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189

What do you think: should all government software be open source? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 week ago by cm0002@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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OQB @fajre@lemmy.world

I’ve been thinking about transparency and security in the public sector. Do you think all government software and platforms should be open source?

Some countries have already made progress in this area:

Estonia: digital government services with open and auditable APIs.

United Kingdom: several open source government projects and systems published on GitHub.

France and Canada: policies encouraging the use of free and open source software in public agencies.

Possible benefits:

Full transparency: anyone can audit the code, ensuring there is no corruption, hidden flaws, or unauthorized data collection.

Enhanced security: public reviews help identify vulnerabilities quickly.

Cost reduction: less dependency on private vendors and lower spending on proprietary licenses.

Flexibility and innovation: public agencies can adapt systems to their needs without relying on external solutions.

Possible challenges:

Maintenance and updating of complex systems.

Protecting sensitive data without compromising citizen privacy.

Political or bureaucratic resistance to opening the code.

Do you think this could be viable in the governments of your countries? How could we start making this a reality globally?

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[–] rodsthencones@startrek.website 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I don't have a source, some looking will find it, but NASA used to have to be in the public domain. Now they partner, and the partner gets the patents. I know the Apollo soyez mating hardware was public domain, and apas docking is still.

I also seem to remember that research paid for by the USA, used to have to stay public.

I don't have a source to quote, just memory.

There really is no good reason for not being open source.

[–] betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006, perhaps? (Archived)