Wikimedia Germany, together with other non-profit organizations, has written an open letter addressed to the SPD, Alliance 90/The Greens and the FDP factions in the Bundestag. He criticizes the fact that the federal government pays lip service to open source and digital sovereignty, but actual spending goes in a completely different direction. This is what the signatories demandThe government should “set the right digital policy course in Budget 2025”.
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A central point of the argument is based on the fact that the federal government announced in late 2023 that the open source share of federal spending on software development and services has been only around 0.5 percent since the beginning of the legislative period. Projects like the Sovereign Tech Fund or the Center for Digital Sovereignty struggle to find investment, while at the same time billions are being spent on proprietary software solutions. The letter has been criticized, saying it is “disproportionate.”
Unlike ChatGPT & Co. – there was confusion with the US election.“In addition, the further expansion of the Center for Digital Sovereignty of Public Administration GmbH (XENDIS) and the successful implementation of the projects located there, especially OpenDesk and OpenCODE, as truly viable alternatives to proprietary solutions, is also important financially. The higher budget must be formally secured,” the letter says.
Instead, billions of public funds are being spent on proprietary software solutions, reinforcing existing manufacturer dependence. As a result, the state gives up its ability to control and shape things as well as its ability to innovate.
Despite Intel’s project halt in Magdeburg, Germany should use the planned investments to strengthen digital sovereignty in governance and business – especially in the software and cloud sectors. According to the open letter, this would be achieved with a fraction of Intel’s billions and would reduce dependency.
Requirement of 20 percent open source share by 2025
In the 2025 federal budget, spending on proprietary software as part of procurement processes should be reduced and the resulting funds should be used for open source solutions and services, the signatories demand. As a sensible first interim target, they suggest changing the IT spend ratio to 20 percent. This will result in no additional costs, but will instead use available resources more sustainably and economically.
There is also a need for a specific target date by which the public sector will develop and purchase only open-source, freely usable, customizable and verifiable software. Depending on the coal phase-out, such a date would provide security to administration and industry planning.
In addition to Wikimedia Germany, the letter was signed by, among others, AG Kritis, D64 – Center for Digital Progress, Gesellschaft für Informatik, German UNIX User Group, Public Health Innovation Association, LOAD and the Open Source Business Alliance.
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