Liability, Interoperability & Free Software in EU: what we are expecting

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?

Liability and Free Software

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.

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.

For this reason, the FSFE has proposed a solution that will lead to more security while safeguarding the Free Software ecosystem:

1. Liability should be shifted to those deploying Free Software instead of those developing Free Software and
2. Those who significantly financially benefit from this deployment should make sure the software becomes CE-compliant

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 Free Software developers are left with less far-reaching protections. 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. Read more.

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.

Regarding the AI Act, the EU Parliament has also adopted its final text by a large majority. It includes a far-reaching exemption for non-profit organisations and small Free Software projects up to the size of micro-enterprises. 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.

Interoperability and Free Software

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 proper monitoring and evaluation process together with a dedicated budget are also part of our demands.

With the adoption of its final position, the EU Parliament has taken a step forward towards a more inclusive Board, 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 previously highlighted. 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.

Help us continue to make our demands heard in EU policy!

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Join us as an intern and make the difference!

Have you heard about Free Software and you want to know more about it? Are you already a Free Software advocate and do you want to help to bring software freedom to our society? Then our paid internships are for you! Learn by doing and gain knowledge and technical skills through an internship with us.

At the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), we strongly believe in the power of internships to teach about software freedom and their importance for both the intern and the organisation. That is the reason why we have supported them since our earliest years. Over more than 20 years of our organisation's existence, many interns have come to learn about our work and help us achieve our goal of empowering people to control technology. Some of them have stayed with us and are now part of our staff. Others are still associated with us in other ways, and we are delighted to cross paths with those who have continued their careers in this or other related fields.

We have talked with some of our latest interns about their experience with us!

Free Software is easy to use and important for our society

A paid interniship in the FSFE can be an intensive yet enriching experience. It familiarises people with the use of Free Software and it helps them to strengthen relationships with the Free Software community worldwide.

Some of our interns are already using Free Software, but there are others like Elif, who was an intern in the legal area and knew about it, but never used it because she had the impression that "Free Software is hard to use". This changed after her months at the FSFE. “During my internship at FSFE, I saw that there is so much Free Software that is user friendly. Now I use it every day”, states Elif. But Free Software is not only about using it in your daily life. Even as an active Free Software user, being part of our team helps to get a better understanding of its importance in our society, as Sergio, an intern in the policy area explains: “After this internship I was able to better comprehend the importance of Free Software, and to understand how the policy and legislative processes take place in the European Union, but also in regional and local levels in Europe”.

"I use Free Software whenever I can and really enjoy it!”

Get your hands on

"As an intern, you get to make a difference in real-life situations by working for software freedom", says Evelyn, who worked in the policy area, but like the other interns, had the chance to work on different tasks and projects, such as helping at the FSFE booth during several conferences. Or helping in workshops, like the one on Upcycling Android in Bolzano, which Marlene said was "one of my favourite days of my internship. It was a pleasure to meet other people who also enjoy Free Software, and I learned a lot at the workshop".

"My favourite task was things I have done for the Ukrainian refugee kids project. Because I believe the story of Ada & Zangemann gives them hope and courage to start a new chapter in their life.”

Become part of an international community

Being an intern at the FSFE is not only a step in your career in which you can enhance relevant skills for your professional path such as technical ones, but it is also a community experience. You acquire personal skills and get to know different people from all over the world while giving something back to society. “Doing meaningful work that has a real value”, is how Vincent describes it. He is a former intern who is currently an active member of our community.

“A bonus tip, you get to work in an intellectually stimulating environment while having a lot of fun”

Interested? Have a look at our internships and traineeships page to find out more about what we have to offer, and check out our newsletter and news section to find out about our vacancies.

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Unleash the potential of your phone: Rooting your device does not void its warranty

As users we sometimes face the issue of rooting our devices. We may want to regain control of our device or we may want to keep using a device with an outdated operating system. But we are afraid of losing our legal warranty. Let’s be clear: Just rooting your device and installing new software will not void the statutory warranty.

EU law stipulates that consumers should have a minimum 2-year guarantee (statutory warranty) when acquiring a new device. However, in the past few years, vendors have tended to include specific clauses stating that if the consumer changes the device, the warranty will be void. That is why the question of whether rooting or flashing a device voids the statutory warranty is quite recurrent. The answer is no.

The FSFE has previously addressed this issue. In short, if you acquire a device as a consumer in the European Union, the mere fact that you have modified or changed the software of your device by rooting or flashing it is not a sufficient reason to void your statutory warranty.

Since our previous discussion of this topic, the Sale of Goods Directive 2019/771 (the SGD) was enacted, repealing the previous 1999/44/CE Directive, which provided the original statutory warranty. The SGD deals with the contract of sale between a consumer and a seller, and it entered into force on June 11, 2019, applying its provisions to any contract concluded after January 1, 2022.[1]

Reasons to root your device

Rooting the phone and installing Free Software extends the lifespan of the device. Most phone devices are not controlled by the users, but by the manufacturer and the operator of the telephone network. The software that runs on them is not entirely Free Software. Even Android phones ship with non-free software and proprietary add-ons that often work against the full interest of the user.

Through rooting or flashing a device, the user can take complete control over it. When consumers buy a phone they buy the physical aspects of the phone. They should be free to choose which software should be on their phone without having the fear of losing the warranty. Monopolies hurt fair competition and consumers. Companies/vendors regulating operating systems which provide critical online services, results in limiting user choice and freedom. The devices should therefore be neutral so as to enable the users to freely choose any software on their phones without any conditions.

The SGD is on your side

At the FSFE we have already analyzed the changes brought in by the SGD and how they impact rooting and the statutory warranty.

The SGD covers goods with digital content, including smartphones, smart TVs, smart watches, and fitness trackers[2]. All such goods covered under the SGD must have a mandatory two-year warranty[3] from the seller that the product will meet the purposes for which products of the same type would normally be used. One of the main changes enacted by the SGD is the reverse burden of proof. This means that if your device becomes defective within one year[4], it is presumed that the defect was present all along, and you do not need to prove anything; instead, it is the seller who has to prove that this is not the case. This period was six months under the previous 1999/44/CE Directive.

There are currently no instances of litigated cases about warranty issues when rooting, flashing, or jailbreaking smartphones in Europe, nor has there been a rule or provision on this issue. This makes the legality of such acts unclear. So, you can root your phone, but if you wish to keep the warranty intact without any problems, then reverse the root to the stock operating system and check if everything was undone. If the stock OS functions as it should, then you do not have an issue.

Future Updates to Keep An Eye On

Lastly, you should know that the SGD is relatively new as it came into effect in January 2022. The European Commission, under the Sustainable Consumption of Goods-Promoting Repair and Reuse Programme, has already introduced a proposal for a directive to make some changes to the SGD to accommodate repairing obligations on the producers and to encourage consumers to choose repair over replacement if there is a possibility. This can also have an impact on the subject matter of this article.

The FSFE will keep you updated on this issue as and when there are more developments.

[1] Article 23 of Directive 2019\771

[2] Recitals 12, 13, 14, 15 and Article 2 of Directive 2019\771

[3] Article 10 of Directive 2019\771

[4] Article 11 of Directive 2019\771

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CRA & IEA +++ SFP episode +++ Summer Meeting

Our August issue comes with the latest updates of the CRA and the IAE, a new episode of our Software Freedom podcast exploring Software Freedom in EU policy, and the announcement of our symposium about decentralised social networks. YH4F participants -and we too- are waiting for the jury feedback on their projects.

Table of contents

1. SFP#21 - Software Freedom Podcast
2. Cyber Resilience Act & Free Software: Parliament waters down its own position
3. EU Parliament intends to widen participation in the Interoperable Europe Board
4. YH4F: Coding is over!
5. "The world after Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. A new generation of the Internet?"
6. Summer Meeting, FrOScon, and CCC 2023
7. Take Action! Add our email addresses to your contacts
8. Quote of the month
9. Contribute to our Newsletter

SFP#21 - Software Freedom Podcast

In this episode Bonnie Mehring talks with Lina Ceballos about EU policy topics and Software Freedom. Get a deep understanding of the Interoperable European Act and listen to Lina explain why Free Software should be considered and safeguarded in such EU legislation.

Listen to the latest episode

Cyber Resilience Act & Free Software: Parliament waters down its own position

The European Parliament voted this month on its position on the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). While the position improves on the Commission's exemption to protect Free Software, it fails to introduce a proper protection. We call on the institutions to put the burden of liability only on those who significantly financially benefit from the market, while protecting developers and non-profit work.

EU Parliament intends to widen participation in the Interoperable Europe Board

In July the EU Parliament’s Committee responsible for the Interoperable Europe Act adopted its final position. It is a step forward towards a more inclusive Interoperable Europe Board while it introduces clearer indicators and statistics to monitor the progress of the Act. This position must now be upheld during the upcoming trilogue.

More info about this

YH4F: Coding is over!

The second edition of Youth Hacking 4 Freedom, the hacking competition for young Europeans, has just ended. For the last six months, the participants have worked on developing their own personal Free Software projects. It is now the turn of the YH4F jury to evaluate the participants’ submitted projects, taking into consideration different criteria such as the originality of the idea, the creativity of the project, and the quality of the code.

Read more about this

"The world after Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. A new generation of the Internet?"

More and more people are turning away from social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube to alternatives like Mastodon and PeerTube. Why are they different? How are they changing the web? And how can you get involved in the Fediverse? Join our symposium and get an insight into these decentralised social networks through our talks and workshops!

Join us in Cologne on September 22

Summer Meeting, FrOScon, and CCC 2023

On July 7-9 FSFE volunteers and staffers met at Linux Hotel, in Essen. From Friday evening until Sunday afternoon, we spent time together discussing our current activities, acquiring new knowledge about Free Software topics, engaging in fruitful conversations, and of course having a lot of fun together.

At the beginning of this month, we will be in FrOScon with a talk, a reading of 'Ada & Zangemann', and a booth. Join is if you are in the area!

After that, we will be camping in the Chaos Communication Camp 2023! We cannot wait to meet you, once again in person, at the 'Bits & Bäume' village from 15th to 19th August 2023.

And of course, check out our website to be up to date with all our events!

Take action! Add our email addresses to your contacts

Please remember to add contact@fsfe.org (and similarly with the rest of @fsfe.org email addresses) to your address book to ensure that our messages reach you and not your spam box.

Quote of the Month

"Introduce readers young and old to the power and peril of software. Behind it all is a backdrop of ethics of knowledge sharing upon which the arc of human history rides." - Vint Cerf, computer scientist and one of the inventors of the Internet, talking about the book 'Ada & Zangemann'

Contribute to our Newsletter

We would love to hear from you. If you have any thoughts, pictures, or news to share, please send them to us at newsletter@fsfe.org. You can also support us, contribute to our work, and join our community. We would like to thank our community and all the volunteers, supporters, and donors who make our work possible, with a special mention to our translators who make it possible for you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue.

Your editor, Ana Galán

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SFP#21: Exploring Software Freedom in European Politics with Lina Ceballos

Listen to our new Software Freedom Podcast episode with Lina Ceballos. Lina and Bonnie talk about everything related to Free Software in European Politics. Learn more about Lina's work at the Free Software Foundation Europe and how political decisions come to pass in the EU. Discover how best to advocate for Free Software, and especially, what the Interoperable Europe Act is all about and why the Free Software communities need to be on the lookout for the protection of software freedom.

Lina is part of the team working for software freedom at the Free Software Foundation Europe. In her work, she advocates for software freedom at a European level, ensuring that Free Software is considered and protected in new laws. Listen to our 21st episode in which Bonnie Mehring and Lina Ceballos chat about Lina's work for the FSFE. Find out what the Interoperable Europe Act is trying to achieve, how and why Free Software should be considered the first option within it. Learn about the intended Interoperable Europe Board and how you can best help advocate for Free Software.

Read more:

• Lina Ceballos
• EU Parliament intends to widen participation in the Interoperable Europe Board
• IEA: EU Parliament advances in strengthening the role of Free Software, yet needs more to improve
• Council to exclude relevant stakeholders from contributing to an Interoperable Europe
• drip.

If you liked this episode and want to support our continuous work for software freedom, please help us with a donation.

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