Free and Open Software

DPI is built from technological building blocks. Every software is published under a particular copyright license that allows or prohibits certain actions. Companies often try to retain control over their intellectual property. The counter movement is called Open Source or Free Software.

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DPI that is trustworthy and serves the public should be built with free and open software.

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Definitions

Every software is made up from source code. This is text in a programming language that determines the functionality of the program. Like any human-made craft, such source code falls under copyright and gives the programmers or company that employs them rights to determine how that product is used.

Open Source Software

• Software for which the source code is made available to the public under a licence that meets the Open Source Definition of the Open Source Initiative.
• This means:
  • Users can view the source code.
  • Users can modify and distribute it under the same or compatible licence terms.
  • Licences can be permissive (allowing integration into proprietary products) or copyleft (requiring derivatives to be open as well). Examples for copyleft licensed projects are Wordpress or the Linux Kernel. Examples of permissive licensed projects are many databases, web servers and other building blocks of modern software.
• Key point: “Open source” focuses on practical access and collaborative development, not necessarily on a moral or political stance.

Open technology empowers civil society to hold governments and vendors to account.

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A DPI that cannot be questioned is a DPI that cannot be trusted.

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Free Software

• Software that grants users the four essential freedoms defined by the Free Software Foundation:
  1. Freedom to run the program for any purpose.
  2. Freedom to study how the program works and change it (requires source code access).
  3. Freedom to share copies.
  4. Freedom to improve the software and share these improvements publicly.
• Also known as “libre software” to avoid confusion with “free of charge.” Think free as in free speech, not free beer.
• Key point: The focus is on user freedoms as a matter of rights, not just development methodology.

The Four Freedoms of Free Software according to the Free Software Foundation Europe.

Vendor Lock-In

• A situation in which a customer (which could be a government) becomes dependent on a specific vendor’s products or services and cannot easily switch to another supplier without incurring substantial cost, effort, or risk.
• Lock-in can occur due to:
  • Proprietary data formats
  • Lack of interoperability or open standards
  • Legal restrictions in contracts
  • Technical complexity or lack of documentation
• Key point: Vendor lock-in limits competition, innovation, and sovereignty—making the system harder or more expensive to maintain over time.