WEBVTT 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:09.850 Herald (De): Herzlich willkommen im Hacker Morgengrauen im Stream der c-base der 00:00:09.850 --> 00:00:15.559 Raumstation unter Berlin Mitte. Das ist schon der zweite Talk heute. Wir begrüßen 00:00:15.559 --> 00:00:18.920 diesmal Alex. Hallo, Alex. Alexander: Hallo. Guten Morgen. 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:23.540 Herald: Alexander Sander zum Thema Public Code in der Pandemie. Public Money, Public 00:00:23.540 --> 00:00:28.280 Code. Genauer gesagt. Also wir möchten doch gerne für das sauer abgesparte 00:00:28.280 --> 00:00:33.390 Steuergeld auch Dinge zurückbekommen und nicht Dinge, wo wir hinterher nicht ran 00:00:33.390 --> 00:00:35.730 dürfen und nicht reingucken dürfen und nichts mit machen dürfen. Und welche 00:00:35.730 --> 00:00:39.260 Bedeutung das hat. Und warum das langfristig noch wichtiger wird. Das wird 00:00:39.260 --> 00:00:44.540 Alex uns gleich lang und breit erklären. So lang und so breit wie nötig. Bis 00:00:44.540 --> 00:00:50.500 ungefähr 1 Uhr. Und wenn ihr Fragen habt, dann benutzt den Hashtag rc3 und dann 00:00:50.500 --> 00:00:55.810 werden wir versuchen das in dem Pad zu materialisieren und noch kurz drüber zu 00:00:55.810 --> 00:01:00.950 sprechen um 1. Gut. Alex, dann halbe Stunde für dich. Viel Spaß. 00:01:00.950 --> 00:01:02.350 Alex (De): Ja, vielen Dank. 00:01:02.350 --> 00:01:08.610 Alex (En): Good morning, everyone. 12:30 laughs hacker morning. That's that's 00:01:08.610 --> 00:01:12.000 lovely. Yeah. So in the next 30 minutes, I will talk about the public money, public 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:17.070 code and what role free software played during the crisis and is still playing. 00:01:17.070 --> 00:01:21.720 And so my name is Alexander Sander. I'm policy consultant of the Free Software 00:01:21.720 --> 00:01:28.870 Foundation Europe, and we are a charity that empowers users to control technology. 00:01:28.870 --> 00:01:36.710 And yeah, we do believe that free software plays a crucial role here. So to get us in 00:01:36.710 --> 00:01:43.900 the mood, I think you all remember it was around March last year when the borders 00:01:43.900 --> 00:01:51.310 have been closed because of the crisis. So we wanted to avoid contacts. And yeah, one 00:01:51.310 --> 00:01:58.930 solution back in the days was to close borders. And as you know, free movement is 00:01:58.930 --> 00:02:07.130 a fundamental right. And to fix this issue, software played important role and 00:02:07.130 --> 00:02:14.709 contact tracing apps, for example, have been pushed on the market to fix this. And 00:02:14.709 --> 00:02:20.779 I will talk about this a bit later. And also, we have seen us and many of us in 00:02:20.779 --> 00:02:27.799 home office and again here. Software, was very important and as well free software 00:02:27.799 --> 00:02:34.049 played an important role. And as said in the next minutes, I will tell you why and 00:02:34.049 --> 00:02:41.869 free software is important and as and specifically what free software solutions 00:02:41.869 --> 00:02:47.239 helped us to tackle the crisis. So everybody loves free software, especially, 00:02:47.239 --> 00:02:53.570 I think, around c-base and the Congress free software is pretty well known. 00:02:53.570 --> 00:02:59.859 However, let me introduce you quickly the concept of free software. So it's also 00:02:59.859 --> 00:03:05.809 sometimes called libre software, open source software. But free software always 00:03:05.809 --> 00:03:13.319 comes with 4 freedoms, and it's the freedom to use, study, share and improve. 00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:17.590 This means free software gives you the freedom to use the software for any 00:03:17.590 --> 00:03:21.829 purpose you want. Without any restrictions, you are free to study the 00:03:21.829 --> 00:03:26.569 code so it can be analyzed by anyone so you can see the code. You can see what the 00:03:26.569 --> 00:03:31.769 software is going to do, what it does. You also free to share the software without 00:03:31.769 --> 00:03:37.909 any limitations. So there are no like license costs or something like this, so 00:03:37.909 --> 00:03:43.590 you can install it on as many workstations as you want and so on. But here, please 00:03:43.590 --> 00:03:49.540 keep in mind the price doesn't matter. So free is not coming with the price in 00:03:49.540 --> 00:03:54.761 general. So you can also sell free software and this is also done, but you 00:03:54.761 --> 00:03:59.529 are free to share it afterwards. And also, you are free to improve the software. You 00:03:59.529 --> 00:04:06.069 can modify it. And by this you can give back to the community. And whenever we 00:04:06.069 --> 00:04:12.329 have these 4 freedoms to use, study, share and improve, then it is free software or s 00:04:12.329 --> 00:04:16.049 said there are many names like open source, libre software and so on. And 00:04:16.049 --> 00:04:22.070 these 4 freedoms helped us during the crisis a lot when it came to software 00:04:22.070 --> 00:04:28.480 solutions to give you a better understanding of the 4 freedoms I just 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:34.650 named. In practical terms, I have this slide here for you where I will first show 00:04:34.650 --> 00:04:39.210 you the problems of proprietary software. So software, which is not coming with this 00:04:39.210 --> 00:04:46.830 4 freedoms and on the other hand, on a practical way, the 4 freedoms as a 00:04:46.830 --> 00:04:51.590 solution for free software. So first, they are. The major problem was proprietary 00:04:51.590 --> 00:04:56.570 software is that there is no interoperability at all. You might have NOTE Paragraph 00:04:56.570 --> 00:05:06.180 laughing this problem as well a lot. So it's the thing that you are stuck in an ecosystem. 00:05:06.180 --> 00:05:11.410 And if you buy a piece of software from one vendor, you always have to go back to 00:05:11.410 --> 00:05:17.500 this one vendor. To like broaden your system, so programs are not working 00:05:17.500 --> 00:05:24.030 together, so there is no connection and but as we call it interoperability, this 00:05:24.030 --> 00:05:29.270 is something we don't see at proprietary software. But as you are coming into this 00:05:29.270 --> 00:05:34.260 vendor lock in, as said. If you buy one piece of software, let's say office 00:05:34.260 --> 00:05:42.700 solution, then you need to buy a mail program, or presentation thingy or 00:05:42.700 --> 00:05:46.970 something like this from the same vendor. Because as you want, have want to have 00:05:46.970 --> 00:05:52.140 interoperability, these proprietary vendors only give you interoperability in 00:05:52.140 --> 00:05:56.870 their own system. But if you want to go out of the system, then you run into 00:05:56.870 --> 00:06:00.660 struggles, and there's no interoperability at all. So this is a problem with data 00:06:00.660 --> 00:06:07.260 sharing with others, but also like collaborative working and so on. And this 00:06:07.260 --> 00:06:13.420 also means that these pieces of software came with unpredictable costs. So first of 00:06:13.420 --> 00:06:17.850 all, you have to buy a piece of software. Then you do not know how much you have to 00:06:17.850 --> 00:06:23.770 pay for the other pieces you might need in the future. But also, you don't know at 00:06:23.770 --> 00:06:29.520 one point you have to pay for upgrades for updates and so on. And so it's really hard 00:06:29.520 --> 00:06:35.340 to estimate the costs for the software in the future. And this is also a huge 00:06:35.340 --> 00:06:41.020 problem which is coming with proprietary software. And also as you have to pay for 00:06:41.020 --> 00:06:47.330 the license first, and many also like for a license for every workstation and so on. 00:06:47.330 --> 00:06:53.390 Your investments are lost so you can't invest the money into the coding, but you 00:06:53.390 --> 00:07:00.310 just pay for licensing. And so that's why your investments are also just lost in the 00:07:00.310 --> 00:07:04.650 very beginning. And we have seen during the crisis I will show you some examples 00:07:04.650 --> 00:07:10.181 that's later that there's also a very low acceptance by citizens if they have to, or 00:07:10.181 --> 00:07:17.120 if they are forced to use proprietary software. And in the end, there are also 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:23.240 security issues. As you can't look into the code, you might don't find backdoors, 00:07:23.240 --> 00:07:27.230 for example, or you can't see if the software is really is going to do what 00:07:27.230 --> 00:07:33.080 it's supposed to do. And so therefore proprietary software also comes with 00:07:33.080 --> 00:07:38.650 security issues. And so on the other hand, we have the solution. It's risk free 00:07:38.650 --> 00:07:44.230 software because we have there, we have these open standards. This is coming from 00:07:44.230 --> 00:07:47.300 the 4 freedoms as you are free, for example, to look in the code as you can 00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:51.910 modify it and so on, and as it based on open standard we have this 00:07:51.910 --> 00:07:57.490 interoperability by default. And so we can, like work together across borders, 00:07:57.490 --> 00:08:02.700 and it's very easy to collaborate if you are using free software because you have 00:08:02.700 --> 00:08:08.020 these interoperability by default. Also you are highly independent through the 00:08:08.020 --> 00:08:14.030 free licenses. So the 4 freedoms are always guaranteed when it is free 00:08:14.030 --> 00:08:18.749 software, so you are free to modify and adapt it to your needs. You are free to 00:08:18.749 --> 00:08:22.290 share it, to use it in as many workstations as you want and so on, as 00:08:22.290 --> 00:08:27.310 just said. So you are highly independent, by this you can also collaborate, and this 00:08:27.310 --> 00:08:31.500 is also something we have seen heavily during the crisis. That collaboration is 00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:37.060 key, especially when it comes to global crisis. We need to work across borders. We 00:08:37.060 --> 00:08:43.189 need to collaborate across borders. And so this this collaboration, we can share 00:08:43.189 --> 00:08:51.110 risks, but also costs. So this is a big advantage of free software and also you 00:08:51.110 --> 00:08:55.519 can involve local partners. So this is especially something we see when it comes 00:08:55.519 --> 00:09:00.699 to the use of free software within administrations, public bodies. So 00:09:00.699 --> 00:09:06.540 whenever governments are using free software, then there's a huge involvement 00:09:06.540 --> 00:09:10.949 of local partners, which is also like a strengthening not only the software 00:09:10.949 --> 00:09:16.901 project but also the region and so on. And it is transparent by default, as you can 00:09:16.901 --> 00:09:22.559 see the code. This is very important. It's also one of the freedoms. And because of 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:27.809 this transparency, you can see the code. And by this, you can, for example, 00:09:27.809 --> 00:09:34.470 identify bugs. You can fix bugs quickly. And so free software gives you the 00:09:34.470 --> 00:09:41.829 advantage to make your software even more secure. And so free software isn't secure 00:09:41.829 --> 00:09:46.709 by default, but you have the chance to quickly find security issues, but also 00:09:46.709 --> 00:09:51.439 other issues and fix them immediately. So and this is also a big advantage, so you 00:09:51.439 --> 00:09:56.679 don't have to go back to a vendor and ask him if he can fix something. You can 00:09:56.679 --> 00:10:02.510 simply do it by your own or the community can thus. So with all of this, you can 00:10:02.510 --> 00:10:08.350 also already see why it is a very good idea to use free software in general, but 00:10:08.350 --> 00:10:14.869 also in particular during a crisis, which is. What we have seen, especially during 00:10:14.869 --> 00:10:20.779 the corona crisis. So we need to work together because global problems need 00:10:20.779 --> 00:10:26.720 global solutions, so as already said during the corona crisis, we have seen a 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:32.540 lot that there was free software around and that that was very good, that we used 00:10:32.540 --> 00:10:36.389 free software and not proprietary software. And that especially in the 00:10:36.389 --> 00:10:41.389 beginning, there were very interesting debates around it. I think you might 00:10:41.389 --> 00:10:47.740 remember the tracing apps and so on, but we have seen that here in global crisis 00:10:47.740 --> 00:10:55.240 the demands are very similar. So for example, when it comes to contact tracing 00:10:55.240 --> 00:11:00.480 or something like this, we have seen that specific software and specific hardware is 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:07.040 and was needed. And for Home Office, for example, or for remote working, we have 00:11:07.040 --> 00:11:11.819 seen this and especially with the tracing and now we see certificate apps, we see 00:11:11.819 --> 00:11:17.239 that they are more or less the same demands around the world. And especially 00:11:17.239 --> 00:11:22.759 if we look at Europe, they are more or less the same solutions as we want to. 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:31.629 Yeah, the European region without borders and so on. And here again, the solution is 00:11:31.629 --> 00:11:36.089 that we need interoperability. So we need these open standards to be able to 00:11:36.089 --> 00:11:44.420 collaborate, to work together and to also use the free licenses and to spread the 00:11:44.420 --> 00:11:52.939 software as wide as possible. And also that we need to foster the innovation and 00:11:52.939 --> 00:11:58.199 collaborate. So we have seen this a lot, that it was very important that it's not 00:11:58.199 --> 00:12:04.420 only coders who work on a project and not only a nation or a specific region working 00:12:04.420 --> 00:12:10.050 on a project, but that we have to involve many stakeholders from many countries 00:12:10.050 --> 00:12:15.850 working on specific projects. And this is only possible with free software as we can 00:12:15.850 --> 00:12:20.740 work and collaborate across borders. And we have also seen that the transparency of 00:12:20.740 --> 00:12:26.089 free software gives us acceptance, and this is very important, especially if you 00:12:26.089 --> 00:12:31.319 want to roll out software projects on a very large level. You need acceptance, 00:12:31.319 --> 00:12:37.660 especially by citizens that they use the systems, and therefore transparency is and 00:12:37.660 --> 00:12:44.519 also was key. And yeah, as said as you can involve all stakeholders, this is also a 00:12:44.519 --> 00:12:49.760 big advantage. And I want to give you a concrete example now, with the apps. I 00:12:49.760 --> 00:12:55.999 think most of you are using at least 1 or 2 of these laughing free software apps, which 00:12:55.999 --> 00:13:01.680 are around at the moment. And when the debate started, it was also like one and a half 00:13:01.680 --> 00:13:07.619 years ago we were discussing these contact tracing apps, and it was a discussion if 00:13:07.619 --> 00:13:11.440 it should be centralized, decentralized, if it should be free software or 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:18.339 proprietary software and so on. And we very quickly jumped in with a press 00:13:18.339 --> 00:13:25.999 release and advocated around governments with 3 demands, and they are still valid 00:13:25.999 --> 00:13:32.740 today. And the 1st demand is that no matter what it is, these apps need to be 00:13:32.740 --> 00:13:38.589 used voluntarily. So this is not that much on free software, but it's also a key that 00:13:38.589 --> 00:13:45.319 it's a voluntary. But then it also must respect fundamental rights. So whenever 00:13:45.319 --> 00:13:50.670 these apps are introduced and when they are health data, for example, in these 00:13:50.670 --> 00:13:55.509 apps are, then we must respect fundamental rights, for example, the right to privacy 00:13:55.509 --> 00:14:01.449 and so on. And we can only see if fundamental rights are protected, if the 00:14:01.449 --> 00:14:06.559 code is transparent and if you can prove that the software is really going to do 00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:11.709 what it's supposed to do. And in the end, so we set all of these apps and solutions 00:14:11.709 --> 00:14:17.089 need to be free software, and we have been very successful with this demand and there 00:14:17.089 --> 00:14:24.910 was a very huge debate. And what makes us very happy was that there was not only a 00:14:24.910 --> 00:14:30.100 debate and not only the apps have been released as free software, but there were 00:14:30.100 --> 00:14:34.550 some fundamental statements during the time, for example, from the World Health 00:14:34.550 --> 00:14:40.170 Organization. And they said they need to be full, there need to be full 00:14:40.170 --> 00:14:47.910 transparency and these apps need to be open sourced and also the European eHealth 00:14:47.910 --> 00:14:50.540 network. So this is the European Commission and the member states of the 00:14:50.540 --> 00:14:58.360 European Union released the toolbox for the member states, where they said already 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:07.010 defined how these mobile applications need to be designed in the European Union. And 00:15:07.010 --> 00:15:13.890 here they said also that it need to be open sourced and. What makes us very happy 00:15:13.890 --> 00:15:17.569 that they're not just said it need to be open source, but they also said it's good 00:15:17.569 --> 00:15:21.869 for reuse, it's good for interoperability, it's good for the security and the 00:15:21.869 --> 00:15:28.920 transparency. And so they followed our arguments fully, and this is very 00:15:28.920 --> 00:15:33.509 important that the European Union, but also the World Health Organization, 00:15:33.509 --> 00:15:40.119 quickly understood that it's only free software that can help us during this time 00:15:40.119 --> 00:15:46.019 and the crisis. And we have quickly seen that there is this community engagement 00:15:46.019 --> 00:15:52.279 and that it's not just about hackers and coders who improve apps, but it's also 00:15:52.279 --> 00:15:57.360 about translations, for example. So we need people with language skills, but also 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:03.420 especially when it comes to the tracing apps. We also need, like scientists from 00:16:03.420 --> 00:16:10.089 all areas who can tell us how such a virus spread and so on, and how we can trace it. 00:16:10.089 --> 00:16:20.160 So here we have seen how global cooperation can work and can lead to a 00:16:20.160 --> 00:16:25.480 situation that we have a very good app in the end, which helps us in this case for 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:34.770 contact tracing in the very beginning. And here you can see what happened on git, but 00:16:34.770 --> 00:16:38.980 also with the CovPass app. We have seen that it's now available on F-droid. 00:16:38.980 --> 00:16:45.790 Unfortunately, in Germany the CovPass app, so this is the app which gives you your 00:16:45.790 --> 00:16:55.280 COVID certificate that your vaccinated, for example. And so in Germany, this app 00:16:55.280 --> 00:17:01.750 was free software, but it was not released on F-droid and F-droid is a free software 00:17:01.750 --> 00:17:06.830 app store. So the yeah, the better app store compared to Play Store, because in 00:17:06.830 --> 00:17:11.200 F-droid, you can only find free software. But what happened is that the community 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:15.190 again stepped in, so volunteers helped us to make it possible that this app is now 00:17:15.190 --> 00:17:22.570 also available on F-droid and ?. Yeah, it's also possible to use it on more 00:17:22.570 --> 00:17:29.790 devices than before, and it's also free to use without any Google services, which is 00:17:29.790 --> 00:17:34.710 also very important when it comes to privacy and so on. So here we have seen 00:17:34.710 --> 00:17:40.080 that with the use of free software, we can make this app available to everyone and we 00:17:40.080 --> 00:17:45.120 can ensure that fundamental rights are respected and that everything is based on 00:17:45.120 --> 00:17:49.470 free software and that you, for example, don't need Google services to use these 00:17:49.470 --> 00:17:54.870 apps. But on the other hand, what happened later? So after the good news, yeah, as 00:17:54.870 --> 00:18:01.270 said there are also always bad news. In October last year, the European Commission 00:18:01.270 --> 00:18:07.620 released a Open-Source strategy, so just a year later, after they said when it comes 00:18:07.620 --> 00:18:13.110 to the CovPass apps and COVID apps, where they said it's important that they are 00:18:13.110 --> 00:18:18.670 transparent because of security reasons, interoperability and so on, they gave 00:18:18.670 --> 00:18:23.331 themselves a strategy. So the European Commission released an open source 00:18:23.331 --> 00:18:28.590 strategy for themselves how they want to act and how they want to use free software 00:18:28.590 --> 00:18:36.650 in the future. And unfortunately, there they watered down a lot. So it was not 00:18:36.650 --> 00:18:40.260 like that, they said. So now we learned, and we want to have now everything on free 00:18:40.260 --> 00:18:43.700 software because this is our learning from the crisis this is our learning from the 00:18:43.700 --> 00:18:51.160 last decades. No. They said they want to release their solutions wherever it makes 00:18:51.160 --> 00:18:57.470 sense to do so as open source. And they also want to be in the position to choose 00:18:57.470 --> 00:19:02.980 non open technologies where there are good reasons to do so. So but at the same time, 00:19:02.980 --> 00:19:08.320 they never, ever defined what are good reasons and where something makes sense. 00:19:08.320 --> 00:19:13.980 So this is completely open. And so what is good, on the one hand, is that they have 00:19:13.980 --> 00:19:17.060 something like open source strategy so that they are thinking about it, that they 00:19:17.060 --> 00:19:21.010 are giving themselves the strategy. But at the same time, if they releasing this 00:19:21.010 --> 00:19:28.800 paper, with so many loopholes we fear that there won't be a major change here. And I 00:19:28.800 --> 00:19:34.710 think or we do believe that not only the crisis has shown us that free software is 00:19:34.710 --> 00:19:40.790 the way to go, but also like the last decades and also before the crisis. We 00:19:40.790 --> 00:19:46.150 have advocating a lot around this, and we have seen many administrations who have 00:19:46.150 --> 00:19:49.850 very good experience with free software, not only when it comes to crisis but also 00:19:49.850 --> 00:19:54.730 in general. Again, think about Home Office, think about video chats. What we 00:19:54.730 --> 00:19:58.820 are do using here today, jitsi a free software tool, but also BigBlueButton, is 00:19:58.820 --> 00:20:06.500 for example one so nobody has to be forced to use proprietary solutions like Zoom or 00:20:06.500 --> 00:20:13.410 something like this. So they are very good free software tools on the market. And 00:20:13.410 --> 00:20:15.960 there are good reasons to use them, especially when it comes to 00:20:15.960 --> 00:20:21.970 administrations, because they are in contact with citizens with us. And I think 00:20:21.970 --> 00:20:26.060 this is again a learning from the crisis. Transparency, for example, is key, but 00:20:26.060 --> 00:20:32.620 also interoperability so that we are free to use whatever device we want, but are 00:20:32.620 --> 00:20:38.990 still in the position to communicate with administrations. So and they also said 00:20:38.990 --> 00:20:44.110 they want to set up a small, open source program office. There is no budget at all 00:20:44.110 --> 00:20:51.310 for this. So what sounds very good from the very first page, so »think open« 00:20:51.310 --> 00:20:57.980 that's the title of the strategy, turns out to be a paper full of loopholes, and 00:20:57.980 --> 00:21:01.870 we are still in contact with the European Commission in order to learn what they are 00:21:01.870 --> 00:21:07.350 doing. From what we have seen so far. It's not that much. They just released another 00:21:07.350 --> 00:21:12.560 new paper. And um, but still, we don't see any budget. We don't see any people 00:21:12.560 --> 00:21:17.930 working on this so that were specifically hired for this after the strategy was 00:21:17.930 --> 00:21:24.210 introduced and so on. So, but yes. Stay tuned. Hopefully we can release some news 00:21:24.210 --> 00:21:30.080 on this soonish on our website, but the commission is very, let's say, closed when 00:21:30.080 --> 00:21:36.140 we ask about they think open strategy. Which is at the same time, very strange. 00:21:36.140 --> 00:21:43.040 And so I said already before the crisis, not only us, but 100s of organizations and 00:21:43.040 --> 00:21:48.870 also 10s of 1000s of individuals demanded that publicly financed software must be be 00:21:48.870 --> 00:21:54.060 made publicly available under a free software license. And I think with a 00:21:54.060 --> 00:21:59.870 crisis we have learned that it's now even more important than ever before to tell 00:21:59.870 --> 00:22:06.260 administrations to convince administrations to use free software, and 00:22:06.260 --> 00:22:11.380 it's not only about crisis, but it's also about digital sovereignty, for example. So 00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:17.200 also for administrations, it's good to know what a software does if they use it. 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:21.810 So it's in the core of our state digital infrastructure and therefore the 00:22:21.810 --> 00:22:25.900 administrations need to have the full control over the software they are using. 00:22:25.900 --> 00:22:31.580 And this is also true for everybody else, like for us individuals, but also for 00:22:31.580 --> 00:22:37.930 companies and civil society and so on. So it's in terms of digital sovereignty, a 00:22:37.930 --> 00:22:44.610 very good idea to use free software. But it's also about our money. It's public 00:22:44.610 --> 00:22:49.210 money, it's taxpayers money and public bodies are financed through taxes, and 00:22:49.210 --> 00:22:52.110 that's why they have to make sure they spend their funds in the most efficient 00:22:52.110 --> 00:22:57.920 way possible. And as I've shown to you, I think there's only 1 solution and this is 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:07.500 free software in the and. And to give you 1 number here and just imagine this money 00:23:07.500 --> 00:23:12.520 would have been invested in free software in the last years. So the governments and 00:23:12.520 --> 00:23:17.550 public bodies, public administrations are the largest purchasers of IT goods and 00:23:17.550 --> 00:23:23.700 services, and they comprise up to 27% of the revenue of software firms. And so now 00:23:23.700 --> 00:23:29.250 just think about if we would use these 27% and invest it in free software and think 00:23:29.250 --> 00:23:34.080 about the solutions we would have had during the crisis already, for example, to 00:23:34.080 --> 00:23:40.380 be able to have a secure workspace for Home Office and so on, but also to be 00:23:40.380 --> 00:23:48.770 available to be in a digital administrations. And so I think this 00:23:48.770 --> 00:23:54.350 number is very important and shows us that there are many investments lost because we 00:23:54.350 --> 00:24:00.100 are or administrations are still buying proprietary software and didn't switch to 00:24:00.100 --> 00:24:07.350 free software. So in the end, free software gives you the many advantages you 00:24:07.350 --> 00:24:13.060 can as said involve local partners. So whenever administrations or public bodies 00:24:13.060 --> 00:24:17.620 are procuring free software, we can see that it's also strengthening the local 00:24:17.620 --> 00:24:25.040 economy so licensing fees are not going anymore to Ireland and the U.S., but it's 00:24:25.040 --> 00:24:30.190 also highly efficient, so you don't have to reinvent the wheel again and again. So 00:24:30.190 --> 00:24:34.980 administrations all over the world have pretty much more or less the same demands. 00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:39.150 And so why do we have to reinvent the wheel again and again and buy one piece of 00:24:39.150 --> 00:24:44.840 software again and again? And so there's absolutely no reason. And it would be way 00:24:44.840 --> 00:24:48.730 more efficient to collaborate. And we can also see that when administrations are 00:24:48.730 --> 00:24:55.360 doing this, it's happening. And also again, we have this digital sovereignty, 00:24:55.360 --> 00:25:02.360 so you can have software which is tailored to your needs and you can modify it 00:25:02.360 --> 00:25:07.360 whenever you want and adapt to your needs. And it's not just like a vendors business 00:25:07.360 --> 00:25:11.300 model what you are following. And so therefore free software is a very good 00:25:11.300 --> 00:25:16.870 idea. So if you are in line with our arguments and if you like our arguments, 00:25:16.870 --> 00:25:22.240 you are still free to sign our campaign. So 3 years, 4 years ago now. We started 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:28.130 our comparing public money public code where we demand that whenever it's public 00:25:28.130 --> 00:25:34.400 money, the code should be also public. And so we want legislation requiring that 00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:39.880 publicly financed software developed for the public sector, need to be made 00:25:39.880 --> 00:25:45.632 publicly available under a free software license. And we are seeing more and more 00:25:45.632 --> 00:25:51.940 treaties and also, for example, in the coalition treaty in Germany, we have some 00:25:51.940 --> 00:25:56.420 sentences on the use of free software. And so we see that there is some progress 00:25:56.420 --> 00:26:03.320 here. But still, we only need not only we need to do more pressure here, we have to 00:26:03.320 --> 00:26:09.750 fight for public money, public code still, and we see more and more commitments. But 00:26:09.750 --> 00:26:15.090 at the same time, we need to also follow up with the implementation. As we have 00:26:15.090 --> 00:26:19.020 seen, for example, with the European Commission, their open source strategy, 00:26:19.020 --> 00:26:23.830 which is called think open but full of loopholes. Now it's important to see that 00:26:23.830 --> 00:26:29.190 there is a good implementation because this is key. Papers are important. Sure, 00:26:29.190 --> 00:26:32.640 this is a 1st step, but now we need to make sure that there's also a proper 00:26:32.640 --> 00:26:39.500 implementation. And if you want to support us with our demand, you can also sign this 00:26:39.500 --> 00:26:43.350 campaign. If you haven't done already or reach out to us, we have several 00:26:43.350 --> 00:26:49.260 activities. We have an activity package telling you how you can contact your local 00:26:49.260 --> 00:26:53.340 administration and convince them to use free software. Lots of our volunteers are 00:26:53.340 --> 00:26:59.330 doing this, sometimes successfully. And so I think this is important that we continue 00:26:59.330 --> 00:27:04.760 to talk about the advantages of free software and also use the example from the 00:27:04.760 --> 00:27:11.340 crisis, I just have shown to you and continue our efforts to convince 00:27:11.340 --> 00:27:18.930 administration to switch to free software. And with this, I want to end my talk and 00:27:18.930 --> 00:27:24.940 would be up for questions if there are some in the pad, in the meantime. 00:27:24.940 --> 00:27:34.330 Herald: Thank thank you very, very much. There's essentially 1 question popping up 00:27:34.330 --> 00:27:41.400 on our pads here. And this is about this term of digital sovereignty and whether 00:27:41.400 --> 00:27:49.330 digital sovereignty funded by national state actors would eventually mean that we 00:27:49.330 --> 00:27:54.540 are sooner or later hacking for the national security agencies of our 00:27:54.540 --> 00:28:01.060 countries. And what that would imply to for free software and the ethics of free 00:28:01.060 --> 00:28:07.160 software. Alex: I mean, there was a bit of 00:28:07.160 --> 00:28:12.970 background noise, so I'm not sure if I fully got it, but it's about if we would 00:28:12.970 --> 00:28:22.760 like, if our community would like hack or fix governments software, if this is in 00:28:22.760 --> 00:28:25.980 line with the ethical principles of free software, was this was, was this the 00:28:25.980 --> 00:28:36.710 question or did I get it wrong? H: Yes. (not audible) 00:28:36.710 --> 00:28:45.340 A: But I'll try to I try to address this, I think. Yeah. Governmental bodies are 00:28:45.340 --> 00:28:51.830 using free software or should use free software as they are handling our data as 00:28:51.830 --> 00:28:59.650 they are communicating with us. And for sure, also governmental bodies are using 00:28:59.650 --> 00:29:05.810 software for surveillance, for example, for reasons we might personally don't 00:29:05.810 --> 00:29:14.340 like. And this is very different. So and nobody should be forced to like invest the 00:29:14.340 --> 00:29:22.920 time or resources to have governments to fix their software. And it's also again on 00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:29.910 procurement so as said free software doesn't need to be priceless. So although 00:29:29.910 --> 00:29:36.950 for us, it's important that if public bodies are using software, then whatever, 00:29:36.950 --> 00:29:43.460 it is it should be free software and this gives us the chance to see code and, for 00:29:43.460 --> 00:29:50.050 example, to discuss. And this also opens debates. If you want a solution which is 00:29:50.050 --> 00:29:55.120 going to work like this, and this doesn't necessarily mean that we contribute to the 00:29:55.120 --> 00:30:01.720 code, but we can also contribute to a software by discussing what it does. Is 00:30:01.720 --> 00:30:04.920 this something we want to have for our society. Is this a software we really 00:30:04.920 --> 00:30:11.270 need? And this is, I think, only possible if we have something like, for example, a 00:30:11.270 --> 00:30:17.690 repository for governmental software which is used and then we can like check what 00:30:17.690 --> 00:30:24.710 this is, what they are doing. And it doesn't mean that that you have to do it, 00:30:24.710 --> 00:30:27.710 but you are free to do it. And I think this is important and this is also what we 00:30:27.710 --> 00:30:35.370 have seen during the crisis. So there are some general or fundamental discussions 00:30:35.370 --> 00:30:41.510 about the apps and about tracing and so on. But this is possible because it is 00:30:41.510 --> 00:30:44.900 free software, and that doesn't mean that you have to contribute to the code or that 00:30:44.900 --> 00:30:50.480 you have to use it. So as we said, it's important that it's that people can use it 00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:56.740 voluntarily, but still you can contribute even if you just debate around it. So and 00:30:56.740 --> 00:31:00.520 I think this is important and that is why we want free software. And I think in the 00:31:00.520 --> 00:31:03.710 end, it's better to have a free software project where you can see what the 00:31:03.710 --> 00:31:07.540 software does and that are a government tells you transparently what they are 00:31:07.540 --> 00:31:11.030 going to do instead of doing it completely secretly. 00:31:11.030 --> 00:31:20.470 H: Very well, so that demonstrates that we that we have maybe another problem or a 00:31:20.470 --> 00:31:26.030 new problem, but a constructive one, something we can work on. And this whole 00:31:26.030 --> 00:31:31.890 issue of digital sovereignty and national state actors must be discussed. As you 00:31:31.890 --> 00:31:39.130 said, this was the main question from the pad. So thank you for the talk this 00:31:39.130 --> 00:31:41.980 morning. A: Yeah, thanks for having me. Yeah, it 00:31:41.980 --> 00:31:45.030 was fun. And yeah,enjoy the rest of the conference then. 00:31:45.030 --> 00:31:53.690 H: Yes, I hope you do too. Thank you. A: Yeah. Thanks a lot. See you. Bye bye. 00:31:53.690 --> 00:31:59.390 *Since. Everything is licensed under a CC BY 4.0. And it is all for the community, 00:31:59.390 --> 00:32:00.390 to download for every bot.* 00:32:00.390 --> 00:32:03.000 Subtitles created by c3subtitles.de in the year 2022. Join, and help us!