this post was submitted on 05 Apr 2024
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1154
A German state is ditching Windows and Microsoft Office for Linux and LibreOffice on the 30,000 PCs it uses for local government functions (www.theregister.com)
submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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Schleswig-Holstein, Germany's most northern state, is starting its switch from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice, and is planning to move from Windows to Linux on the 30,000 PCs it uses for local government functions.

Concerns over data security are also front and center in the Minister-President's statement, especially data that may make its way to other countries. Back in 2021, when the transition plans were first being drawn up, the hardware requirements for Windows 11 were also mentioned as a reason to move away from Microsoft.

Saunders noted that "the reasons for switching to Linux and LibreOffice are different today. Back when LiMux started, it was mostly seen as a way to save money. Now the focus is far more on data protection, privacy and security. Consider that the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) recently found that the European Commission's use of Microsoft 365 breaches data protection law for EU institutions and bodies."

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[–] [email protected] 160 points 7 months ago (2 children)

The idea that a state government is unnecessarily at the mercy of any corporation is hard to comprehend. Especially, as in this case, a foreign corporation.

Open source shouldn't only be the standard for governments. It should be the minimum requirement.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 7 months ago

There is a FSFE campaign that claims all publicly-funded institutions should only use Free Software.

[–] [email protected] 86 points 7 months ago (1 children)

IMO it should be further than that.

Open source software is, more often than not, used as digital infrastructure.

Governments around the world should absolutely be investing in open source software and actively contributing to it.