Public Money
Public Code

What it is all about and why it just makes sense.

The world we are living in

• Is getting more digital every day
• Software is everywhere
• Governments and public institutions use mostly proprietary software or manual processes
• Effort is duplicated all over the world
• We pay all of those with our taxes

What is Open Source?

• Software whose source code is publicly available
• Anyone can view, use, modify, and distribute the software
• Licensed to ensure freedom and collaboration
• Examples: Linux, Firefox, LibreOffice, Corona Warn App

Why does it matter?

• Its not always transparent what money is spent on (e.g. licenses)
• Much of the used software used is neither secure nor reliable
• Every institution has to solve the same problems over and over again
• Security by obscurity is not a good idea
• Geopolitical pressure through dependencies on foreign vendors
• Vendor lock-in leads to unpredictable cost changes and loss of control

Real world examples

PC-Wahl

PC-Wahl - German election software

• Used in many german states
• Proprietary software
• Security issues until this day
• No transparency

PC-Wahl - German election software

Timeline

• 2017
  • CCC finds security issues that allow tampering with election results
  • Updates are provided, but dont fix the issues
  • CCC provides a open source version of the software which is secure, but will never be used
• 2024
  • Is used for election in Saxony
  • Calculates wrong results
  • Only corrected due to manual recount by independent experts

PC-Wahl - German election software

• Still used in many states
• No transparency about the software and its security
• Patches have been provided - payed, with our taxes
• Still not secure

Corona Warn App

Real world examples | Corona Warn App

• Started in April 2020, during the pandemic
• Development led by SAP and Deutsche Telekom
• Widely used in Germany (over 45 million downloads)
• Open source from the beginning
• Privacy by default
• 50 days until the first release

Real world examples | Corona Warn App

Timeline

• April 2020
  • Planning starts
• May 2020
  • Development starts, fully on GitHub
• June 2020
  • First release

Real world examples | Corona Warn App

Timeline

• 2021
  • Features are added, bugs are fixed - lot of community contributions
  • Used as blueprint for other countries
• 2023
  • Still in use, still maintained
  • Possibly used for other purposes in the future

Comparison

Press Samples

• Microsoft blocks ICC Chief Prosecutor’s email (2025)
  Due to US sanctions, Microsoft locked the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor and staff out of their email
• Broadcom/VMware acquisition (2023)
  License costs for public institutions skyrocketed overnight
• Microsoft Office price hikes (2022)
  Sudden changes in licensing models led to unexpected expenses for
  municipalities.

Success Stories

• France: Migrated public administration to Linux and open-source tools, saving millions annually.
• Estonia: X-Road platform enables secure data exchange across government agencies, fully open source.
• Italy: IO app for digital citizen services, open source and widely adopted.
• EU: FIWARE platform for smart cities, used by over 400 cities worldwide.

Conclusion

• Public code works
• Open source is more secure, not less
• Cost and effort is reduced
• Fosters collaboration and engagement with the people

We are not alone

Public Money - Public Code is a initiative by the Free Software Foundation

We want legislation requiring that publicly financed software developed for the public sector be made publicly
available under a Free and Open Source Software licence. If it is public money, it should be public code as well.

What can you do?

• Check programs for political parties
• Ask your local government about the software they use
• Ask for transparency
• Support the initiative
• Spread the word

The End

Digitalization, also for public institutions is a chance, not a threat. Let us use it wisely and most importantly,
let us do it together and transparent.