Welcome to the Free Software Supporter, the Free Software
Foundation's (FSF) monthly news digest and action update -- being read
by you and 232,316 other activists.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
May FSF40 challenge: Attend a LibreLocal meetup
The FSF is looking for summer interns
More than fifteen free software socials to be held globally
FSF to hold free software hackathon in honor of its fortieth anniversary
Free Software Foundation completes its board member review
US Social Security Administration reverses freedom-impeding identity verification policy
Interview with Mia Bajić
Restrictions on our freedom to study software: A legal case study from Poland
Google will stop supporting early Nest thermostats on October 25
Microsoft Copilot shows up even when it's not wanted
The European Commission wants a backdoor for end-to-end encryption for law enforcement
April GNU Emacs news
Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
LibrePlanet featured resource: Making money as a libre software programmer
April GNU Spotlight with Amin Bandali: Twenty-one new GNU releases!
Want to read this newsletter translated into another language? Scroll
to the end to read the Supporter in French or Spanish.
May FSF40 challenge: Attend a LibreLocal meetup
Every month during our fortieth anniversary year, we're inviting free
software supporters everywhere to join us in celebrating #FSF40. For
this month's challenge, we're encouraging you to participate in
LibreLocal month by attending a meetup near you (even if it's
just you and one other person). If you can't take part in this
#FSF40Challenge, fear not -- we've got seven more coming.
If you feel comfortable disclosing which meetup you're attending, tag
#FSF40 on social media and let us know!
Have an idea for a challenge? Send us a message at
[email protected]!
Instead of hosting a single LibrePlanet conference, we're making 2025
a libre year! Check back often for more details about what we're doing
to honor forty years of fighting for user freedom.
The FSF is looking for summer interns
The application period for summer interns at the FSF is now open! If
you are a student and interested in supporting #FreeSoftware,
consider applying for an FSF internship by the May 15th deadline:
https://u.fsf.org/internships.
More than fifteen free software socials to be held globally
From April 15
In January, the FSF launched a call to organize local community
meetups and claimed the month of May as LibreLocal Month. Since the
publication of this article, a total of seventeen LibreLocal events
have been announced with more forthcoming. These events will be held
in multiple countries with the help of the FSF, with the majority happening in
May. Everyone interested in free (libre) software is invited to
participate, regardless of prior experience with free software.
LibreLocal Month is one of the organization's initiatives for the free
software community to participate in celebrating its fortieth
anniversary.
FSF to hold free software hackathon in honor of its fortieth anniversary
From April 29
Since announcing festivities for its fortieth celebration, the FSF has
hinted at hosting a hackathon. These plans have now been confirmed and
the FSF is looking for projects to participate in the online November
hackathon! As of now, GNU Guix, GNU Boot, MediaGoblin, and the Free
Software Directory have announced that they will submit a project. The
hackathon is open to everyone, regardless of programming skill level,
and is focused on making small but measurable improvements to free
software. If you're interested in participating, review the hackathon
guidelines and submit your project through the web form in the article
below.
Free Software Foundation completes its board member review
From April 30
At the most recent FSF board meeting, the FSF board completed the
review and re-confirmation of five sitting board members. This latest
governance improvement milestone puts the FSF very close to fulfilling its
promises made to the free software community four years ago. Read on
for more information on this most recent part of the board process.
US Social Security Administration reverses freedom-impeding identity verification policy
From April 17
In mid-March, the US Social Security Administration (SSA) announced an
end to completing any processes that require proof of identity over
the phone. Had this policy rolled out as originally planned, it would
have forced people eligible for social security to choose between
traveling to a possibly distant SSA office or running nonfree
JavaScript. Everyone eligible for social security ought to be able to
claim the benefits that belong to them in freedom, and they deserve to
claim these benefits with ease. If you'd like to advocate for claiming
social security benefits in freedom, check out and modify our script
to the SSA.
In the FSF's most recent edition of its Working Together series,
program manager Miriam Bastian interviewed Mia Bajić, a software
engineer with a passion for building communities. Mia is mainly active
in the European Python community. In the interview, Mia talked about
her experience organizing events for the Python community in Prague
and in the European Union as a whole. You can learn more about Mia's
role in organizing the Python community and advice she has for other
community organizers below.
Restrictions on our freedom to study software: A legal case study from Poland
From April 7 by Free Software Foundation Europe
Software is a major component of modern life, not just in the
computers we use for work and hobbies but also in our transportation
machines. With software that runs in our cars and trains, the ability
to control that technology becomes not only a matter of justice, but
also public safety. While the need for free software in transportation
is quite clear to free software advocates, it is less so in many legal
systems, some of which even work against user freedom. Below you can
read about a recent court case in Poland which highlights how the law
can work against both user freedom and public safety.
Google will stop supporting early Nest thermostats on October 25
From April 25 by Ryan Whitwam
An expiration date for a loaf of bread is expected (and appreciated),
but what about an expiration date for a device that's still working
perfectly? Beginning October 25, 2025, Google will cease support for
devices built and sold prior to Google ownership of Nest thermostat in
the Nest and Home apps, effectively transforming them into regular
dumb thermostats. When a device relies on proprietary software to run,
there is no guarantee that the software provider may decide at some
point to stop maintaining the software or even sell it to another
organization, as was the case for Nest Labs Inc. in 2014. If free
software had been used in Nest devices, users could write updates
themselves (or ask someone else to). You can learn more about what the
lack of freedom and control over older Nest thermostats means in the
article below.
Microsoft Copilot shows up even when it's not wanted
From April 18 by Thomas Claburn
Vampires aren't just found in movies but also in proprietary software.
According to recent reports, Microsoft's Copilot keeps rising from the
dead, no matter how many times some users have tried to turn off the
program. This issue of being unable to turn off a machine learning
program (and keep it from using your work and information without your
consent) is alarming. It is also but one of many freedom-related
problems with proprietary operating systems like Windows. Microsoft
claims this is a bug (which it very well could be), but the simple
fact remains that a computer with Windows installed cannot be
controlled by its user. If you or someone you know has Windows
installed and is frustrated by the blatant disrespect shown by
Microsoft for its users and freedom, now might be a good time to look
into a free operating system.
The European Commission wants a backdoor for end-to-end encryption for law enforcement
From April 2 by Ellen Jennings-Trace
At the very end of March, the European Commission unveiled a security
strategy (ProtectEU) that would involve leaving open a backdoor to
encrypted data for law enforcement. While it can't be said how
accurate the EU Commission's claims of "guarantee[ed] security for
its citizens," we can say with adequate certainty that it will rip
away freedom from millions and likely put individual security and
privacy in danger as well. No level of security, even a guarantee, is
worth trading for freedom. This policy, which would mostly affect EU
residents, is a dangerous precedent for democratic nations. We
recommend staying informed about EU Commission steps around this
prospective policy.
Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
Tens of thousands of people visit directory.fsf.org each month to
discover free software. Each entry in the Directory contains a wealth
of useful information, from basic category and descriptions to version
control, IRC channels, documentation, and licensing. The Free Software
Directory has been a great resource to software users over the past
decade, but it needs your help staying up-to-date with new and
exciting free software projects.
To help, join our weekly IRC meetings on Fridays. Meetings take place
in the #fsf channel on Libera.Chat and usually include a handful of
regulars as well as newcomers. Libera.Chat is accessible from any IRC
client -- Everyone's welcome!
LibrePlanet featured resource: Making money as a libre software programmer
Every month on the LibrePlanet
wiki, we highlight one
resource that is interesting and useful -- often one that could use
your help.
For this month, we are highlighting the making money as a libre
software programmer page. This page covers some ways that you can make
money while respecting user freedom, including case studies that
exemplify each business model. You are invited to adopt, spread and
improve this important resource.
To download: nearly all GNU software is available most reliably from
https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/. Optionally, you may find faster download
speeds at a mirror located geographically closer to you by choosing
from the list of mirrors published at
https://www.gnu.org/prep/ftp.html, or you may use
https://ftpmirror.gnu.org/ to be automatically redirected to a
(hopefully) nearby and up-to-date mirror.
We appreciate everyone who donates to the Free Software Foundation,
and we'd like to give special recognition to the folks who have
donated $500 or more in the last month.
Assigning your copyright to the Free Software Foundation helps us
defend the GNU GPL and keep software free. The following individuals
have assigned their copyright to the FSF (and allowed public
appreciation) in the past month:
Jacinto Roi Martin Pequeño (GNU emacs)
Want to see your name on this list? Contribute to GNU and assign your
copyright to the FSF.
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Take action with the FSF!
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