Switzerland mandates government agencies use open-source software
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.
It’s not an entirely new move for Switzerland. In 2011, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published its court application, Open Justitia, using an OSS license. It was unpopular with legal software company Weblaw, and more than a decade of political and legal battles followed.
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.”
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Switzerland now requires all government software to be open source
Several European countries are betting on open-source software. In the United States, eh, not so much. In the latest news from across the Atlantic, Switzerland has taken a major step forward with its “Federal Law on the Use of Electronic Means for the Fulfillment of Government Tasks” (EMBAG). This groundbreaking legislation mandates using open-source software (OSS) in the public sector.