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Public Consultations Based on Free Software : Proposal Ranking 4th Among the Most Supported

Submitted by egonnu on 8 February, 2017 - 12:47
in

The online public consultation on the bill “generalizing online public consultations”[fr], and launched by representatives Luc Belot and Patrice Martin-Lalande, ended Tuesday, January 17, 2017. April had taken advantage of the opportunity presented by the consultation to reiterate that only platforms based on free software, which are inherently democratic, can achieve the asserted goal of the bill “ to rebuild the trust between citizens and their representatives”.

Two Members of Parliament Ask for Transparency in the "Open Bar" Agreement between the Ministry of Defense and Microsoft

Submitted by egonnu on 22 December, 2016 - 11:09
in

Two members of Parliament, Isabelle Attard, unlisted deputy from Calvados, and Joelle Garriaud-Maylam, right-wing senator for French citizens living outside of France, from two different chambers and political affiliations, asked the minister of Defense, Jean-Yves Le Drian - in writing - about the "Open Bar" agreement binding the ministry of Defense to Microsoft since 2009.
See below for our translations of these questions.

Open Governement in France : an Empty Promise?

Submitted by egonnu on 6 December, 2016 - 14:47
in

As France is about to host the Open Government Partnership Global Summit, a number of Civil Society Organizations point out the inconsistencies of the French government. Some have decided not to attend.

Promulgation of the Digital Republic Act - Free Software - April's Campaign

Submitted by egonnu on 2 December, 2016 - 15:23
in

The Digital Republic Act n°2016-1321 was promulgated and officially published on October 7th, 2016. This law confirms that source codes of publicly financed software programs are to be made accessible by default; it, however, still leaves accessibility restricted by a very broad exception in the case of a risk "to the security of the information systems of administrations", and adds an explicit provision that free software

April joins the advisory board of KDE

Submitted by fcouchet on 28 September, 2016 - 15:48
in

April announces that the association is joining the KDE Advisory Board.

Europe : An Overlayer of Retrograde Rules Instead of an Actual Reform of Copyright Law

Submitted by egonnu on 27 September, 2016 - 14:24
in

After months of consultations and announcements about the implementation of a « Digital Single Market » and the modernization of the European copyright law, the Commission offers only to patch up a fifteen-year-old system. A real reform of the actual legal framework based on the 2001/29/EC directive, which dates back to 2001, was expected; instead, the text would only be marginaly amended by the

The CJEU Gives Its Blessing to Racketware, in Disregard of European Consumers' Rights

Submitted by egonnu on 14 September, 2016 - 17:37
in

Paris, September 15th, 2016 – Press release

The Court of Justice of the European Union, in a judgment published on September 7th, 2016, endorses forced bundled selling of computers and software, instead of protecting consumers, and leaves it up to national jurisdictions to settle disputes on a case-by-case basis.

Bulgaria Moves torwards a Freer and More Loyal Computing, in the Service of the Public's Interest

Submitted by egonnu on 19 July, 2016 - 14:31
in

On July 1st, 2016, amendments to the Bulgarian "E-government Act" of 2007 went into effect. One of its new articles (58a.) is as a real step forward as it provides public administrations with the means to freely modify and share software developed for them, and creates a public national repository to promote these resources

Michel Rocard Passed Away

Submitted by egonnu on 4 July, 2016 - 17:24
in

Michel Rocard, former Prime Minister and member of the European Parliament, passed away on Saturday, July 2nd, 2016. In 2009, when he left the European Parliament, April had the chance to acknowledge Rocard's decisive involvement in the efforts to ban software patents, which, using his political power, he had opposed vigorously.

Progress Report on April's Campaign around the French “Digital Republic” Bill

Submitted by tgodefroy on 8 June, 2016 - 17:12
in

In 2013, through the Higher Education and Research Act, the French parliament enacted legislation that for the first time gives priority to free software. April took an important part in these debates and, while the organization was very pleased by this favorable vote, it stated that this was only a first step in a process that ought to be generalized by true public policy in favor of free software.

01net Magazine Associates April, La Quadrature du Net, and the FSF with the "Internet Gang of Crooks"

Submitted by fcouchet on 23 May, 2016 - 14:40
in
Image de l'encart sur le mercenaire

In its March 31, 2016, issue No. 843, the French "01net magazine" published a special feature on the " Viruses, the surging ones ". In the article titled " We've traced down the Web crooks " (p.

A DRM-Locked E-Book Is Always a Downgrade from a Printed Book (video)

Submitted by fcouchet on 2 May, 2016 - 15:13
in

As part of the International Day against DRM (“digital handcuffs”), on May 3th, 2016, April is republishing a video on the issue of e-books and DRM.

This day of protest is an opportunity to remember how dangerous these digital handcuffs are for free software users and developers alike, and how far they go toward restraining legitimate uses of works.

IPRED: a New Fake Consultation of the European Commission

Submitted by fcouchet on 18 April, 2016 - 09:35
in

The European Commission has launched a new public consultation on IPRED1. April deplores this upteemth consultation, which is a red herring, since no impact studies or consequences of the directive have been crafted.

  • 1. "Public consultation on the evaluation and modernisation of the legal framework for the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR)"

Radio Directive - Open letter to the French Ministry of Budget and to the French Telecom Regulator

Submitted by fcouchet on 6 April, 2016 - 15:27
in

Paris, 6 April 2016 — The Directive on the harmonisation of the laws of Member States relating to the making available on the market of radio equipment (or Radio Directive) was adopted in April 2014, with the aim to improve the management of the radio spectrum. The Directive must now be transposed and implemented in Member States before 12 June 2016.

April Releases Its 2015 Activity Report

Submitted by fcouchet on 25 February, 2016 - 15:25
in

2015 activity report cover page

April releases its 2015 activity report (79 pages), available for online reading or downloadable in PDF format (in French).

2015 was particularly rich in activism.

Etienne Gonnu Introduces Himself

Submitted by fcouchet on 22 February, 2016 - 13:24
in

Étienne Gonnu joined the April team on January 6, 2016, as public affairs officer. Here is a short introduction:

Jeanne Tadeusz Is Off to New Adventures

Submitted by fcouchet on 22 February, 2016 - 13:16
in

Jeanne Tadeusz's picture After six years of being in charge of public affairs for April, Jeanne Tadeusz is off to new adventures.

Partnership with Microsoft: Unworthy of the Values the French National Education Advocates

Submitted by tgodefroy on 18 December, 2015 - 13:50
in

Paris, December 3, 2015, Press release.

The European Parliament Calls on the European Union to Migrate to Free Software

Submitted by fcouchet on 4 November, 2015 - 10:40
in

Paris, November 3, 2015. Press Release.

On October 29, 2015, the European Parliament adopted a report by Claude Moraes which condemned mass surveillance. This report calls on the European Union to migrate to free software, and to add free sofware as a mandatory selection criterion in IT public procurement.

French “Digital Republic” Public Consultation: Towards a Citizens-First Software Society?

Submitted by tgodefroy on 21 October, 2015 - 16:54
in

Paris, October 19, 2015. Press release.

The public consultation on France’s Digital Republic bill (La République numérique), which ended on Sunday, October 18, shows a deep-rooted trend in favor of free software, Internet neutrality, and the commons. April would like to thank all those who participated and now awaits the government's response to every one of its proposals.

[Joinup] Free Software’s Use in Public Sector in Top Three of Votes for ‘Digital Republic’

Submitted by fcouchet on 21 October, 2015 - 09:05
in

"France’s citizens are in favour of their public administrations’ use of Free Software".

France should implement this type of software in education, according to the results of a public consultation on France’s Digital Republic bill ("avant-projet de loi pour République numérique"). After twenty days of public debate and voting on proposals, the consultation ended on Sunday. La République numérique - the Digital Republic - drew 147,710 votes, received 8501 proposals and attracted 21,330 participants.

Volkswagen Debacle: It's High Time for Free Software, Reverse Engineering

Submitted by tgodefroy on 30 September, 2015 - 10:27
in

The revelations of Volkswagen cheating on anti-pollution tests remind us once more of the importance of Free Software, but also of the right for all to reverse engineering.

Car maker Volkswagen equipped certain car models sold in the United States with onboard software capable of cheating during anti-pollution testing. This new scandal shows the dangers of the lack of transparency, control and trust that comes with these “black boxes”.

The Paris High Court Reaffirms the Ban on Software Patents

Submitted by tgodefroy on 18 September, 2015 - 11:54
in

On June 18th, 2015, the Paris High Court (tribunal de grande instance — TGI) issued a ruling in the Orange versus Free case [fr] (both French ISPs); this ruling was published [fr] on September 1st, 2015. On this occasion, the court reaffirmed that software patents are illegal in Europe under the European Patent Convention (EPC).

Forced Bundled Selling of Computers and Software Before the Court of Justice of the European Union

Submitted by tgodefroy on 31 July, 2015 - 13:23
in

On Thursday June 25, 2015, the French Court of Cassation referred a question on forced bundled selling of computers and software to the Court of Justice of the European Union, for a preliminary ruling. The court of Luxembourg will thus take a decision on this practice in the next few weeks. April looks forward to this decision, which might confirm the unfair nature of the requirement to buy software when purchasing a computer on the consumer market.

Reda Report: a Missed Opportunity, Still Waiting for Copyright Reform

Submitted by jtadeusz on 9 July, 2015 - 14:52
in

Beauvais, July 9th, 2015. Press Release

French Government IT Directorate Stands Its Ground : ODF Supported, OOXML Rejected

Submitted by fcouchet on 9 July, 2015 - 12:54
in

Paris, 7 July 2015. For immediate release.

The final draft version of the RGI (general interoperability framework), still awaiting final validation, maintains ODF as the recommended format for office documents within French administrations. This new version of the RGI provides substantiated criticism of the OOXML Microsoft format. April thanks the DISIC (French Inter-ministerial IT directorate) for not giving in to pressure and acting in the long-term interest of all French citizens and their administrations.

MEPs Recommend ISDS with Lipstick in TTIP

Submitted by jtadeusz on 8 July, 2015 - 15:05
in

Beauvais, July 8th, 2015. Press release.

TTIP Vote at European Parliament: Contact MEPs to Reject ISDS

Submitted by fcouchet on 7 July, 2015 - 10:10
in

After a last-minute postponement in June, Bernd Lange's report on the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment partnership), is finally to be debated and then voted on, on July 8th and 9th, 2015. The political groups have announced that they have agreed on a compromise to set in place a new version of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism.

Several Recommendations from the National Council on Digital Technology That Should Be Ratified in the Digital Bill

Submitted by fcouchet on 26 June, 2015 - 11:29
in

Paris, June 22nd, 2015, press release

On June 18th, 2015, the French governement revealed its digital strategy. On this occasion, the Conseil National du Numérique (National Digital Council) also submitted its report "Digital Ambition". The latter presents, among its proposals, the recommendation of giving priority to free software in public procurement, a priority that April encourages the government to write into the future bill.

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