There is no collective freedom without you

This quote is taken from the GNU Manifesto, which was published a few months before the Free Software Foundation's (FSF) founding (forty years ago this October). It is this philosophy that launched the free software movement. It shaped the definition of "free software" and resulted in the FSF's mission of promoting worldwide computer user freedom.

The FSF's work covers a wide range of activities. Board members and staff speak about free software all over the world and are active in campaigns on a wide variety of topics related to our cause. We educate people about free software philosophy and explain the workings of copyleft and the GNU General Public License (GPL). We work directly with organizations to increase proper use and compliance with the GPL, process copyright assignments from developers (thank you!), and steward the GPL. We get involved legally where we can, like with our amicus brief for the recent Neo4j, Inc., et al. v. Suhy, et al. case and our deposition for the Software Freedom Conservancy Inc. vs. Vizio, Inc. case, cementing our position that users should be free to enforce their right to source code under the GNU GPL licenses through any available legal mechanism, without having to rely on a copyright holder to take action. Importantly, we run our organization entirely with free software and support the GNU Project, one of the largest free software projects in the world, by maintaining its infrastructure, and do the same for several community projects.

Our work in free software advocacy is making a difference. Research shows that the GPL is the fourth most used license on one of the most popular collaborative developer platforms, and in 2023, the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL) moved to the fifth position globally. Another recent statistic states that 96% of all software has free software in it.

As a small nonprofit, we do what we can with limited resources, but this progress in adoption of free software is not thanks to our efforts alone. It is with one change at a time, one developer choosing to use a free software license, and one user after another refusing to exchange their user rights for someone else's profit.

Local meetups, like the one shown here in Athens, Greece, earlier this year, are vital for building momentum for collective action.

When we call on you to stop using a program, avoid streaming services, and look for another way when confronted with a choice between free and proprietary software, we aren't calling you out. We don't blame you for the fact that the software you use to maintain your daily life, job, or relationships often eats away at your user rights. It is the fault of corporations and the responsibility of governments, employers, and decision-makers. But our success relies heavily on the efforts of individuals and groups working together to achieve a common goal. Not just major, life-changing choices, but also seemingly small objections to, and actions against, the status quo — that is how most social change movements work, and free software is no different.

History has shown that change at the governmental level happens when people stand up for their rights and make themselves loud enough that they cannot be ignored anymore. Corporations take note when they see consumer choices hit their profit margins. Large groups of people have changed the world around them through concerted action. As an individual, you may feel small, but there's strength in numbers.

Free software isn't an unreasonable right to ask for. In my experience, there are very few people who disagree that you should have control over your computing. But the complications that come with practicing software freedom in today's predominantly proprietary digital society tend to be intimidating or confrontational, and we understand that. We still ask you to speak up, recognizing you are correcting something you didn't do wrong and understanding you may only be able to contribute in a limited way.

If you believe in the cause of user freedom, we need your voice because the FSF will only achieve its mission with it. We ask you to call your representatives, we urge you to say no to services encumbered by Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), we depend on you to choose to use a free software program (even once), to raise the issue in your school, to suggest an alternative for videoconferencing at your workplace, to speak with your family and friends about free software and supporting the FSF, or to take any other form of action, large or small. Only with your involvement (and that of your neighbors, family, and friends) can our collective action be noticed.

Social movements bring about societal or cultural change, often address systemic injustices, and rely on people joining together because collective action multiplies resources, voices, and influence, making large-scale impacts achievable. Free software is a social movement, and I would argue it is one that is intertwined with many others in today's digital society. The way that we can drive change is by having thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions, of people reject nonfree software. We don't say "reject nonfree software" to shame you — we say it because we need you.

"Free software meetup in Athens, Greece" © 2025 by Ellak. This image is licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0.