As our society grows more dependent on computers, the software we run is of critical importance to securing the future of a free society. Free software is about having control over the technology we use in our homes, schools and businesses, where computers work for our individual and communal benefit, not for proprietary software companies or governments who might seek to restrict and monitor us.

The Free Software Foundation is working to secure freedom for computer users by promoting the development and use of free (as in freedom) software and documentation — particularly the GNU/Linux operating system — and by campaigning against threats to computer user freedom like Digital Restrictions Management (DRM).

The free software movement is one the most successful social movements to emerge in the past 25 years, driven by a worldwide community of ethical programmers dedicated to freedom and sharing. Its impact on our future is growing every day. But the ultimate success of the free software movement depends on teaching our friends, neighbors and work colleagues to recognize the danger of not having software freedom — a freedom that they have lost, without recognizing it, to proprietary software.

— Peter T. Brown, Executive Director, Free Software Foundation