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+<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
+<!-- Parent-Version: 1.86 -->
+
+<title>Free Software and (e-)Government - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
+
+<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/second-sight.translist" -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
+
+<h2>Free Software and (e-)Government</h2>
+
+<div class="announcement">
+<blockquote><p>This article originally appeared in The Guardian
+&mdash; March 3, 2005</p></blockquote>
+</div>
+
+<p>by <a href="http://www.stallman.org/">Richard Stallman</a></p>
+
+<p>
+The UK government has funded the development of software useful for
+e-government, and now doesn't know what to do with it. Someone had the
+bright idea to hand it over to local councils, inviting them to turn
+themselves into software companies.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The public have already paid to develop this software. Isn't it absurd
+to make them pay, now, for permission to use it? Isn't it absurd to
+restrict what they can do with it? Alas, such absurdity is not
+unusual; it is standard practice for governments to deliver publicly
+funded software into private hands, to companies that make the public
+&mdash; and even the government &mdash; beg for permission to use it
+afterwards.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Even worse, they impose frustrating restrictions on the users, denying
+them access to the software's source code, the plans that a programmer
+can read and understand and change. All the users get is an
+executable, a &ldquo;black box&rdquo;, so that they cannot adapt it,
+understand it or even verify what it does.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There is a sensible motive for this senseless policy. The motive is to
+make sure that someone cares for the software, fixing the problems
+that inevitably appear and adapting it to new needs. People used to
+believe that having some company control all use of the software, and
+keep all users under its thumb, was the only way to do this.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Today, we know another way: free software (also known
+as <a href="/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html"> open
+source</a> or Foss). Free software means the users are free to use
+this software, redistribute it, study it, or even extend it to do more
+jobs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The word &ldquo;free&rdquo; refers to freedom, not price; think
+&ldquo;free speech&rdquo;, not &ldquo;free beer&rdquo;. When there are
+users that value support and are willing to pay for it, free software
+means a free market for support, instead of a monopoly. Free software
+also offers government agencies a way to fulfil their responsibility
+to maintain sovereign control over the state's computers, and not let
+that control fall into private hands.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Since 1984, groups of volunteers have developed and maintained
+powerful and useful free programs &mdash; a few at first, then entire
+operating systems such as GNU/Linux and BSD. Today,
+the <a href="http://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Main_Page">Free Software Directory</a>
+lists almost 4,000 free software packages. The UK government has already
+decided to increase its use of free software; here is a perfect opportunity to
+both use it and contribute.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister should make the e-government
+programs free software, set up a site to host their development, and
+hire a handful of people to oversee the work. Then governments around
+the world will begin to use this software, fix it, extend it, and
+contribute the improvements back.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The whole world will benefit, and all the users will admire Britain's
+leadership.
+</p>
+
+<pre>
+-- Richard Stallman launched the GNU operating system (www.gnu.org) in
+ 1984 and founded the Free Software Foundation (fsf.org) in 1985.
+</pre>
+
+</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above -->
+
+<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
+<div id="footer">
+<div class="unprintable">
+
+<p>Please send general FSF &amp; GNU inquiries to
+<a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org">&lt;gnu@gnu.org&gt;</a>.
+There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a>
+the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent
+to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org">&lt;webmasters@gnu.org&gt;</a>.</p>
+
+<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph,
+ replace it with the translation of these two:
+
+ We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality
+ translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection.
+ Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard
+ to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org">
+ &lt;web-translators@gnu.org&gt;</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of
+ our web pages, see <a
+ href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
+ README</a>. -->
+Please see the <a
+href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
+README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting translations
+of this article.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Copyright &copy; 2005, 2017, 2018 Richard Stallman</p>
+
+<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license"
+href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative
+Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.</p>
+
+<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" -->
+
+<p class="unprintable">Updated:
+<!-- timestamp start -->
+$Date: 2018/12/15 14:02:38 $
+<!-- timestamp end -->
+</p>
+</div>
+</div><!-- for class="inner", starts in the banner include -->
+</body>
+</html>