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continuous-integration/drone/push Build is passing
Reviewed-on: #5597 Co-authored-by: Bonnie Mehring <bonnie@fsfe.org> Co-committed-by: Bonnie Mehring <bonnie@fsfe.org>
116 lines
4.7 KiB
HTML
116 lines
4.7 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<html newsdate="2026-01-02">
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<version>1</version>
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<head>
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<title>"The FSFE had the most impactful intervention in the EU’s highest court”</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>"The FSFE had the most impactful intervention in the EU’s highest court”</h1>
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<p>
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Our headline quotes a European Commission enforcement officer during a
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court hearing in a key case where the FSFE is intervening against
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Apple. As explained below, strategic litigation is one of many actions
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FSFE takes to protect Free Software. Our goal is simple: empowering
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people to control technology.
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</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/a1/05/58622b1832738c71e85a538cb518.jpeg"
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alt="illustration of a golden cage, from which illustrated birds break free. In the background a EU flag"/>
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</figure>
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<p>Wherever policies, legislation and regulation are being shaped, in
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meetings, hearings and expert discussions, we are there to make sure
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that Free Software is not just mentioned, but truly understood and
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defended. To provide a glimpse of our achievements, just in 2024 and
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2025:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>We held 20+ presentations, workshops, talks and panels in Europe and
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beyond;</li>
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<li>We had 10+ expert meetings with the European Commission, telecom
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regulators and other authorities;</li>
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<li>We submitted 9 legal and technical reports to policy makers;</li>
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<li>We launched the<a href="/activities/deviceneutrality/interop-survey">
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DMA interoperability survey</a> to collect real-world
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experiences from software developers requesting interoperability from
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gatekeeper companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft.</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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This work is effective and far-reaching: some weeks ago, the FSFE <a
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href="/news/2025/news-20251021-01.html">represented the interests of
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Free Software developers during the Apple
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vs European Commission case hearing</a>. This is a pivotal case involving
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the legality of interoperability. Apple is <a href="/news/2025/news-20251015-01.html">claiming that granting
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free-of-charge interoperability to developers infringes its “human
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rights”</a>. We came to the EU’s highest court in Luxembourg to prove them
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wrong.</p>
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<p>
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Imagine the scene in the courtroom: Apple with more than ten lawyers on
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one side, and on the other, alone, the FSFE’s lawyer, Dr. Martin
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Husovec, and me in the audience. With clear and deep expertise, he
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reminded the Court that innovation does not exempt a company from
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democratic regulation, and that Apple’s ecosystem is built not only by
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the company, but also by the developers and users who depend on
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interoperability and freedom to install software. After the hearing,
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representatives from the Commission, Parliament, industry and academia
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approached us to commend our intervention</p>
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<p>
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However, travelling to meetings and conferences, enabling developers to
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participate in regulatory discussions, and preparing in-depth legal and
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technical reports require significant resources. These include practical
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costs such as travel and accommodation, as well as the time and
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expertise needed to carry out thorough research and analysis. Two days
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in Luxembourg exceed 2,000 euros in expenses for our team, and legal
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work of this scale easily surpasses 10,000 euros.</p>
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<p>
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That is why we need your support! To continue defending Free Software
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and Device Neutrality where decisions are made.</p>
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<p>
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Your support helps transform expert work into real political impact, and
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ensures that Free Software voices cannot be ignored. Together, we can
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secure a Europe where users truly control their devices.</p>
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<p>
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Become a supporter now and contribute to fight for Free Software and
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Device Neutrality in Europe.</p>
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<p class="text-center">
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<fsfe-cd-donate-link class="btn btn-lg btn-primary">
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I want to become an FSFE Supporter!
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</fsfe-cd-donate-link>
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</p>
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</body>
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<tags>
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<tag key="news">News</tag>
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<tag key="deviceneutrality">Device Neutrality</tag>
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<tag key="european-commission">European Commission</tag>
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<tag key="dma">Digital Markets Act</tag>
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<tag key="front-page"/>
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<tag key="highlights">highlights</tag>
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</tags>
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<discussion href="https://mastodon.social/deck/@fsfe/115825305386218868"/>
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<image url="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/a1/05/58622b1832738c71e85a538cb518.jpeg"
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alt="illustration of a golden cage, from which illustrated birds break free. In the background a EU flag"/>
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</html>
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