EFF: Public Money, Public Code: Show Your Support For Free Software in Europe
Public Money, Public Code: Show Your Support For Free Software in Europe The global movement for open access to publicly-funded research stems from the sensible proposition that if the government has used taxpayers’ money to fund research, the publication of the results of that research should be freely-licensed. Exactly the same rationale underpins the argument that software code that the government has funded to be written should be made available as Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Public Money, Public Code is a campaign of the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) that seeks to transform that ideal into European law. An open letter at the center of the campaign reads in part: Public bodies are financed through taxes. They must make sure they spend funds in the most efficient way possible. If it is public money, it should be public code as well! That is why we, the undersigned, call our representatives to: “Implement legislation requiring that publicly financed sof...