Free Software Supporter — Issue 219, July 2026
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Commit to freedom
- LibrePhone update, organizing locally, and more in issue 48 of the digital Bulletin
- Ten stories from around the world: LibreLocal 2026, part one
- The Licensing and Compliance Lab: Informing and defending
- GNU Press Shop open now through July 19
- Free Software Awards: Nominate a person or project by July 12
- The KIDS Act would require age checks to get online
- Blast from the past as GIMP 0.54 is revived in Flatpak form
- Vendor lock-in: It’s not the app, it’s the format
- June GNU Emacs news
- Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
- LibrePlanet featured resource: Activism Guide
- June GNU Spotlight with Amin Bandali featuring eighteen new GNU releases: Linux-libre, Direvent, and more!
- FSF and other free software events
- Thank GNUs!
- GNU copyright contributions
- Translations of the Free Software Supporter
- Take action with the FSF!
View this issue online here: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2026/july.
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Commit to freedom and become an associate member today.
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Commit to freedom
From June 12
The technology overrunning our communities isn’t built for the benefit of humanity: it’s built so that billionaires can control us. Our lives don’t have to be this way. The FSF helps empower users with free software, technology built through global collaboration, mutual respect, and above all, freedom. Join us!
LibrePhone update, organizing locally, and more in issue 48 of the digital Bulletin
From June 29
Our user freedoms are in serious danger. From multiple different Big Tech companies claiming they want to protect us while they steal our rights, to governments working to pass anti-freedom laws, our user freedoms are under attack. There are many concerning and downright scary developments worldwide when it comes to user freedom, but if we work together, there is still hope. The summer 2026 issue of the Free Software Foundation’s (FSF) Free Software Bulletin (or simply the Bulletin), features articles about work towards freedom.
Ten stories from around the world: LibreLocal 2026, part one
From June 25
This first half of the two-part report on LibreLocal 2026 will focus on the LibreLocal meetups organized by ten dedicated community members. Organizers hosted LibreLocals in cafes, bars, restaurants, libraries, universities, a computer repair shop, and even as part of a field trip to the System Source Museum, a museum dedicated to the history of computing in Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA. Read about some of this year’s LibreLocal meetups and get inspiration for your next free software meetup!
The Licensing and Compliance Lab: Informing and defending
From June 24
The Licensing and Compliance Lab, affectionately dubbed the Lab, is just as committed to freedom as it was when founded over twenty years ago. From its core work in defending the GNU General Public License and answering licensing questions to recent developments in machine learning, 2026 has been a busy year for the Lab. Check out the article below for highlights of what the Lab has been working on for software freedom over the past few months.
GNU Press Shop open now through July 19
From June 15
The shop is open this summer during our biannual fundraiser. From June 15, 2026 until July 19, 2026, we’re carrying books (both technical and philosophical), stickers, t-shirts, pins, and more. Whether you’ve been eyeing something since the shop was last open or are checking out the offerings for the first time, we’ll include at least two free stickers with every order. Check out our fun free software merch in the shop!
Free Software Awards: Nominate a person or project by July 20
From June 3
There’s no better way to show a member of the free software community that you appreciate their efforts than by nominating them for a Free Software Award. Whether you’re new to the free software community or have been around since the beginning, we ask you to take the time to recognize a person or project committed to software freedom. By nominating them, you send the message that you appreciate their vital work. There was an issue with the forms (we are so sorry for any inconvenience), but now that the forms are working again, nominate someone today. The deadline for nominations is Monday, July 20, 2026 at 23:59 EDT (03:59 UTC).
DMA: Protecting device neutrality in Android devices
From June 15 by the Free Software Foundation Europe
The FSFE has submitted its position to the European Commission’s Android interoperability consultation under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), calling for, among others, the right to fully uninstall machine learning-based features from Android devices, and access to interoperability functions for developers free from Google’s verification requirements. According to recent reports, Android has been installing machine learning software on user devices without consent or a clear way to remove it, against the requirements of the European DMA. Choosing what software runs on your device is a basic right, despite what Google and other Big Tech companies say. These companies want you to believe that you have no choice but to accept whatever they force on you and your device(s), but you do. Be vocal and educate those in your social circle about how unjust this is.
- https://fsfe.org/news/2026/news-20260615-01.en.html
- https://www.fsf.org/working-together/next-steps/free-software-phones
The KIDS Act would require age checks to get online
*From June 24 by Joe Mullin
Within the next week, the United States Congress is preparing to vote on the KIDS Act, a sprawling package of legislation that seeks to control web browsing and private messaging for Americans of all ages, despite its name. The package includes a revised version of the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, combined with a collection of other internet bills, study bills, reporting requirements, and new regulations. Age verification policies are promoted as being necessary for protecting kids and teens online, but in reality these policies force users of all ages to interact with nonfree, invasive programs. If you live in the US, call your representatives and tell them to vote no on this dangerous bill.
Blast from the past as GIMP 0.54 is revived in Flatpak form
From June 23 by Liam Proven
You can now run one of the very first versions of GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP), a cross-platform image editor, on modern x86-64 GNU/Linux distros without the nightmare of finding and installing its thirty-year-old dependencies. For most people, GIMP 3.2.4 is the best choice for image editing, with modern features like edge detection and generative fill. But, if you’re curious about what it was like to use an early version of GIMP, or are simply a fan of vintage software, give the 1996-era GIMP 0.54 a try.
- https://www.theregister.com/software/2026/06/23/blast-from-the-past-as-gimp-054-is-revived-in-flatpak-form/5259651
- https://www.fsf.org/working-together/gang/gimp
Vendor lock-in: It’s not the app, it’s the format
From June 19 by Italo Vignoli
When you are locked into a piece of software, where does the lock actually live? The intuitive answer is “in the application.” You feel trapped by the program — its menus, its habits, the license you keep renewing. But the application is replaceable. You can install a different one tomorrow. What you cannot so easily replace is your documents — the years of contracts, records, reports, and correspondence you have produced. And, if those documents are saved in a format that only one company’s software can fully read, then the lock was never really in the application at all. It was in the file. If you’re saving all your documents in a locked file format, it’s not too late to make the switch to a format that gives you control over your own files.
- https://fossforce.com/2026/06/vendor-lock-in-its-not-the-app-its-the-format/
- https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/opendocument
June GNU Emacs news
From June 30 by Sacha Chua
In these issues: integrating difftastic into magit, M-x Research, and more!
Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
Tens of thousands of people visit directory.fsf.org each month to discover free software. Each entry in the Directory contains a wealth of useful information, from basic category and descriptions to version control, IRC channels, documentation, and licensing. The Free Software Directory has been a great resource to software users over the past decade, but it needs your help staying up-to-date with new and exciting free software projects.
To help, join our weekly IRC meetings on Fridays. Meetings take place in the #fsf channel on Libera.Chat and usually include a handful of regulars as well as newcomers. Libera.Chat is accessible from any IRC client — everyone’s welcome!
The next meeting is next Friday, July 3 from 12:00 to 15:00 EDT (16:00 to 19:00 UTC). Details here: https://www.fsf.org/events/fsd-2026-07-03-irc
LibrePlanet featured resource: Activism Guide
Every month on the LibrePlanet wiki, we highlight one resource that is interesting and useful — often one that could use your help. This month, we are highlighting Activism Guide, which provides information about how to advocate for free software and free standards. It doesn’t focus on the what but rather on the how. You are invited to help update, adopt, spread, and improve this important resource.
Do you have a suggestion for next month’s featured resource? Let us know at campaigns@fsf.org.
June GNU Spotlight with Amin Bandali featuring eighteen new GNU releases: Linux-libre, Direvent, and more!
Eighteen new GNU releases in the last month (as of June 30, 2026):
- apl-2.0
- binutils-2.46.1
- direvent-5.5
- freeipmi-1.6.18
- gcc-15.3.0
- global-6.6.15
- gnutrition-0.33
- gsasl-2.2.4
- less-704
- libextractor-1.16
- libidn-1.44
- linux-libre-7.1-gnu
- nano-9.1
- octave-11.3.0
- parallel-20260622
- r-4.6.1
- tramp-2.8.2
- unifont-17.0.05
For a full list with descriptions, please see: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/2026-june-gnu-spotlight
For announcements of most new GNU releases, subscribe to the info-gnu mailing list: https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-gnu.
To download: nearly all GNU software is available most reliably from https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/. Optionally, you may find faster download speeds at a mirror located geographically closer to you by choosing from the list of mirrors published at https://www.gnu.org/prep/ftp.html, or you may use https://ftpmirror.gnu.org/ to be automatically redirected to a (hopefully) nearby and up-to-date mirror.
A number of GNU packages, as well as the GNU operating system as a whole, are looking for maintainers and other assistance. Please see https://www.gnu.org/server/takeaction.html#unmaint if you’d like to help. The general page on how to help GNU is at https://www.gnu.org/help/help.html.
If you have a working or partly working program that you’d like to offer to the GNU project as a GNU package, see https://www.gnu.org/help/evaluation.html.
As always, please feel free to write to me, bandali@gnu.org, with any GNUish questions or suggestions for future installments.
FSF and other free software events
- July 16-18, 2026, Porto, Portugal, SECRYPT
- August 14-16, 2026, Manhattan, New York, United States, HOPE
- August 1-4, 2026, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada, FOSSY
Thank GNUs!
We appreciate everyone who donates to the FSF, and we’d like to give special recognition to the folks who have donated $500 or more in the last month.
This month, a big Thank GNU to:
- Alain Greppin
- Catalin Francu
- Colin Carr
- David Potter
- Deborah Jackson
- Logan Edwards
- Maks Romih
- Opus Qua Foundation
- Richard Zweiler
- Steven Morrealle
- The Anonymous Fund of Triangle Community Foundation
- Yon-Seo Kim
- Zacchae Us
You can add your name to this list by donating at https://donate.fsf.org/.
GNU copyright contributions
Assigning your copyright to the FSF helps us defend the GNU GPL and keep software free. The following individuals have assigned their copyright to the FSF (and allowed public appreciation) in the past month:
- Adam Wood (GNU libstdc++)
- Chen Yaohua (GNU Emacs)
- Deng Jiajun (GNU Emacs)
- Gregori Mignerot (GDB)
- Joshua Murphy (GNU Emacs)
- Maximilian Cook (GNU Emacs)
- Mikhail Karpov (GNU Hurd)
- Paul Hsin-ti McClelland (GNU Emacs)
- Ruslan Kamashev (GNU Emacs)
- William Theesfeld Jr (GNU Emacs)
Want to see your name on this list? Contribute to GNU and assign your copyright to the FSF.
Translations of the Free Software Supporter
El Free Software Supporter está disponible en español. Para ver la versión en español haz click aquí: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2026/julio
Para cambiar las preferencias de usuario y recibir los próximos números del Supporter en español, haz click aquí: https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create?reset=1&gid=34&id={contact.contact_id}&{contact.checksum}
Le Free Software Supporter est disponible en français. Pour voir la version française cliquez ici: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2026/juillet
Pour modifier vos préférences et recevoir les prochaines publications du Supporter en français, cliquez ici: https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create?reset=1&gid=34&id={contact.contact_id}&{contact.checksum}
O Free Software Supporter está disponível em português. Para ver a versão em português, clique aqui: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2026/julho
Para alterar as preferências do usuário e receber as próximas edições do Supporter em português, clique aqui: https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create?reset=1&gid=34&id={contact.contact_id}&{contact.checksum}
If you no longer wish to receive the Free Software Supporter in English (but still receive other communications in English), you can opt out here.
Take action with the FSF!
Contributions from thousands of individual associate members enable the FSF’s work. You can contribute by joining at https://my.fsf.org/join. If you’re already an associate member, you can help refer new members by adding a line with your associate member number to your email signature like:
I’m an FSF associate member — Help us support software freedom! https://my.fsf.org/join
The FSF is always looking for volunteers. From rabble-rousing to hacking, from issue coordination to envelope stuffing — there’s something here for everybody to do. Also, head over to our campaigns section and take action on software patents, Digital Restrictions Management, free software adoption, OpenDocument, and more.
Do you read and write Portuguese and English? The FSF is looking for translators for the Free Software Supporter. Please send an email to campaigns@fsf.org with your interest and a list of your experience and qualifications.
Copyright © 2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
