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news/2023/news-20230824-01.en.xhtml
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<html newsdate="2023-08-24">
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<version>1</version>
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<head>
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<title>Liability, Interoperability & Free Software in EU: what we are expecting</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>Liability, Interoperability & Free Software in EU: what we are expecting</h1>
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<p>After the summer recess, EU institutions are resuming their
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activities at the end of August. In the coming months, we expect to see
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the adoption of legislation that could have an impact on Free
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Software: the Cyber Resilience Act, the Product Liability Directive, the AI
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Act, and the Interoperable Europe Act. What does all this legislation
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mean for Free Software and its community?</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/278c7c68effc3bb373e271be722e93ee.jpg"
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alt="An illustration about the four freedoms that allows Software Freedom"/>
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</figure>
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<h3>Liability and Free Software</h3>
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<p>The EU is currently aiming to
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introduce liability rules for software, including Free Software.
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Although the main debate revolves around the Cyber Resilience Act
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(CRA), the Product Liability Directive (PLD) is just as important.
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Similar rules are being introduced in the AI Act.</p>
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<p>With regard to the
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CRA and the PLD, the Commission’s proposal to exclude Free Software
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“outside the course of a commercial activity” would fail to address a
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large part of the software that would not be covered but would be
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deployed. At the same time, smaller and non-profit projects would be
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harmed as they would have to bear major costs.</p>
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<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>
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<ol>
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<li>Liability should be shifted to those deploying Free Software instead of those developing Free Software and</li>
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<li>Those who significantly financially benefit from this deployment should make sure the software becomes CE-compliant</li>
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</ol>
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<p>Before the EU Parliament went into summer recess, we shared the
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latest news on the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). The adoption of the
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Parliament’s position leaves a situation where <a href="/news/2023/news-20230719-01.html">Free Software developers
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are left with less far-reaching protections</a>. Regular corporate
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donations or contributions by company employees to a project could turn
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non-profit work into a “commercial activity”, and therefore lead to
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liability. The three EU institutions will now negotiate a final text,
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which is likely to be concluded this year. We call on the EU
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institutions to find a compromise that safeguards the Free Software
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ecosystem while shifting liability to those who significantly benefit
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financially from its deployment. <a href="/news/2023/news-20230323-01.html">Read more</a>.</p>
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<p>Similar rules are being negotiated in the Product Liability Directive (PLD), where the
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FSFE is also demanding protection for Free Software developers.
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However, the Parliament has yet to adopt its position.</p>
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<p>Regarding the AI Act, the EU Parliament has also adopted its final text
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by a large majority. It includes a <a href="/news/2023/news-20230614-01.html">far-reaching exemption for
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non-profit organisations and small Free Software projects up to the
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size of micro-enterprises</a>.
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Negotiations on the final text between the three institutions (also
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known as trialogue, where representatives of the Parliament, the
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Council, and the Commission meet to agree on a final text) are already
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taking place. Here the FSFE calls on the EU Parliament to defend
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its position to ensure that this regulation protects not only Free Software and
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its contributors but also consumers and customers.</p>
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<h3>Interoperability and Free Software</h3>
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<p>With the proposed Interoperable Europe Act, the EU aims to create a dedicated legal framework on
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interoperability that will enhance cross-border digital public services
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across the Union. Since the beginning of the year, the FSFE has been
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advocating for a more inclusive governance structure in this
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legislation, where different stakeholders, including the Free Software
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community, can be part of the Interoperable Europe Board. A <a href="/news/2023/news-20230323-02.html">proper
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monitoring and evaluation process together with a dedicated budget</a> are
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also part of our demands.</p>
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<p>With the adoption of its final position, the EU Parliament
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has taken a step forward towards <a href="/news/2023/news-20230719-02.html">a more inclusive Board</a>, while at the
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same time introducing clearer indicators and statistics to monitor the
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progress of this legislation. This is particularly important given that
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the Council's recent compromise text still moves in the opposite
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direction by hindering the inclusion of relevant stakeholders in the
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governance structure, as we have <a href="/news/2023/news-20230623-01.html">previously highlighted</a>. Now the European
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Parliament, the Council, and the Commission will have to agree on a
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final text. The FSFE, therefore, calls on the European Parliament to
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maintain its position and not to allow any step backwards.</p>
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<strong>If you want a more thorough understanding of how the EU legislative
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process works, you can <a href="https://edri.org/files/Activistguide_V3_web.pd">check out this complete guide
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(.pdf)</a> produced by the EDRi network, of which FSFE is a member.</strong>
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<h4>Help us continue to make our demands heard in EU policy!</h4>
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<p>At FSFE, we work to be an essential stakeholder when talking about Software Freedom
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at the EU legislative level. Our daily work contributes to
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strengthening our political advocacy and getting our demands taken into
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account. And your support makes it possible!</p>
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<p>The FSFE would be nothing without our supporters. Every financial donation helps us to continue
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our daily work in public awareness, policy advocacy, and legal and
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technical work, and to strengthen our community. <a href="/donate.html">Support Software
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Freedom, support the FSFE</a>.</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="european-union">European Union</tag>
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<tag key="policy">European Public Policy</tag>
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<tag key="IEA">Interoperable Europe Act</tag>
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<tag key="AI">Artificial Intelligence</tag>
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</tags>
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<discussion href="https://community.fsfe.org/t/1063"/>
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<image url="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/278c7c68effc3bb373e271be722e93ee.jpg"
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alt="An illustration about the four freedoms that allows Software Freedom"/>>
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</html>
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