Marianne Corvellec

Ethics is at the root of free software. In a philosophical perspective where ethics is operational rather than moral, we argue that the ethics of Free Software goes beyond ethics. It is morality. The ever-present concern for self-respect, autonomy and, of course, freedom makes free software akin to historical philosophical movements (humanism, Enlightenment, existentialism). Besides, the Free Software Movement contribute their principles (such as transparency) and practices (such as cryptography) to support whistleblowers, journalists, and activists. Similarities with other social movements let us derive existing and possible coalitions.

Project "De-google-ify Internet" aims at offering as many alternative services as possible to those threatening our digital freedoms. Google is not the only player there, even though it gave the project its name. Google Drive, Google Calendar, Skype, Dropbox, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Doodle, Yahoo Groups, and many others, are extremely convenient services. But they are centralized and make users dependent.

Framasoft are resisting this trend. They have come up with a several year roadmap to set up alternative services. These services are thought of as digital commons. They are free, gratis, and open to all. Framasoft is a French not-for-profit whose goal is to decentralize the Internet by promoting self-hosting. They work to empower everyone to install and run their own services. The project already offers more than 15 alternative services and welcomes about 1,000,000 visits per month.

TAFTA, CETA, and TISA are far-reaching trade agreements posing major threats to online freedom and creating legal uncertainty for all Internet players. They set forth an ever stronger protection of copyright and patents. They 'recycle' the most toxic parts of ACTA, the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement which was rejected in 2012. The presentation focuses on the software aspects of TAFTA, CETA, TISA. We will call for action against these global treaty projects and offer alternative proposals, which favour Free Software Everywhere.