There has been quite a bit of fuss in recent days and weeks about a public consultation of the European Commission regarding an initiative called Towards European open digital ecosystems.
While the title does not in any way point towards this being specifically about software development – or even about technology in general, the annotating texts clearly show that this is intended to be about software development, and that the initiative is about both funding and policy.
Hence substantial parts of the FOSS community these days seem to be essentially drooling over the perspective of a rain of money and there have been already more than a thousand comments made on the consultation to date.
What i found remarkable (and the main reason why i am writing this here) is that a common direction of many community comments seems to go towards a European version of the German Sovereign Tech Fund. The STF to me is notable, in particular, because it is the only open public funding program i know of that explicitly codifies the Matthew principle. One of the core criteria of the STF is Prevalence – essentially meaning that it is only meant to fund projects that already have achieved some level of market dominance. Substantially widening FOSS funding under that premise could have a devastating effect on the Open Source software landscape. One of the big practical advantages of Open Source software is the diversity of different solutions that are available to both users and developers and the resulting resilience. The economic dynamics of Open Source development are normally much less prone to the formation of monopolies and oligopolies. But massive funding specifically of the market leaders and decidedly not of the most innovative projects could well change that.
Now i don’t want to over-exaggerate that problem, because many other ways of funding of Open Source software development – both private and public – de facto also favor the market leaders. But rubbing it is everyone’s face that you use tax money to essentially protect already successful and influential projects from upcoming competition is noteworthy. Even more so if there is widespread applause for that approach from the developer community.
Also: What i found mostly missing in discussions and comments i saw so far are serious discussions of the policy aspect. There is plenty of legislation in Europe that poses substantial hurdles towards open source software and open technology in general. Like the anti-circumvention laws for technological measures put into place to prevent people to control the technology they legally own. These things are much more important for open digital ecosystems than a short term infusion of money.
If this initiative is indicative for an actual serious move towards a more open digital world in Europe or if it is essentially just an attempt to source cheap work from the FOSS community for specific fields of interest for influential stakeholders through some scraps in the form of a short term grant program is unsure. A serious move will require substantial policy changes. If it is just maybe some hundred millions in grants and subsidies then it is probably not serious.
Bottom line: If you want to provide feedback to that European Commission initiative i suggest to focus on the following ideas:
- EU policies should be adjusted to support rather than create obtacles for small and independent actors in the field and to protect openness of both technology and knowledge – like by repealing anti-circumvention legislation.
- Public funding should be provided to support innovation and, in particular, for work at stages before the development of concrete products. This will do much more good for sustainably improving European digital abilities and resilience than short term subsidies to already successful projects.
- Ultimately, the sustained success of open digital ecosystems will depend on there being a long term economical and social basis for work of citizens that contributes to these ecosystems. That basis cannot be produced through public subsidies, it needs to come from our society at large. Politics, however, can help, for example by setting positive examples and requiring public and publicly financed institutions to universally and fully become part of these open digital ecosystems – as active contributors and as consumers alike, and without opportunistic cherry-picking. Politics can also create more favorable economic conditions for work on open knowledge and open technology – like by reducing taxation of such work.