Cita:The Foundation for a Free Information
Infrastructure (FFII) today endorsed two petitions which call for the
use of free and open standards in e-government to ensure all citizens'
rights to fair and equal interaction with political institutions. In a
letter [1] to the Members of the European Parliament the association
urges them to back these initiatives and implement the requested
changes. FFII calls on its members and the general public to lend
their support.

Open Parliament [2] is a petition for open standards use in the European
Parliament as to enable non-discriminatory access for all European
citizens to its representatives irrespective of software choices. "It is
important that citizens enjoy the right to access government documents
and to view parliamentary records without being required to buy the
products of a particular vendor and that they can communicate with the
authorities and their services independent of which software vendor they
choose." writes FFII board member Georg Jakob in the letter to the MEPs
and asks them to base their communications and documentation on open
standards.

The Hague Declaration [3], to be presented today by the Digital
Standards Organisation project in the Dutch capital, also calls for open
digital standards to be used in government procurement. For the drafters
of The Hague Declaration the citizens' right to open standards is
derived from the rights conferred by the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. In the current transition to a digital society where government
services are provided electronically governments are asked to protect
these rights.

The Hague Declaration calls on governments to:

1. Procure only information technology that implements free and open
standards;

2. Deliver e-government services based exclusively on free and open
standards;

3. Use only free and open digital standards in their own activities.

FFII board member Georg Jakob explains: "The right to
non-discrimination, as well as those to have a fair trial, an
effective remedy, and an independent judge are applicable in important
parts of public administration. They are jeopardized if governments do
not adhere to free and open standards in their digital interaction
with citizens. These rights are derived from the fundamental
principles of civil liberties protected in international law,
including the European Convention of Human Rights and the national
constitutions of all EU member states." He adds: "If governments use
non-interoperable formats, they discriminate their own citizens by
forcing them to use software by specific vendors or excluding them
from the political process. " Jakob concludes: "Both initiatives draw
attention to a serious grievance and suggest suitable remedies. We
call on the members of the European Parliament to heed them and ask
all our supporters to sign them both."


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Background Information
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A digital standard may be considered free and open [4], if it is (1)
maintained by a not-for-profit organization in a way open to all
interested parties, (2) accompanied by a freely available and
distributable specification. Furthermore, all patents on parts of the
standard must be made irrevocably available on a royalty-free basis
and there may be no constraints on the re-use of the standard.

The OpenParliament Petition was launched jointly by OpenForum Europe
(OFE), the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), and the European
Software Market Association (ESOMA). The Hague Declaration was drafted
by the Digital Standards Organization (DIGISTAN).