Switzerland mandates government agencies use open-source software
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The new law requires the use of open-source software and the publishing of new government code under open-source licenses

Switzerland has recently enacted a law requiring its government to use open-source software (OSS) and disclose the source code of any software developed by or for the public sector. According to ZDNet, this “public body, public code” approach makes government operations more transparent while increasing security and efficiency. Such a move would likely fail in the U.S. but is becoming increasingly common throughout Europe.

According to Switzerland’s new “Federal Law on the Use of Electronic Means for the Fulfillment of Government Tasks” (EMBAG), government agencies must use open-source software throughout the public sector.

The new law allows the codifies allowing Switzerland to release its software under OSS licenses. Not just that; it requires the source code be released that way “unless the rights of third parties or security-related reasons would exclude or restrict this.”

In addition to mandating the OSS code, EMBAG also requires Swiss government agencies to release non-personal and non-security-sensitive government data to the public. Calling this Open Government Data, this aspect of the new law contributes to a dual “open by default” approach that should allow for easier reuse of software and data while also making governance more transparent.

  • @ImgonnatrythisEnglish
    35•1 month ago

    This makes entirely too much sense. I’d love to see sanity prevail and this to trend, but I no longer have reasonable hope for much anymore.

    I do secretly feel bad for any government workers that were using Photoshop and have to switch to Gimp though.

      • @ImgonnatrythisEnglish
        12•1 month ago

        Glad you love it. This is kind of a tired debate but specifically if you are well versed in Photoshop and try to convert to Gimp you feel like, well, a Gimp. From personal experience I tried for a solid year and it never felt right. I could still do the things I needed but it took longer and was more cumbersome. Probably a different story if you grow up with it.

      • @[email protected]English
        8•1 month ago

        Eh, really depends on the use case. For example if you want to edit something distributed in a psd format gimp won’t even tell you something got imported wrong. So the file will import but will look wrong.

        And then there’s the UI. It just refuses to follow any current standards. Whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on the user.

        Personally I use affinity photo. Works for my use case and is a one time purchase product, which for me is ok.