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Read and share online:
https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2026/january.
Welcome to the Free Software Supporter, the Free Software
Foundation's (FSF) monthly news digest and action update — being read
by you and 234,577 other activists.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Celebrate the new year: Join the free software community!
- Free Software Awards winners announced: Andy Wingo, Alx Sa, Govdirectory
- A message from FSF president Ian Kelling
- Eko K. A. Owen joins the FSF board as the union staff pick
- Everyone brings something to the table
- Free Software Foundation receives historic private donations
- Revive the winter ghost story with the tale of ShoeTool
- We can't advocate for freedom without your help
- Problems with lax licenses, FSF president Ian Kelling, and more in the winter 2025 Bulletin
- Why buy when you can learn and repair? Read our Giving Guide
- Your digital life isn't yours: The hidden battle for software freedom
- The role of the Cyber Resilience Act for free software
- Online gaming’s final boss: The copyright bully
- December GNU Emacs news
- Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
- LibrePlanet featured resource: Remote Communication
- December GNU Spotlight with Amin Bandali featuring sixteen new GNU releases: GnuPG, a2ps, and more!
- FSF and other free software events
- Thank GNUs!
- GNU copyright contributions
- Translations of the Free Software Supporter
- Take action with the FSF!
View this issue online here:
https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2026/january.
Encourage your friends to subscribe and help us build an audience by
adding our subscriber widget to your website.
Miss an issue? You can catch up on back issues at
https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter.
Want to read this newsletter translated into another language? Scroll
to the end to read the Supporter in French or Spanish.
Celebrate the new year: join the free software community!
From January 2
We can't thank you enough. Your generous support, large and small, has
helped us go beyond our goal of $400,000 USD! What a way to start the
new year — we are very, very grateful! Because of this collective
generosity, we now have the chance to boldly build for the long term
in our shared movement for software freedom. That is why today we ask
you to stand for freedom as we extend our appeal, and join us in
achieving our new goal: welcoming 100 new FSF members by January 16!
Not yet an associate member? For as little as $12 USD per month, you
get great benefits and help us reach our goal!
Free Software Awards winners announced: Andy Wingo, Alx Sa, Govdirectory
From December 9
Every year, the FSF recognizes a few groups and individuals in the
free software community who have made significant contributions to
software freedom. This year, the recipients of the Award for the
Advancement of Free Software, Award for Outstanding New Free Software
Contributor, and Award for Projects of Social Benefit were given to
Andy Wingo, Alx Sa, and Govdirectory. Read more about the award
winners and think about how you might get involved in a free software
project in the near future.
A message from FSF president Ian Kelling
From December 30
As the FSF's fortieth anniversary year draws to a close, president Ian
Kelling of the FSF offers his reflections on the free software
movement's progress and why you should become an FSF associate member.
In this article, Ian finds himself asking: how can we sustain our
commitment, grow our movement, and eventually turn the tide so that
"free software isn't more important every day," so that it is no
longer something we need to remind people of, but a core part of daily
life? We hope Ian's thoughts inspire you to join the FSF in this
important work or to gift a membership.
Eko K. A. Owen joins the FSF board as the union staff pick
From December 29
In late 2025, FSF union staff selected outreach and communications
coordinator Eko K. A. Owen to fill the staff-elected board seat on the
organization's board of directors. Owen follows Ian Kelling, current
president, who had held the staff seat since its creation in 2021. At
the board meeting on the twentieth of December, 2025, Owen was
officially welcomed to both the board of directors and the FSF's
voting member bodies. You can read more about the FSF board's newest
member in the article below.
Everyone brings something to the table
From December 26
Free software only exists through the hard work of countless people.
Every single free software program was built on and lives through
community efforts, whether it be a few individuals or millions of
people. As we begin our forty-first year of advocating for user
freedom, we will spend time this year recognizing projects and groups
of people that have contributed to the strength and limitlessness of
free software. We invite free software supporters like you to join us
in this spirit of gratitude, and will be offering multiple ways for
you to get involved.
Free Software Foundation receives historic private donations
From December 24
Towards the end of the FSF's fortieth year, two exceptionally generous
donors gifted the organization a total contribution of $900,000 USD.
These extraordinary donations, both made to the FSF in the
cryptocurrency Monero, are among some of the largest private gifts
ever made to the organization. The donors wish to remain anonymous.
All donations, no matter $5 USD or $500,000 USD, make a difference in
the FSF's work in advancing the free software movement. These
donations will support the organization's technical team and
infrastructure capacity, as well as strengthen its campaigns,
education, licensing, and advocacy initiatives, and future
opportunities. It's never too late to support the FSF's mission to
promote computer user freedom — donate today.
Revive the winter ghost story with the tale of ShoeTool
From December 22
For many generations around the world, winter is a time for telling
cautionary tales of the world's cruelty and consequences of bad
behavior. While the existence of such dangerous figures as the Yule
Cat and wendigo can be left by the fireplace, the horrors of
proprietary software remain in the real world long after you and your
loved ones have put out the flames. In the ShoeTool story, an elf
named Wendell buys a machine to help him make shoes, only to quickly
discover that the machine's proprietor heavily restricts what kind of
shoes Wendell may make with the machine he just bought.
We can't advocate for freedom without your help
From December 19
Our advocacy and approaches to campaigning for your freedom have
changed over the years, but we've always kept our focus. When we saw
the proprietary software we call Digital Restrictions Management (DRM)
on the rise, we created the Defective by Design campaign and launched
the International Day Against DRM, which we'll be writing you about
soon. We've combated bulk government surveillance, supported the right
to repair, and have done our best to make starting the free software
journey something more accessible than purchasing an eighteen-year-old
laptop and going at it alone. We may be getting closer to dystopia by
the day, but we're not down for the count yet, and we need your help.
If you can, please support the FSF and our important work through a
one-time donation or membership.
Problems with lax licenses, FSF president Ian Kelling, and more in the winter 2025 Bulletin
From December 11
In the winter 2025 Free Software Bulletin, you can learn about some
of the nefarious ways that proprietary providers seek to control
users. You can also get to know our new president, Ian Kelling,
including his background in free software and community activism. Our
licensing team explains why lax licenses are dangerous, and we dive
into the dangerous consequences of installing a Ring video doorbell.
We also share an introduction to a new educational project led by one
of our community activists: Mission:Libre. If you haven't read the
winter 2025 Bulletin cover-to-cover yet, take some time to read all
five articles, and once you have, bring up one of the articles in a
conversation!
Why buy when you can learn and repair? Read our Giving Guide
From December 5
We won't deny that, at least on a surface level, software and hardware
that seeks to control you can look quite attractive, especially during
the winter holidays when it seems like everyone around us is getting
the latest and "most advanced" tech. The sad fact is, though, that a
great majority of tech available for purchase right now deprives you
of your freedom and autonomy, whether it be through spying on your
every move, making you come to the manufacturer for even minor
repairs, or forcing you to hand over private information. It's unjust
that this is our reality, but you as an individual do have power.
Check out our Giving Guide for suggestions on how you can help your
loved ones live freer lives, now and long into the future.
Your digital life isn't yours: The hidden battle for software freedom
From December 17 by Jason Self
You own your phone, but someone else dictates its functions. You may
use social media, but an algorithm you can't inspect shapes the
reality you see. You own your car, but you can't fix it. You own your
smart TV, but it's watching you. In every corner of our modern lives,
we're surrounded by things we've purchased but are forbidden from
truly possessing or understanding. The culprit isn't the device itself
but the invisible code running inside it, and the fight for control
over that code is one of the most important battles for human rights
in the twenty-first century. Read on to better understand how
proprietary providers seek to control you and what you can do to build
a better future.
The role of the Cyber Resilience Act for free software
From December 18 by the Free Software Foundation Europe
The Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) sets out requirements for the
development of secure products with digital elements in the European
Union (EU). The declared aim of the CRA is to ensure that hardware and
software products in the EU market are shipped with a guarantee to fix
rising security vulnerabilities and to minimize them. What the CRA
means for free software projects, potential stewards, and
manufacturers remains to be clear despite the ongoing implementation
of the CRA. Read more about areas of ambiguity for free software in
the EU under the CRA in the article below.
Online gaming’s final boss: The copyright bully
From December 19 by Corynne McSherry and Kit Walsh
For decades, a participatory experience has been a key part of one of
the longest-running video games still in operation: EverQuest. Players
had the official client, acquired lawfully from EverQuest’s
developers, and modders figured out how to enable those clients to
communicate with their own servers and then modify their play
experience—creating new communities along the way. This was the
dynamic for many years until the current owners, a private equity firm
called Daybreak, decided to kill this independent creativity.
Unfortunately, this happens quite often for proprietary games and
programs in general, which is one of the many reasons why it's so
important that they are free software from the beginning. You can
learn about how Daybreak is working to restricts users of EverQuest in
this EFF article.
December GNU Emacs news
From December 31 by Sacha Chua
In these issues: basics of emacs macros, DnD character tracking with
typst & emacs, and more!
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!
The next meeting is this Friday, January 9 from 12:00 to 15:00 EST
(17:00 to 20:00 UTC). Details here:
https://www.fsf.org/events/fsd-2026-01-9-irc
LibrePlanet featured resource: Remote Communication
Every month on the LibrePlanet, we highlight one resource that is
interesting and useful—often one that could use your help. For this
month, we are highlighting Remote Communication. Most of us
communicate with family, friends, coworkers, and other activists
through some kind of digital format. Let's work together to make sure
we're respecting our freedom while staying in touch by using free
software. On this page, you can find almost one hundred free software
methods of communication. You are invited to help update, adopt,
spread, and improve this important resource.
Do you have a suggestion for next month's featured resource? Let us
know at [email protected].
December GNU Spotlight with Amin Bandali featuring sixteen new GNU releases: GnuPG, a2ps, and more!
Sixteen new GNU releases in the last month (as of December 31, 2025):
For a full list with descriptions, please see:
https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/2026-december-gnu-spotlight
For announcements of most new GNU releases, subscribe to the info-gnu
mailing list: https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-gnu.
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.
This month, we welcome Sean Whitton as a new co-maintainer of Emacs.
Thanks and welcome aboard, Sean.
A number of GNU packages, as well as the GNU operating system as a
whole, are looking for maintainers and other assistance. Please see
https://www.gnu.org/server/takeaction.html#unmaint if you'd like to
help. The general page on how to help GNU is at
https://www.gnu.org/help/help.html.
If you have a working or partly working program that you'd like
to offer to the GNU project as a GNU package, see
https://www.gnu.org/help/evaluation.html.
As always, please feel free to write to me, [email protected],
with any GNUish questions or suggestions for future installments.
FSF and other free software events
- January 31-February 1, 2026, Brussels, Belgium,
FOSDEM
- March 5-8, 2026, Pasadena, California, United States,
SCALE
- April 24-26, 2026, Bellingham, Washington, United States
LFNW
- June 14-16, 2026, Prague, Czech Republic, Flock to
Fedora
- July 16-18, 2026, Porto, Portugal,
SECRYPT
Thank GNUs!
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.
This month, a big Thank GNU to:
- Aiden Kane
- Alessandro Vesely
- Amateur Radio Digital Communications
- Andrea Bocci
- Andrew Gaul
- Boone Gorges
- Bruce Baumgart
- Colin Strasser
- Chuck Metalitz
- Cristian & Andrea Frâncu
- Dock Williams
- Donald Craig
- Frank Graffagnino
- Fumitoshi Ukai
- Gerald Sussman
- Holger Kienle
- Jared Flatow
- Jean-Francois Blavier
- Jean-Louis Abraham
- John Gilmore
- John Sullivan
- Juan José González
- Julie & Kilian Bernauer & Cavalotti
- Ken Senoo
- Kevin Miller
- Mark Boenke
- Martin Jansche
- Massimo Spadotto
- Michael Ng
- Michael Stroucken
- Morten Lind
- Nicolas Avrutin
- Pablo González Otero
- Paul Morris
- Peter Kunze
- René Genz
- Sally Gudbrandsen
- Sandra Hatcher
- Shashank Sabniveesu
- Stephen Longfield
- Steve Tuyizere
- Wayne Chapeskie
- Zachary Hanson
You can add your name to this list by donating at
https://donate.fsf.org/.
GNU copyright contributions
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:
- Daniel Knezevic (GDB, GNU Binutils)
- Emre Yolcu (GNU Emacs)
- Huang Jing (GNU Emacs)
Want to see your name on this list? Contribute to GNU and assign your
copyright to the FSF.
Translations of the Free Software Supporter
El Free Software Supporter está disponible en español. Para ver la
versión en español haz click aquí:
https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2026/enero
Para cambiar las preferencias de usuario y recibir los próximos
números del Supporter en español, haz click aquí:
https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create?reset=1&gid=34&id=3095323&cs=c3475c055e0a0159e5c99a5d52a8ec07_1767674437_168
Le Free Software Supporter est disponible en français. Pour voir la
version française cliquez ici:
https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2026/janvier
Pour modifier vos préférences et recevoir les prochaines
publications du Supporter en français, cliquez ici:
https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create?reset=1&gid=34&id=3095323&cs=c3475c055e0a0159e5c99a5d52a8ec07_1767674437_168
If you no longer wish to receive the Free Software Supporter in
English (but still receive other communications in English), you can
opt out here.
Take action with the FSF!
Contributions from thousands of individual associate members enable
the FSF's work. You can contribute by joining at
https://my.fsf.org/join. If you're already an associate member, you
can help refer new members by adding a line with your associate member
number to your email signature like:
I'm an FSF associate member — Help us support software freedom!
https://my.fsf.org/join
The FSF is always looking for
volunteers. From rabble-rousing to
hacking, from issue coordination to envelope stuffing — there's
something here for everybody to do. Also, head over to our campaigns
section and take action on software
patents, Digital Restrictions
Management, free
software adoption,
OpenDocument,
and more.
Do you read and write Portuguese and English? The FSF is looking
for translators for the Free Software Supporter. Please send an
email to [email protected] with your interest and a list of your
experience and qualifications.
Copyright © 2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License. To view a copy of this license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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