Short Bytes: From the world of open source, here comes a great news. The Bulgarian government has passed a law that has made the use of open source software in government offices compulsory. We welcome this step and hope that other governments will take similar steps and make more information accessible to the users.
This announcement was shared by Bozhidar Bozhanov–a software engineer and an advisor to Bulgarian deputy prime minister–on Medium. He writes that with the collected efforts of the deputy prime minister and colleagues, the recent amendments to the Electronics Governance act were voted in the parliament.
Here’s what the official text of the recently passed law says about the procurement of some software for the government:
a) Computer programs must meet the criteria for open source software;
b) All copyright and related rights on the relevant computer programs, their source code, the design of interfaces and databases which are subject to the order should arise for the principal in full, without limitations in the use, modification and distribution;
If you are thinking that the Bulgarian government is going to demand the source code of Microsoft Office, you need to reframe your thoughts. The existing solutions–that are already purchased and being used by the government–will remain unaffected.
However, the government has encouraged the use of open source software and made all the existing IT contracts public.
This step also allows the government to take care of the security needs in a better way. Now, software and security experts can look for the vulnerabilities in the code and make the system more secure.
fossBytes, being an advocate of free and open source software, expects that other countries follow the footsteps of Bulgaria and include open source technologies in their plan of action.
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