.
https://fsfe.org
= EU Parliament wants to protect Free Software in AI regulation =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230511-01.nl.html ]
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.
The two lead committees for the AI legislation, the Committee on
Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and the Committee on
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), today voted by a large
majority in favour of protecting Free Software in this legislation. Non-
profit organisations and small Free Software projects up to the size of
micro-enterprises, are largely to be exempted from this regulation.
/Alexander Sander, FSFE's Senior Policy Consultant, explains: "Instead
of putting the responsibility on the Free Software developers, it should
be put on the companies that profit from it on the market. Smaller
organisations and non-profit activities, for example by foundations,
must be excluded. With this vote, the Members of the European Parliament
are thus recognising the reality of Free Software development and trying
to protect it. The principle of transferring responsibility and
liability to those who profit on the market instead of focusing on
developers must also be anchored in the Cyber Resilience Act and the
Product Liability Directive. This is the only way to not only protect
Free Software and its contributors but also consumers and customers"./
The final vote on the AI Act is expected in the coming weeks, after
which the trilogue with Parliament, Council and Commission on the final
text will take place. With regard to the Cyber Resilience Act and the
Product Liability Directive, the EU Parliament is currently discussing
the recently submitted amendments. Further information [1].
1: https://fsfe.org/news-20230323-01.nl.html
== Over de Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is een goed doel dat gebruikers in staat
stelt om technologie te controleren. Software is sterk verweven met
alle aspecten van onze levens. Het is belangrijk dat deze technologie
ons tot iets in staat stelt in plaats van ons te beperken. Vrije
Software geeft iedereen het recht om software te gebruiken, te
begrijpen, aan te passen en te delen. Deze rechten helpen het
ondersteunen van andere fundamentele vrijheden zoals de vrijheid van
meningsuiting, pers en privacy.
De FSFE helpt individuen en organisaties begrijpen hoe Vrije Software
bijdraagt aan vrijheid, transparantie en zelfbeschikking. We verbeteren
gebruikersrechten door het opheffen van barrières voor de adoptie van
Vrije Software, moedigen mensen aan om Vrije Software te gebruiken en te
ontwikkelen en voorzien in middelen om iedereen in staat te stellen
Vrije Software in Europa verder te promoten.
https://fsfe.org
= EU Declaration of Digital Rights and Principles falls short of its ambitions =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20221206-01.nl.html ]
Member states, the European Parliament, and the Commission have reached
a consensus on the Declaration of Digital Rights and Principles.
Although it aims to serve as a reference point for the digital
transformation of Europe, it instead descends into murky waters, causing
ambiguity. Its wording is unclear and it overlooks existing good
proposals.
Whereas the EU institutions claim that digital sovereignty and openness
are crucial for the digital transformation of Europe, the declaration
lacks clear definition of such values. The text of the declaration makes
reference to promoting interoperability, open technologies and
standards. However, it is not clear what exactly the signatory
institutions mean with such wording. By contrast, the European
Parliament proposal had a clear reference to Free Software as a way to
ensure transparency in the use of algorithms and artificial
intelligence, as well as the importance of Open Standards.
Unfortunately, this wording failed to be upheld during the inter-
institutional negotiations, and the final text ended up being rather
unclear.
/“In a fast-pace digitalised society, the importance of such declaration
of digital rights is crucial. This text will serve as a benchmark for
decision makers in the journey of shaping our digital sphere. It is
problematic for our software freedom that such declaration lacks clear
definitions and that solid existing frameworks are not being taken into
consideration”,/ explains Lina Ceballos, FSFE Policy Project Manager.
It is also not clear if the declaration is consistent with existing
frameworks. According to its text, it is built upon previous initiatives
such as the Berlin and Tallinn [1] declarations. These aforementioned
frameworks already refer to Free Software when it comes to digital
sovereignty and interoperability, while they also require more use of
Free Software, and strengthening the requirement for its use. However,
when it comes to interoperability, Free Software is not explicitly
mentioned in the Declaration of Digital Rights and Principles.
Last but not least, /“the declaration misses to name reusability of
software and hardware through Free Software licenses as an important
step towards a more sustainable digital society. Having said this, the
current negotiations about the Ecodesign Directive will have to do it
right where the declaration falls short”/ says Erik Albers, FSFE's
Digital Sustainability Program Manager.
1: https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20170710-01.nl.html
== Over de Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is een goed doel dat gebruikers in staat
stelt om technologie te controleren. Software is sterk verweven met
alle aspecten van onze levens. Het is belangrijk dat deze technologie
ons tot iets in staat stelt in plaats van ons te beperken. Vrije
Software geeft iedereen het recht om software te gebruiken, te
begrijpen, aan te passen en te delen. Deze rechten helpen het
ondersteunen van andere fundamentele vrijheden zoals de vrijheid van
meningsuiting, pers en privacy.
De FSFE helpt individuen en organisaties begrijpen hoe Vrije Software
bijdraagt aan vrijheid, transparantie en zelfbeschikking. We verbeteren
gebruikersrechten door het opheffen van barrières voor de adoptie van
Vrije Software, moedigen mensen aan om Vrije Software te gebruiken en te
ontwikkelen en voorzien in middelen om iedereen in staat te stellen
Vrije Software in Europa verder te promoten.
https://fsfe.org
= The coding contest Youth Hacking 4 Freedom launches its second edition =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20221104-01.nl.html ]
The registration for the second edition of “Youth Hacking 4 Freedom ",
the FSFE’s hacking competition for teenagers from all over Europe, has
started. This contest offers young people aged between 14 and 18 the
opportunity to challenge themselves, meet like-minded people and win
cash prizes.
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), a European charity that
empowers users to control technology, is launching the second edition of
its coding competition ‘Youth Hacking 4 Freedom' (YH4F). Registration is
open [1] until 31 December, after which the six-month coding phase will
start and last until the end of June 2023.
YH4F [2] aims to inspire the younger generation by giving them the
chance to hack on a software project in a fair and fun way while meeting
other young developers from all around Europe. The winners will receive
a cash prize and a two-day trip to Brussels with other hackers for the
award ceremony.
The first edition of the competition was a huge success with wide
participation and well-coded winning projects. Over a hundred people
coming from 25 different countries registered for the competition and,
after a five-month coding phase, 35 projects were submitted. The six
winning projects [3] offer sign language transcription [4] , a smart
table robot [5], a personal assistant [6], a music tutorial [7], a file
sharing program [8], and a homework manager [9]. All programs are
licensed under Free Software licenses, which grants everybody the right
to use, understand, share, and improve them.
“Taking part in this competition was personally a big step as before it
I have never ever programmed something and I did not have knowledge to
do so. During the project I learned a lot more about programming
concepts, how can I implement the modules and generally the programming
language Python", explains Ekaterina, one of the winners of the first
edition of the YH4F competition.
To join the second edition of the YH4F competition, participants must be
between 14 and 18 years old and live in a European country. The YH4F
competition includes an online kick-off event in which the FSFE team
will present the competition and answer questions about it. Participants
may bring all their imagination to the competition as any type of
software can be coded as long as it is Free Software. Therefore, the
software project can be a stand-alone program written from scratch, or a
modification and combination of existing programs. Everything is
welcome! Moreover, the participants will have the chance to follow each
other’s work and exchange ideas.
After six months of coding, from the beginning of January until the end
of June, the participants will submit their projects to be evaluated by
an independent experts jury [10].
- In brief: Participants must be *14-18 years* old and should register
at yh4f.org [11]
- Registration will be open until *31 December 2022*
- The coding period will be from *1 January 2023 to 30 June 2023*.
- Six winners will be awarded *cash prizes* (4096€, 2048€, and 1024€)
and a trip to Brussels.
- The competition will take place online. The Award Ceremony will be in
Brussels.
The YH4F is made possible thanks to the kind financial support of
Reinhard Wiesemann, Linuxhotel, and Vielrespektzentrum.
At the website yh4f.org [12] you can find all related information, such
as the process, the eligibility criteria, and FAQs [13]. You can also
use the illustrations in our dedicated media package when sharing the
news of the competition.
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to
control technology. Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our
lives, and it is important that this technology empowers rather than
restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use,
understand, improve, and share software. These rights help support other
fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech, press, and privacy.
The FSFE helps individuals and organisations to understand how Free
Software contributes to freedom, transparency, and self-determination.
It enhances users' rights by abolishing barriers to Free Software
adoption, encouraging people to use and develop Free Software, and
providing resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software
in Europe.
1: https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/index.nl.html
2: https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/index.nl.html
3: https://fsfe.org/news/2022/news-20221004-01.nl.html
4: https://edugit.org/Piperakis/SignTrack
5: https://github.com/puuiixx/SmartTableAssistant
6: https://github.com/aspinwall-ui/aspinwall
7: https://edugit.org/ateraeva/musiccompanion%20
8: https://github.com/marchellodev/sharik
9: https://edugit.org/HGEpro/LibreHomework
10: https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/jury.nl.html
11: https://yh4f.org
12: https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/index.nl.html
13: https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/faq.nl.html
== Over de Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is een goed doel dat gebruikers in staat
stelt om technologie te controleren. Software is sterk verweven met
alle aspecten van onze levens. Het is belangrijk dat deze technologie
ons tot iets in staat stelt in plaats van ons te beperken. Vrije
Software geeft iedereen het recht om software te gebruiken, te
begrijpen, aan te passen en te delen. Deze rechten helpen het
ondersteunen van andere fundamentele vrijheden zoals de vrijheid van
meningsuiting, pers en privacy.
De FSFE helpt individuen en organisaties begrijpen hoe Vrije Software
bijdraagt aan vrijheid, transparantie en zelfbeschikking. We verbeteren
gebruikersrechten door het opheffen van barrières voor de adoptie van
Vrije Software, moedigen mensen aan om Vrije Software te gebruiken en te
ontwikkelen en voorzien in middelen om iedereen in staat te stellen
Vrije Software in Europa verder te promoten.
https://fsfe.org