= Italian consumers shouldn’t have to pay for software they don’t want – Letter to Regulators =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2014/news-20141017-02.en.html ]
FSFE and Italian consumer association ADUC, along with Italian group
ILS, are asking regulators to take concrete steps to protect Italians
from being forced to pay for software they do not want or need. Italy’s
High Court ruled in September[1] that computer vendors must reimburse
customers for the price of unwanted non-free software that comes pre-
installed on PCs and laptops. Today, FSFE, ADUC and ILS have sent a
letter to the Italian competition authorities[2], calling on them to
ensure that vendors will comply with the High Court’s decision, and
respect the rights of their customers.
“Vendors can’t rightfully ask consumers to jump through hoops in
order to enjoy their legal rights, and the authorities have a duty
to protect those rights,” says FSFE’s President Karsten Gerloff.
“The simple steps we are calling for today would lead to much
greater freedom of choice for Italians. We are hopeful that the
competition authorities will take action to implement the High
Court's ruling.”
- FSFE, ADUC, and ILS are asking the competition watchdog to take the
following steps: When non-free software is pre-installed on a device,
it must carry a prominent notice to users to make them aware of the
possibility to receive a reimbursement for the price of the software
license.
- Hardware vendors should put in place simple procedures for consumers
to claim reimbursements for pre-installed software in line with market
prices. Reimbursement procedures must not be unnecessarily
complicated, and need to be easy for consumers to find and follow.
- Warranty and support provisions for the device must not be affected by
whether a consumer chooses to have the price of the software
reimbursed.
Alternatively, vendors could sell their devices pre-installed with Free
Software, releasing them from the above obligations.
“Only Free Software allows users to fully control what their
computers are doing, and where their personal data goes,” says
FSFE’s President Karsten Gerloff. “Anyone who buys a computer should
have the option of receiving it with Free Software pre-installed.”
In most European countries, it is difficult for consumers to acquire PCs
and laptops without being forced to pay for a license for a non-free
operating system at the same time. FSFE has long been pushing for
vendors to end their current practice of pushing non-free software on
consumers who do not want or need it. The organisation maintains a wiki
page[3] with advice for consumers. Here, buyers can also report their
experiences in obtaining reimbursements from different vendors in
various countries.
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1. https://fsfe.org/news/2014/news-20140912-01.en.html
2. https://fsfe.org/www.aduc.it/generale/files/file/allegati/Istanza%20AGCM%20…
3. https://fsfe.org//wiki.fsfe.org/WindowsTaxRefund.en.html
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
of the FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/
= Munich sticks with Free Software =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2014/news-20141016-01.en.html ]
On Tuesday, Munich's first mayor finally reacted to an inquiry by the
Green Party (in German)[1] related to rumours regarding a possible
switch back to a Windows-based desktop environment. The answer to the
inquiry shows that there is no factual basis for the claims made by
first mayor and second mayor. An evaluation of the IT infrastructure and
-processes is underway. FSFE calls on the city council to include vendor
independence as well as interoperability as factors in the
investigation, since they were central reasons for Munich to switch to
Free Software in the first place.
In recent months, statements by the new mayors Reiter and Schmid have
stirred up confusion regarding the future IT strategy of Munich.
Contrary to third mayor Christine Strobl, the first and second mayor
indicated a possible end of the exemplary usage of Free Software within
the city. Despite some effort on the side of the FSFE, facts were hard
to obtain. The answer to the inquiry now sheds some light on the issue.
== No factual basis for criticism ==
In this manner, the employee-survey “Great Place to Work” from late
2013, used by Reiter and Schmid in their criticisms towards the Free
Software used in the city, included various facets of the IT structure
not related to software, ranging from hardware to support and
telecommuting. It does not, however, offer any information on a possible
relation of the employees' problems with Free Software. This information
is currently unavailable, as Reiter says within the answer.
The mayor furthermore admits that the often-cited waiting time needed to
obtain official work mobile phone has “no relation” to the “operating
system LiMux”, but was instead caused by the fact that he was the first
to demand the implementation of iOS in the city's IT infrastructure.
Regarding the missing unified mail and calendar application criticised
by Schmid, it became clear that the implementation of the corresponding
Free Software solution Kolab is currently in the works. It was only
initiated in early 2014 and is expected to be used starting in 2015.
== Broad support for Free Software in Munich ==
The city's IT department, the city council[2], as well as third mayor
Christine Strobl, support the current IT strategy and thus distance
themselves from the criticisms of the first and second mayor. Strobl
emphasises that "upon careful checking" she still considers the switch
to Free Software as the right thing to do.
She has a sound economic basis for this view: Due to reduced licensing
expenditures alone, the city was able to save 11 million Euro. The
hardware cost alone of switching to Windows 7 would amount to 3,15
million Euro, with Windows 8 being even more expensive according to the
IT-administration. A switch would incur additional costs, and mean the
loss of the achievements in the support of open standards.
== Include vendor independence and interoperability ==
The document states that a working group will evaluate the IT-structures
and -processes within the city and will give advice on their
improvement. The criteria for this evaluation are formulated in a very
broad way, which makes it difficult to comment on them at this point.
One thing is clear: the evaluation needs to take vendor independence and
interoperability into account instead of limiting its perspective on
cost and user satisfaction, since the former have been central arguments
for the switch in the first place. This enables that the city to control
their own data and ensures the non-discriminative access to the cities
IT services.
“Other European Countries such as Great Britain, France, Italy, and
Sweden have made Free Software and Open Standards a central part of
their IT strategies for the public sector in the past years. In
Germany, the public sector is lagging behind. Germany's federal and
state governments finally need to take coherent action so that
public institutions here, too, can enjoy the benefits of Free
Software” says Karsten Gerloff, President of the Free Software
Foundation Europe.
1. http://www.ris-muenchen.de/RII2/RII/DOK/ANTRAG/3456728.pdf
2. http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Linux-in-Muenchen-Stadtrat-verteidig…
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
of the FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/
== Press contact ==
Matthias Kirschner <press at fsfeurope.org>
Free Software Foundation Europe
Schönhauser Allee 6/7, 10119 Berlin
Phone: +49-30-275 95 290