Switzerland has been flirting with Open Source for years: it will finally force all organisations to make a definitive change

Open source software can be a threat or an opportunity. It depends on who you ask. Google, for example, was not very happy with the rapid development of open source artificial intelligence (AI) models. The Swiss government, for its part, has been pushing for more than a decade. Open Source alternativesalthough it has recently taken a significant step in its mission: forcing public administration to embrace open source.

ZDNET explains The Federal Act on the Use of Electronic Media for the Performance of Government Tasks (EMBAG) now requires federal agencies in the country to use open source software, whether developed by them or for them by third parties. The law also provides for the publication of the source code of software under an open license “unless third party rights or security-related reasons exclude or restrict this.”

Switzerland and its open source approach

The agencies covered by the legislation will not only have to update their systems, but will also have to publicly disclose non-personal and non-security-sensitive administrative data. Under this dynamic, Swedes can consult “information of public interest” related to more than 140 public and private organizations through a dedicated portal called Open Data which does not require registration to access its contents.

The portal presents data categorized into sections such as population and society, education, culture and sport, health, environment, economy and finance, or energy. With a couple of clicks, for example, it is possible to access the areas where fiber optic Internet services are provided or a list of charging stations for electric cars. The data is available in different formats, such as the well-known JSON or XML.

The now-mandatory adoption of open source software and the publication of government administrative data are intended to “improve transparencysecurity and efficiency.” However, these initiatives have also encountered detractors. A proprietary software company called Weblaw was against itpossibly because such an opening would end up harming part of its business with the state.

Each alternative has its own advantages and disadvantages. Open source software, available under different licenses, allows anyone to analyze, modify and distribute it. For this reason, it is associated with greater trust. Closed source software, on the other hand, keeps its source code hidden from users, so only authorized developers can access it, and is distributed under licenses that are often quite restrictive.

Images | Ari Dinar | Freepik

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Switzerland has been flirting with Open Source for years: it will finally force all organisations to make a definitive change

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Xataka

by Javier Marquez .

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