Free Software Supporter — Issue 220, August 2026
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- A warm thank you and welcome!
- Stop the GUARD Act and age verification laws worldwide
- How the FSF sysadmins block botnets with reaction
- We’re campaigning for free software, and we need your help
- Apple held accountable under the DMA — A victory for developers and computer users!
- Sony nerfs videogame ownership
- The US House passed the KIDS Act — The US Senate should reject it
- John Deere owners will get the right to repair their own equipment under a new FTC settlement
- Another German state swaps Microsoft for « born in the EU » open source
- ESA officially adopts ARRAKIHS as F2 Mission
- July GNU Emacs news
- Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
- LibrePlanet featured resource: Lobbying government
- July GNU Spotlight with Amin Bandali featuring fourteen new GNU releases: Screen, Anastasis, 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/august.
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A warm thank you and welcome!
From July 29
Last Friday, we closed out our summer fundraiser and are very happy to welcome all our new associate members! While we did fall short of our ambitious goal for welcoming new associate members, we would always much rather aim high than settle for low aspirations. Regardless of our goal, we are delighted that so many people have become new FSF associate members. We also want to thank our donors. Their generosity this year has been outstanding, and together with our associate members, allows us to confidently plan to move our work forward. Thank you!
Stop the GUARD Act and age verification laws worldwide
From July 13
If passed, the GUARD Act would place a nationwide ban on minors using « chatbot » services and require all users of such services in the United States to submit to mandatory verification. In short, it would open the door to a « surveillance regime. » Such a regime would make creating a free machine learning bundle almost, if not totally, impossible through its development restrictions and threats of criminalization. Say goodbye to the anonymous use of such tools, and hello to the suffocation of free software development and technology more generally. If you’re in the United States, call your senators to inform them of the dangers of this kind of legislation.
How the FSF sysadmins block botnets with reaction
From July 9
The FSF has continued to face DDoS attacks and meet them head on, including by doing our part to clean up the internet, switching to Uptime Kuma, and defending GNU Savannah from DDoS attacks. While the tech team has written extensively about the many tools the FSF uses against DDoS, reaction has not yet been discussed. You can read more about our use of reaction and other tips we have for dealing with DDoS attacks in the article below.
We’re campaigning for free software, and we need your help
From July 1
The campaigns team has been focused on the latest threats to software freedom and real digital rights around the globe. The glut of age verification bills springing up all over the United States and elsewhere, proposed bans on VPNs, and the broader encroachment of proprietary software on our basic freedoms, have been of particular concern for the FSF campaigns team. We’ve also been preparing for this year’s International Day Against DRM on July 17. Only three staff members work on all of this, as well as on the FSF’s sixteen(!) campaigns educating the public about free software and cautioning them against the latest « offerings » from Apple, Microsoft, and Google, as well as streaming disservices, and more.
Apple held accountable under the DMA — A victory for developers and computer users!
From July 8 by Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE)
The Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) has rejected Apple’s challenge to the Digital Markets Act’s interoperability obligations, which allow users to decide what applications they want. Apple had challenged the interoperability obligations applicable to its mobile operating systems, the designation of the App Store as a core platform service (CPS) and the original designation of its messaging service as a number-independent interpersonal communications service. With the judgment in favor of users and developers, Apple must allow sideloading as well as effective and free-of-charge interoperability between Apple software and hardware and non-Apple software in the EU. This is a win for software freedom, but unfortunately it is not Apple’s only attempt to take away user freedom, nor will it be the last. You can read more about the future of software interoperability in the EU below.
Sony nerfs videogame ownership
From July 13 by Rory Mir
Well, it’s official: Sony has just announced that it will cease production of PlayStation game discs starting in January 2028. PlayStation’s decision to kill physical game discs is the latest attack on our diminishing rights to access and engage with culture digitally. We’ve seen the same playbook used in the move to digital distribution of film, TV, and music: draw in customers with the convenience of a digital download, then limit physical access and move the goalpost on what it actually means to « own » a piece of media. The end goal is to turn the customer into a renter, stuck making regular subscription payments for access. If you bought it, you should own it fully without restrictions. Educate yourself about how corporations like PlayStation seek to control us on Defective By Design.
- https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/07/sony-nerfs-videogame-ownership
- https://www.defectivebydesign.org/
The US House passed the KIDS Act — The US Senate should reject it
From July 9 by India McKinney
In early July, the US House voted yes on the KIDS Act, a disjointed package of legislation that seeks to control Americans’ web browsing and private messaging. The package combines a revised version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) with several other internet bills, study bills, reporting requirements, and new regulations. Different parts of the bill pressure online services to impose different age-gating schemes, using different standards that will force users of all ages to interact with nonfree, invasive programs. If you live in the US, call or write your senators and tell them to vote no on this dangerous bill.
John Deere owners will get the right to repair their own equipment under a new FTC settlement
From July 8 by Arah Raza
For many years, owners of John Deere equipment have been forced to rely on authorized dealers for even the most simple repairs, costing them thousands of dollars during planting and harvest seasons. This is finally changing in the United States, at least temporarily, thanks to pressure from users and a good old-fashioned lawsuit. The US Federal Trade Commission, joined by multiple state attorneys generals, reached a settlement with Deere & Company that requires Deere to provide farmers and independent repair shops with the same repair resources that it provides to its authorized dealers for the next ten years on « fair and reasonable terms. » This agreement isn’t a permanent fix for the right to repair John Deere equipment, much less all farm equipment, but it is a significant step forward and a precedent-setter. You can read more about what this agreement entails in the article below.
- https://apnews.com/article/john-deere-right-to-repair-agriculture-equipment-cb7514ffedb95c130a976af661f2bc02
- https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/fight-to-repair
Another German state swaps Microsoft for « born in the EU » free software
From July 6 by Christine Hall
The German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is joining the EU movement towards free software. As of July 2026, about 5,000 state employees are actively using Nextcloud, a federated sharing platform with a community edition under the AGPLv3, for file sharing, with plans to also switch employees to Nextcloud’s chat, videoconferencing, and groupware. There are many factors driving the transition to free software in the EU, including in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. These include the desire to stop making monthly or annual payments for permission to use proprietary software from companies such as Microsoft, as well as to avoid document formats based on purportedly « open » standards that contain legacy components which have never been fully documented. You can read more about how free software supports digital sovereignty in the articles below.
- https://fossforce.com/2026/07/another-german-state-swaps-microsoft-for-born-in-the-eu-open-source/
- https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/your-government-should-use-free-software
ESA officially adopts ARRAKIHS as F2 Mission
From June 11 by ARRAKIHS Mission Consoritum
The ARRAKIHS mission was officially adopted by the European Space Agency (ESA) for launch in 2030. This is a major milestone for Gnuastro because the ARRAKIHS Harvester (its data reduction pipeline) is written in Gnuastro (with Maneage as its workflow manager). Gnuastro’s unique capabilities in low-surface-brightness reduction and its team’s experience in using and developing them, demonstrated in many previous projects, were among the pillars of this success. Due to its support for Gnuastro, ARRAKIHS is the primary driver for Gnuastro’s development in the coming decade. You can learn more about the Arrakihs mission in the articles below.
- https://www.arrakihs-mission.eu/2026/06/11/esa-officially-adopts-arrakihs-as-f2-mission-europe-leads-the-exploration-of-the-low-surface-brightness-universe/
- https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/info-gnuastro/2026-06/msg00000.html
July GNU Emacs news
From July 31 by Sacha Chua
In these issues: underappreciated Emacs built-ins, Emacs Redux, 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 categorization 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, August 7 from 12:00 to 15:00 EDT (16:00 to 19:00 UTC). Details here: https://www.fsf.org/events/fsd-2026-08-07-irc
LibrePlanet featured resource: Lobbying government
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 Lobbying government. This page explains how lobbying your local government at the municipal, state, or federal level for free software, especially in schools, can be one of the most effective and powerful things that you or your free software group can do. 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.
July GNU Spotlight with Amin Bandali featuring fourteen new GNU releases: Screen, Anastasis, and more!
Fourteen new GNU releases in the last month (as of July 31, 2026):
- anastasis-0.8.0
- binutils-2.47
- findutils-4.11.0
- gawk-5.4.1
- glibc-2.44
- gnunet-0.28.0
- gnupg-2.5.21
- libextractor-1.19
- libmicrohttpd-1.0.9
- libosip2-5.3.2
- libtool-2.6.2
- nano-9.2
- parallel-20260722
- screen-5.0.2
For a full list with descriptions, please see: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/2026-july-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
- August 6–9, 2026, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada, FOSSY
- August 14–16, 2026, Manhattan, New York, United States, HOPE
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:
- Antoine Mercadal
- Blue Systems
- Christian Sperr
- Donald Haase
- Julie & Gerald Sussman
- Michael Reed
- Nikola Knežević
- Pete Batard
- The 2A Foundation Inc
- The Rich Foundation
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:
- Hikari (GNU Emacs)
- Jielun Wu (GDB)
- Nguyen Thanh Trung (GDB)
- Xavier Del Campo Romero (GCC)
- Zhengyi Fu (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/agosto
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/aout
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/agosto-pt
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.
