A new law in Switzerland requires the use of open source software in the public sector. “Public money, public law,” according to the Swiss government.
Switzerland has passed a new law that makes open source software mandatory. All public bodies must share the source code of their software. This is not only necessary for security reasons or when external rights apply independently of the project.
Under the title”Public money public law The Swiss government wants to increase transparency, efficiency and safety in its own operations.
Embag
The first step towards this change was taken in 2011 when the Swiss Federal Supreme Court made its own application, Open Justitia, open source. Developer Weblaw wasn’t happy about this and filed a lawsuit against the government. More than a decade later, a new law was proposed for 2023: EMBAG, short for “Electronic Means of Accomplishing Government Tasks.”
EMBAG doesn’t just require government agencies to make their software open source. All new software must be open source by default. In this way, the government hopes to see more software and data reused.
Rest of the world?
It remains to be seen how the rest of Europe will view the EMBAG. Switzerland is working to strengthen digital sovereignty and require more cooperation within government agencies. The EMBAG should ensure more innovation through mandatory code openness.
The Swiss Federal Statistical Office (BFS) is overseeing the implementation of the new law. It remains to be determined how organisations will comply with EMBAG and what the financial consequences will be. Switzerland has already started to clarify its intentions. It remains to be seen whether the rest of the world will follow suit. They will be watching with suspicion how the situation in Switzerland develops in the coming years.
