If it’s funded with public money, it should be public code.

That means guaranteeing the 4 freedoms:
🔓 Use the code
🔍 Study how it works
✏️ Modify it
🔁 Share it

Do you agree?
✍️ Sign the open letter
📢 Share it with your network
🏛️ Call on decision-makers to invest in public code

💻 https://publiccode.eu

#PublicCode #DigitalSovereignty #FreeSoftware

Public Money, Public Code

Public Money, Public Code - A campaign for releasing publicly financed software as Free Software

@fsfe This should be so uncontroversial, yet the system is so broken.
In our own experience as a for profit organisation willing to release as free and open source the results of (partially) public funded projects we are held back mainly by public research institutions.
@beps @fsfe Thank you for sharing this frustration! Can you elaborate on the details of your experience? Which for profit organisation, and what was it about public research institutions that prevented you from releasing your thing under an open source license? I'd love to have something to point to when I tell others about this story!
@nacly @fsfe We work in the field of air quality numerical modelling and we experienced just that: public research organisations not willing to release numerical models as open and free. Models developed in the academic environment and (partially) funded by public grants.
This is to get an hypothetical advantage in producing new publications, getting additional funding in forthcoming public grants and even doing paid consulting (masked as academic research).
@beps @fsfe Ah, I see. Thank you for explaining! As someone who has done academic research, I've seen this quite often. It's really frustrating......😩
@fsfe I'd even prefer: if it's public code it has to be founded by public money
@fsfe I boosted this then remembered that I have participated in many coding projects using public funds from my university. Most flopped.