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  <title>Liability, Interoperability &amp; Free Software in EU: what we are expecting</title>
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 <h1>Liability, Interoperability &amp; Free Software in EU: what we are expecting</h1>
 <p>After the summer recess,  EU institutions are resuming their 
 activities at the end of August. In the coming months, we expect to see 
 the adoption of legislation that could have an impact on Free 
 Software: the Cyber Resilience Act, the Product Liability Directive, the AI 
 Act, and the Interoperable Europe Act. What does all this legislation 
 mean for Free Software and its community?</p>
 <figure>
     <img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/278c7c68effc3bb373e271be722e93ee.jpg"
       alt="An illustration about the four freedoms that allows Software Freedom"/>
      </figure>
 <h3>Liability and Free Software</h3> 
 <p>The EU is currently aiming to 
 introduce liability rules for software, including Free Software. 
 Although the main debate  revolves around the Cyber Resilience Act 
 (CRA), the Product Liability Directive (PLD) is just as important. 
 Similar rules  are being introduced in the AI Act.</p>
 <p>With regard to the 
 CRA and the PLD, the Commission’s proposal to exclude Free Software 
 “outside the course of a commercial activity” would fail to address a 
 large part of the software that would not be covered but would be 
 deployed. At the same time, smaller and non-profit projects would be 
 harmed as they would have to bear major costs.</p>
 <p>For this reason, the FSFE has <a href="/news/2023/news-20230323-01.html">proposed a solution</a> that will lead to more security while safeguarding the Free Software ecosystem:</p>
 <ol>
 <li>Liability should be shifted to those deploying Free Software instead of those developing Free Software and</li>
 <li>Those who significantly financially benefit from this deployment should make sure the software becomes CE-compliant</li>
 </ol> 
 <p>Before the EU Parliament went into summer recess, we shared the 
 latest news on the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). The adoption of  the 
 Parliament’s position leaves a situation where <a href="/news/2023/news-20230719-01.html">Free Software developers 
 are left with less far-reaching protections</a>. Regular corporate 
 donations or contributions by company employees to a project could turn 
 non-profit work into a “commercial activity”, and therefore lead to 
 liability. The three EU institutions will now negotiate a final text, 
 which is likely to be concluded this year. We call on the EU 
 institutions to find a compromise that safeguards the Free Software 
 ecosystem while shifting liability to those who significantly benefit 
 financially from its deployment. <a href="/news/2023/news-20230323-01.html">Read more</a>.</p>
 <p>Similar rules are being negotiated in the Product Liability Directive (PLD), where the 
 FSFE is also demanding protection for Free Software developers. 
 However, the Parliament has yet to adopt its position.</p> 
 <p>Regarding the AI Act, the EU Parliament has also adopted its final text 
 by a large majority. It includes a <a href="/news/2023/news-20230614-01.html">far-reaching exemption for 
 non-profit organisations and small Free Software projects up to the 
 size of micro-enterprises</a>. 
 Negotiations on the final text between the three institutions (also 
 known as trialogue, where representatives of the Parliament, the 
 Council, and the Commission meet to agree on a final text) are already 
 taking place. Here the FSFE calls on the EU Parliament to defend 
 its position to ensure that this regulation protects not only Free Software and 
 its contributors but also consumers and customers.</p>
 <h3>Interoperability and Free Software</h3>
 <p>With the proposed Interoperable Europe Act, the EU aims to create a dedicated legal framework on 
 interoperability that will enhance cross-border digital public services 
 across the Union. Since the beginning of the year, the FSFE has been 
 advocating for a more inclusive governance structure in this 
 legislation, where different stakeholders, including the Free Software 
 community, can be part of the Interoperable Europe Board. A <a href="/news/2023/news-20230323-02.html">proper 
 monitoring and evaluation process together with a dedicated budget</a> are 
 also part of our demands.</p> 
 <p>With the adoption of its final position, the EU Parliament 
 has taken a step forward towards <a href="/news/2023/news-20230719-02.html">a more inclusive Board</a>, while at the 
 same time introducing clearer indicators and statistics to monitor the 
 progress of this legislation. This is particularly important given that 
 the Council's recent compromise text still moves in the opposite 
 direction by hindering the inclusion of relevant stakeholders in the 
 governance structure, as we have <a href="/news/2023/news-20230623-01.html">previously highlighted</a>. Now the European 
 Parliament, the Council, and the Commission will have to agree on a 
 final text. The FSFE, therefore, calls on the European Parliament to 
 maintain its position and not to allow any step backwards.</p>
 <strong>If you want a more thorough understanding of how the EU legislative 
 process works, you can <a href="https://edri.org/files/Activistguide_V3_web.pd">check out this complete guide 
 (.pdf)</a> produced by the EDRi network, of which FSFE is a member.</strong>
 <h4>Help us continue to make our demands heard in EU policy!</h4> 
 <p>At FSFE, we work to be an essential stakeholder when talking about Software Freedom 
 at the EU legislative level. Our daily work contributes to 
 strengthening our political advocacy and getting our demands taken into 
 account. And your support makes it possible!</p>
 <p>The FSFE would be nothing without our supporters. Every financial donation helps us to continue 
 our daily work in public awareness, policy advocacy, and legal and 
 technical work, and  to strengthen our community. <a href="/donate.html">Support Software 
 Freedom, support the FSFE</a>.</p>
 </body>
 <tags>
 	 <tag key="front-page"/>
    <tag key="european-union">European Union</tag>
    <tag key="policy">European Public Policy</tag>
    <tag key="IEA">Interoperable Europe Act</tag>
    <tag key="AI">Artificial Intelligence</tag>
 	 </tags>
 <discussion href="https://community.fsfe.org/t/1063"/>  
 <image url="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/278c7c68effc3bb373e271be722e93ee.jpg"
       alt="An illustration about the four freedoms that allows Software Freedom"/>>
 </html>