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news/2023/news-20230921-26.en.xhtml
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news/2023/news-20230921-26.en.xhtml
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<html newsdate="2023-09-26">
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<version>1</version>
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<head>
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<title>Happy 40th Anniversary of Software Freedom!
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</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>Happy 40th Anniversary of Software Freedom!</h1>
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<p>For four decades the Free Software community has been working to empower users to
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control technology and to help our society understand how Free Software contributes to
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freedom, transparency and self-determination.</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/f1/35/630abac3c6cb3e2d1fe8533395eb.png"
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alt="GNU 40 anniversary image" />
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<figcaption>Did you know that the most powerful supercomputers run with Free Software?</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>Four decades ago, technology began to shape our lives: it was the early 1980s, computers
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did not yet fit into our pockets but filled large rooms. and we started to swap from tapes
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and floppies to CDs to listen to music. In 1982, the Time magazine named the computer
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"Person of the Year". At that point, some people already started pointing out the need to
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give users control over this technology. So in 1983 the <a href="https://www.gnu.org/gnu/the-gnu-project.html">GNU Project</a> was announced by
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Richard M. Stallman. The goal: to create an operating system consisting entirely of Free
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Software to allow people to use, understand, adapt, and share software. Two years later
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the FSF, <a href="/about/fsfnetwork.html">a sister organisation of the FSFE</a>, was founded as the legal backbone for the
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GNU project.</p>
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<p>That was the beginning of the software freedom movement! Today it is a global and broad
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movement that includes small local companies, large global corporations, civil society
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organisations and thousands of professionals. All are working towards a world where the
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<a href="/freesoftware/index.html#freedoms">four freedoms</a> are guaranteed: users are free to use software and adapt it to their needs,
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and are able to understand and share it. These rights support other fundamental rights
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such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and privacy.</p>
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<p>It is a movement that nowadays <a href="/freesoftware/democracy.html">safeguards democracy</a>. Free Software contributes to the
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interaction and participation of interested stakeholders and our society. In general, it
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empowers people to use software to create solutions to their problems, it contributes to
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creating trustworthy systems, and it enables technology that serves us instead of
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technology that controls us.</p>
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<h3>Software Freedom and the GNU GPL</h3>
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<p>In 1992, the essential components of the GNU operating system were complete, except
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for one, the kernel. When in 1992 the Linux kernel was re-released under the GNU GPL,
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the combination of GNU and Linux formed a complete free operating system. This
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combination is the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu-linux-faq.html.">GNU/Linux system</a>.</p>
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<p>Usually combined with the kernel Linux, GNU forms the backbone of the Internet and
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powers millions of servers, desktops, and embedded computing devices. Aside from its
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technical advancements, GNU pioneered the concept of “copyleft,” which is best
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exemplified by the <a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html">GNU General Public License (GPL)</a>.</p>
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<p>Copyleft gives permission for a user to enjoy the four freedoms of Free Software, under
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the condition that those freedoms remain intact in further distribution of the software or
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derivative works. In practical terms, a copyleft license would generally mean that the
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derivative has to be licensed under the same license as the original work. As a result, this
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ensures that users of copylefted Free Software benefit from the four rights to use,
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understand, share, and improve it, and those rights cannot be withheld from the users.
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This does not exclude Free Software from being sold, so long as the buyers are not
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restricted from exercising those four rights after their purchase. Free Software can also be
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commercialized in other ways, such as by selling support, services, or certification. <a href="/freesoftware/legal/faq.html">(Learn
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more about Free Software Licensing)</a>.</p>
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<p>Forty years later, GNU and Free Software are even more relevant. Software has become
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an indispensable resource for our societies, but users do not have full control over it.
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Device manufacturers, vendors, and Internet platforms have restricted software freedom
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by exercising control over end-user devices, threatening individual autonomy, consumer
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welfare, and digital sovereignty. End users must take ownership of their devices with Free
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Software.</p>
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<p>Device Neutrality can restore end-user control over devices, and fair competition in digital
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markets requires ensuring software freedom for devices, protecting end-users from lock-
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in, and promoting end-user control over data.</p>
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<h3>Celebration and Hacker Meeting</h3>
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<p>The GNU Project is celebrating with a <a href="https://www.gnu.org/gnu40/">40th anniversary hacker meeting</a> on <strong>27 September
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at the Volkshaus in Biel/Bienne</strong>, Switzerland. Organized by GNUnet e.V, the event is open
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to all who want to celebrate, work on, or learn about Free Software.</p>
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<p>In Boston, the Free Software Foundation, which sponsors GNU, is organizing a hack day
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for families, students, and anyone interested in celebrating GNU’s anniversary. It will be
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held at the <strong>FSF’s offices in Boston (USA), on October 1</strong>.</p>
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</body>
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<tags>
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<tag key="front-page" />
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<tag key="gnu">GNU</tag>
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<tag key="gpl">GNU GPL</tag>
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<tag key="anniversary">Anniversary</tag>
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</tags>
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<discussion href="https://community.fsfe.org/t/1078"/>
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<image url="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/f1/35/630abac3c6cb3e2d1fe8533395eb.png"
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alt="GNU 40 anniversary image" />
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</html>
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