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368 lines
18 KiB
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<html newsdate="2012-12-14">
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<head>
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<title> FSFE 2012 Annual Report</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>FSFE 2012 Annual Report</h1>
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<div id="toc">
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#why">Why we work for software freedom</a></li>
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<li><a href="#achieved">What we've achieved in 2012</a></li>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#frontline">The new frontline: General purpose computing</a></li>
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<li><a href="#rules">Making the rules</a></li>
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<li><a href="#legaldevelopers">Supporting developers with legal expertise</a></li>
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</ul>
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<li><a href="#work">Who's doing all the work?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#challenges">Challenges for 2013 and beyond</a></li>
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<li><a href="#support">Support FSFE</a></li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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<p newsteaser="yes">
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Come and see what FSFE did in 2012! Read our annual report to find out
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what we achieved, how we did it, and what's ahead for
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2013. We thank all of our Fellows, donors and sponsors
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for making our work possible! If you like what you see, please
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remember to <a href="https://my.fsfe.org/donate">sign
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up as a supporter</a>, so we can keep you updated.
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</p>
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<h2 id="why">Why we work for software freedom</h2>
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<p>With every day, computers become a bigger part of our lives. Our phone
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is a computer that we carry in our pocket. Cars, as Cory Doctorow
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says, are just computers that we drive around in. Computers in
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every shape and form have become central building blocks of our
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civilisation.</p>
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<p>Who controls these computers? If they are
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black boxes that keep their internal workings secret from us, if their
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makers have artificially restricted them to limit what we can do with
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them, then although we may pay for these computers -- we can never own
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them.</p>
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<p>In order to be in charge of our own lives, we need to be able to
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control the computers we use. We can only do this if they run Free
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Software that we can use, study, share and improve. We can only do
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this if our computers aren't neutered to restrict their functionality,
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or loaded with spyware. We also need neutral networks to connect them
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to, so we can freely choose what to say, and to whom.</p>
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<p>With this in mind, 2012 was both a good and a bad year for our
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freedom. Android is an example of how ambiguous things can get. More
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than 500 million smartphones and tablets with the Free Software
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operating system have been sold so far, putting Free Software in the
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hands of more people than ever before. But this is also an operating
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system that sometimes limits what users can do with their phones, and
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invites users to hand away private data. This is why we launched the
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Free Your Android campaign to help empower citizens to take full
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control of their mobile devices.</p>
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<p>These new challenges are the latest in a series of long-standing problems that we have
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been working on for years. Governments and the public sector should be
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a natural customer base for Free Software companies and
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developers. Yet, public bodies across Europe remain stuck in the
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stranglehold of proprietary software vendors. We have continued
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to work on fixing government procurement and wider Free Software
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policies, whether in Brussels, London, Berlin or Helsinki.</p>
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<p>We are proud to give the Free Software movement a voice in politics,
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and policy makers increasingly turn to FSFE for expertise and
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input. We helped the UK government shape its new Open Standards policy, and advised the German parliament on Free
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Software issues.</p>
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<p>We worked hard to get the Free Software message out. During 2012, FSFE
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staff and Fellows gave more than 50 talks at events across
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Europe. At many of these events, we also set up a booth where people
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could easily find us to talk about Free Software, ask for help, and
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learn about our work. In addition, we held more than 15 meetings, hackathons and workshops in countries such as Finland, the UK, Estonia and Austria.
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The lawyers and engineers in the Legal Network which we facilitate brought the
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latest in Free Software thinking to their companies and clients.</p>
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<p>Thanks to all this work, and that of the many groups and individuals with
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whom we join forces, the world is slowly changing. Every day, more people
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wake up to the power of cooperation and sharing. Every day, more people
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expect freedom by default.</p>
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<p>Please join us, and help us get the world to live up to these
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expectations. With your support we can do
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it. Thank you for making our work possible!</p>
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<p><i><a id="gerloff">Karsten Gerloff</a>, President, Free Software Foundation Europe</i></p>
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<h2 id="achieved">What we have achieved in 2012</h2>
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<h3 id="frontline">The new frontline: General purpose computing</h3>
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<div class="captioned">
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<img src="/news/2012/report-1212/karsten.jpg"/>
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<p>Karsten Gerloff talking about software freedom</p>
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</div>
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<p>The Internet and computers in all their forms have become an essential
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part of modern civilisation. They have deeply changed the way we live,
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work, create, and dream. The technological progress we have seen over
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the past couple of decades was only possible because of general
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purpose computers -- computers that will perform any task we give them,
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and networks that don't care what kind of data we transmit through
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them, as our president Karsten explained in his talk called <a href="https://lwn.net/Articles/523537/">All watched over by machines
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of loving grace?"</a>.</p>
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<p>But this freedom to make our computers do anything we can imagine is
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under threat. Locked-down devices are everywhere, from the iPhone to
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"smart" TVs and game consoles. If we let this trend continue, the only
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freedom we will enjoy in a few years will be the freedom to choose our
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masters.</p>
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<p>So we have made general purpose computing a focus topic for our
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work. We want you to be in full control of the technology you use. The
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limit for your ideas should be the boundaries of your imagination, not
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some marketing department's plan to take more money from of you.</p>
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<div class="captioned">
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<img src="/news/2012/report-1212/chorlton.jpg"/>
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<p>FSFE booth in Manchester</p>
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</div>
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<h4> Take charge of your phone</h4>
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<p>We decided to start as close to the people as possible: in their
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pockets. Your mobile phone is the most personal of your devices. It
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knows who you talk to, where you are, and what your plans are. So it is
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important that you have full control over what it does.</p>
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<p>That is where our <a href="http://fsfe.org/campaigns/android/android.en.html">Free Your Android</a> campaign comes in. We organise
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workshops to help people install operating systems on their phones
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that don't tie them to a particular company or service provider, and
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respect their privacy. At the end of the day participants don't just
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have a better phone, but something even more important: The knowledge
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that they can truly control the technology they use.</p>
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<p>Torsten Grote, a former Fellowship representative, and new staffer
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Erik Albers have run or supported nine workshops since August,
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from Spain and Sweden through Germany and Italy to Slovenia and
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Kosovo, with over 100 participants. <a href="mailto:android@lists.fsfe.org">Get in touch</a> if you would like to
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become a trainer and/or organise a workshop near you.</p>
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<h4>Your freedom to install Free Software</h4>
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<p>If you cannot install whatever software you choose on a computer, you
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don't really own it. Many PCs and mobile devices that went on sale
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from late 2012 come with a mechanism called "SecureBoot" ("Restricted
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Boot" would be a more appropriate name) that would prevent you from
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doing exactly that. We <a href="http://fsfe.org/campaigns/generalpurposecomputing/secure-boot-analysis.en.html">accompanied this process,</a> and have made our
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demands clear: Device owners must have complete and sole control of
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their devices. This and other demands were echoed in a <a href="http://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Themen/OED_Verwaltung/Informationsgesellschaft/trusted_computing_eng.html">white paper</a> by Germany's federal government. We will continue to raise this issue with
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politicians, consumer protection groups and anyone else who can help
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us defend your freedom.</p>
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<div class="captioned">
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<img src="/news/2012/report-1212/Torsten.jpg"/>
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<p>Torsten Grote at a Free Your Android workshop</p>
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</div>
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<p>We also overhauled our <a href="http://drm.info">drm.info</a> website with fresh information about
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digital restrictions management (DRM). Fellow Anna Morris and our campaign
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manager Sam Tuke both spoke to the BBC: <a href="http://download.fsfe.org/audio/20120320-bbc5-interview-anna-morris.ogg">Anna</a> about a conference for
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women in Free Software that she helped to organise and <a href="blogs.fsfe.org/samtuke/%3Fp%3D255">Sam</a> about teaching
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kids how to program.</p>
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<h4>Unlock digital handcuffs - use Open Standards</h4>
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<p>This year's <a href="http://www.documentfreedom.org/">Document Freedom Day</a> was the most successful yet of our
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annual campaigns for <a href="http://fsfe.org/projects/os/os.en.html">Open Standards</a>. Volunteers organised 54 events in
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23 countries. Proprietary file formats are like digital handcuffs --
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so we sent out 100 info packages to politicians and public figures,
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each containing a letter and a set of handcuffs.</p>
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<blockquote><p>Among the recipients
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were Pope Benedict XVI. and EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes, who liked
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the idea so much that she took the handcuffs along for one of her speeches.</p></blockquote>
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<h3 id="rules">Making the rules</h3>
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<p>We give the Free Software movement a voice in politics. We push for
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rules that are good for software freedom, and work to get rid of those
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that are bad for Free Software.</p>
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<p>In May, the <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20120627-01.en.html">European Court of Justice ordered Microsoft</a> to finally pay
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a record fine of 860 million euros for using its near-monopoly on the
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desktop to keep rivals out of the workgroup server market. Microsoft
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had previously spent over three billion Euro to buy third parties out
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of the case. We stayed on the case for almost a decade, and asserted
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the rights of Free Software developers to access interoperability
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information, especially for the Samba Team. Samba is a Free Software
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system for sharing files and printers that is a competitor to Microsoft's
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proprietary products. The court eventually agreed with us: Receiving
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the interoperability information was a right of the Free Software
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community, not a concession by Microsoft.</p>
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<p>The European Parliament
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adopted <a href="/news/2012/news-20121208-01.html">an ill-conceived
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compromise</a> for a single European patent system, opening the door
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for even more patents on software to be granted and enforced. In the
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years ahead, we will work hard to protect the Free Software community
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from the negative consequences of this decision.</p>
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<p>For almost two years, we worked with the UK government to help them
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build a strong Open Standards policy. We were succesful: the
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government in
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November <a href="/news/2012/news-20120425-02.html">published a new
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policy on Open Standards</a> and introduced some fundamental changes
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to the way the government buys software. The country's government
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bodies are now required to prefer Open Standards, and have to figure
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exit costs into the price of any new solution they buy.</p>
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<p>The German parliament asked Matthias Kirschner, our German team
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coordinator, to participate in its experts' commission on Free
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Software. He did a great job of speaking up for the Free Software
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movement. We're expecting the group's recommendations to be published
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in early 2013.</p>
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<p>Our Finland coordinator Otto Kekäläinen together with lawyer Martin
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van
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Willebrandt <a href="http://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20120619-01.en.html">monitored
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calls for tender in Finland</a> to see if they mentioned brand names,
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and <a hfref="http://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20120711-01.en.html">took
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Helsinki's city government to tas</a> for a botched OpenOffice pilot
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project. In November, Otto received
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the <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20121112-01.en.html">Nordic
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Free Software Award</a> in recognition of the great job he's been
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doing.</p>
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<p>In other countries, too, government procurement was a hot issue this
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year. We helped the <a href="http://blogs.fsfe.org/gerloff/2012/06/04/common-sense-in-the-basque-country/">Basque Country in Spain to make a rule</a> that
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programs developed with public funds should be published as Free
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Software. The governments of <a href="https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/news/italy-instructs-public-administrations-consider-using-open-source">Italy</a> and <a href="https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/news/french-guideline-favours-use-free-and-open-source">France</a> told their public bodies
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to prefer Free Software.</p>
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<p>Our general counsel Carlo Piana and president Karsten Gerloff helped the European Parliament to <a href="http://opensource.com/government/12/7/helping-european-parliament-release-its-own-free-software">release some Free Software of its own</a>, and
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answered legal and practical questions from the Parliament's IT
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team.</p>
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<blockquote><p>The software should become available by mid-2013. At the same
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time, we <a href="http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/it-business/3346719/free-software-foundation-urges-eu-parliament-staff-to-reject-microsoft-bribe/">warned the Parliament's administration</a> that they were compromising staff politically by offering them gratis licenses to
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proprietary software.</p></blockquote>
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<div class="captioned">
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<img src="/news/2012/report-1212/FYA.jpg"/>
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</div>
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<h3 id="legaldevelopers">Supporting developers with legal expertise</h3>
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<p>Our <a href="https://fsfe.org/activities/ftf/ftf.en.html">legal team</a> helped more than 60 Free Software developers and
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projects to resolve licensing questions and other legal problems. In
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three "Hacking for Compliance" workshops, we trained volunteers to
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analyse and report embedded devices for GPL violations, so that
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the gpl-violations.org project could pursue them. Our General Counsel Carlo Piana and Legal Coordinator Matija Šuklje supported the Free Your Android campaign by making it clear that <a href="https://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20121106-01.en.html">flashing your phone does not void your warranty</a>.</p>
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<p>The international Legal Network which we facilitate continues to be
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the premier place for Free Software legal experts to meet and exchange
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views. The annual Free Software Legal and Licensing workshop, organised
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by FSFE's Legal Team, attracted more than 60 lawyers, developers and
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engineers. In two days of discussing compliance, governance and
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patents, they contributed to a better understanding of how companies
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and community groups can use Free Software to their advantage.</p>
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<h2 id="work">Who is doing all the work</h2>
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<p>FSFE's General Assembly decides on our strategy and oversees our
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work. We welcomed two new members this year, bringing the total
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to 17. Martin Gollowitzer is a long-term volunteer from Austria who
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has consistently worked on the Fellowship. Nikos Roussos from Greece
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was elected to serve a two-year term as a Fellowship representative
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alongside Hugo Roy from France.</p>
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<div class="captioned">
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<img src="/news/2012/report-1212/viennabooth1.jpg"/>
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<p>Software Freedom Day action in Vienna</p>
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</div>
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<p>After Erik joined the team in October to support volunteers'
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activities throughout Europe, FSFE now has seven people on staff. Four
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of these work full time, three part time. In addition, we had a number
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of great interns this year, who made important contributions to our
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work. Some of them have taken on responsibility coordinating
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volunteers, such as Alessandro Polvani with the Italian team and
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Eszter Bako with our policy team. We have a great set of interns lined
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up for 2013, and are already looking forward to hosting them.</p>
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<p>We couldn't have achieved the impact we made in 2012 without our
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Fellows and volunteers. Many people contributed, each person with
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their own special skills, for example as developers, system
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administrators, or legal experts. The translators team helps us to spread the
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word about Free Software across Europe and the world, by translating
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our website into up to 30 languages.</p>
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<h2 id="challenges">Challenges for 2013 and beyond</h2>
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<div class="captioned">
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<img src="/news/2012/report-1212/fsfe-ilovefs.png"/>
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<p>On Valentine's Day, spread the love</p> </div>
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<p>Gaining broad acceptance for Free Software was only the start. For
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2013, we all face some important challenges:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Software patents: After the EU has reached a compromise on the
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unitary patent, there is a risk that software patents will increasingly be asserted against European companies. FSFE will monitor
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the unitary patent system as it develops and speak up for the
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interests of those working with Free Software.</li>
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<li>Lockdown:The flood of innovation based on the PC and the Internet
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was made possible by general-purpose computers and neutral networks. Today, device makers and network operators increasingly
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strangle innovation by artificially restricting devices and networks. FSFE builds awareness for the importance of general purpose
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computing, and enables people to take innovation into their own hands again.</li>
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<li>Public procurement:The public sector stands to benefit hugely from
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Free Software, but outdated procurement practices stand in the
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way. Working with public bodies, companies and regulators, FSFE explains how procurement practices must change, creating opportunities
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for Free Software companies along the way.</li>
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<li>Brand abuse: For many buyers of software and services Free Software
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has come to stand for great software and great
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value. Some companies are mislabeling their software to take
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advantage, promising the user freedoms that they do not deliver. FSFE
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will help users make informed choices to preserve their freedom.</li>
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</ul>
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<h2 id="support">Support FSFE</h2>
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<p>We ask you to help us tackle these challenges head-on. FSFE is financed through your
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donations. As an individual, please<a href="https://fellowship.fsfe.org/">join the Fellowship</a>. As a company, please <a href="http://fsfe.org/donate">donate to
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FSFE</a>. Join the many <a Href="http://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus.en.html">individuals and companies</a> who support our work, and help keep us independent.
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Together, we can build a better society for all. </p>
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<p>Donations to FSFE are tax-deductible in Germany, Switzerland and the
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Netherlands. Less than 20% of our budget is spent on overhead costs,
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and we are looking to further reduce this figure as we grow and
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existing structures scale up.</p>
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</body>
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<tags>
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<tag>annualreport</tag>
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<tag>front-page</tag>
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</tags>
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</html>
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