The European Commission has opened a 'call for evidence' to help shape its European Open Digita [...]
Open source is the electric vehicle of digital policy
Open source is very popular these days, not least due to the open-source strategy that the European Commission announced last week as part of the tech sovereignty package. While there is a lot to criticise about that strategy (exaggerated goals, misleading numbers etc), the one thing I would like to
EU Open Source Strategy | Shaping Europe’s digital future
The EU Open Source Strategy is a cornerstone of the Tech Sovereignty package, supporting open source ecosystems across the EU - encouraging the development and uptake of European alternatives.
EU praises open source for tech sovereignty — then backs W, a private for-profit microblogging platform
To fundamentally understand why it's strange the EU Commission is throwing its weight behind this new for-profit social platform, you need to understand what lies beneath.
EU praises open source for tech sovereignty — then backs W, a private for-profit microblogging platform
To fundamentally understand why it's strange the EU Commission is throwing its weight behind this new for-profit social platform, you need to understand what lies beneath.
Funding Open Source for Digital Sovereignty
"Open Source alone won't deliver digital sovereignty. Europe must fix procurement and fund those who actually build it."
An open letter to office suite users, just before the Euro-Office announcement - TDF Community Blog
Dear office suite users, In recent days you will have read various articles announcing the arrival of Euro-Office, which is being “marketed” as the first open-source office suite developed in Europe. We feel compelled — reluctantly, since open source should rest on transparency, not deception — to correct this claim. The first open-source office suite developed in Europe was OpenOffice.org in 2001, based on StarOffice’s source code, followed by LibreOffice from 2010. These are two genuine open-source office suites, built from source code that originated in Europe. They are not a freeware clone of MS Office whose code provenance is undisclosed, nor a product that has rebranded itself out of pure opportunism to ride today’s wave of Digital Sovereignty. It is worth remembering that many of those who champion Digital Sovereignty today were silent back in 2006, when the open ISO/IEC ODF standard — the pillar of Digital Sovereignty — was announced: not only did they not listen to us during all these years, but in some cases they greeted us with a condescending smile. If we can speak of Digital Sovereignty in Europe today, it is thanks to The Document Foundation and LibreOffice community members at large, who kept
EU copyright reform: the facts – Open Policy & Advocacy
Ahead of the crucial EU copyright vote on 12 Sept., we set the facts straight and explain exactly what the new rules will mean for the internet in Europe.
Funding Open Source for Digital Sovereignty
Open Source alone won't deliver digital sovereignty. Europe must fix procurement and fund those who actually build it.
Elena Rossini 🌈 (@_elena@mastodon.social)
#WSocial will open up their beta program today… and I have a SCOOP for you: it appears that they have quietly gone closed-source! This is ironic, considering that the @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu just unveiled their Tech Sovereignty Package, emphasizing the importance of #OpenSource. And yet they have migrated their main ATproto accounts to W Social - whose code can no longer be inspected! My full article - with a great analysis by @aral@mastodon.ar.al: 🔗: https://blog.elenarossini.com/w-social-public-institutions-and-the-theater-of-european-digital-sovereignty/ #FOSS #DigitalSovereignty #BigTech
Open Source for the Government [presentation] - Bozho's tech blog
A month ago I gave a talk at OpenFest (a Bulgarian conference for open technologies). The talk was in Bulgarian, but I’ve translated the slides, so here they are. Currently,Continue reading
Bulgarian Government Now Requires Custom Software to be Open Source
The Bulgarian government has just passed an amendment to its Electronic Governance Act that mandates all custom software created for the government must be open source. The amendment was voted on i…
Elena Rossini 🌈 (@_elena@mastodon.social)
Attached: 1 image This was definitely NOT on my bingo card for this year: European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen taking a moment between G7 meetings to promote the launch of the closed-source, for-profit network #WSocial. 🔗 : https://web.archive.org/web/20260617083436/https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rentzhog_kind-of-cool-to-see-ursula-von-der-leyen-ugcPost-7472769475885461504-hwct/ I fear this may be a harbinger of things to come: MANDATORY AGE VERIFICATION for social media across Europe. I hope I'm wrong on this. #privacy #SurveillanceCapitalism #EUBigTech
A brief 🧵 for all outside the #atproto bubble on why, from a digital industrial policy perspective, this step is deeply bewildering. There's @eurosky.social – open source, non-profit, fully aligned with the EU's open source strategy. It provides all that W has, & more. And yet, the Commission...
European Commission
We have now joined W, a new European social media network. We’re present on 15+ platforms, and are especially happy to join one based in Europe and with the ambition to foster open and safer online conversations. Keep the conversation going - whether from W, Bluesky or other compatible apps.
I'd like to see some coordination in the open source community to respond to this. The outcome could shape significant funding and strategic moves. Off the top of my head, there's a few things that I'd like to see in a new European open source strategy. 🧵
Maximilian Henning
The @ec.europa.eu will soon present “a combination of funding and policy measures” to support European open source projects in becoming commercially viable alternatives to proprietary US tech. Read my article at @euractiv.com: euractiv.com/news/commission-wants-to-comm…
Eben das EU-Lobbyregister nachgeschlagen. 8 Treffen, letztes vor 4 Wochen. "Date 03 Sep 2026 Location Videoconference Subject W Identity and the EU Age Verification Blueprint" [W Identity ist m.E. die Firma von Zeiter, welche die Identitäten für WSocial aus den Chips einliest] *surprise*
Sascha Pallenberg
Have you been Wned? wdonthavetime.tngl.io/wsocial-wned/ Check if #Wsocial has made your personal information public! via (and with a lot of additional information) 👉https://www.reddit.com/r/BlueskySocial/comments/1x1p809/have_you_been_wned_w_social_may_be_intentionally/ #privacy #WSocialFacts
