OpenWrt and the EU CRA - SFC becoming an OpenSource steward?

[Bradley M. Kuhn]

> On 11/29/24 17:03, Götz Görisch asked:
>> Will the SFC take the responsibility of an OpenSource Steward for
>> OpenWrt and the other projects it is hosting?

Hauke Mehrtens replied later that day:
> I think the OpenWrt project is not directly affected by the CRA. The
> OpenWrt project is not a commercial entity, we do not sell licenses for
> money nor does the OpenWrt project provide commercial services.  I do not
> think the OpenWrt project is an Open source software steward.

SFC has been following the CRA since it was first being drafted. SFC is also
working closely with the FSF Europe, who is actively involved in discussions
in Brussels about this.

This is a typical situation with legislation: lobbyists push the various
agendas that they want.  Specifically, there are a number of organizations in
our community who see CRA as a way to increase their prominence and resources
by becoming “Open Source Stewards”.  We should be skeptical of rhetoric from
organizations that have a financial interest in certain outcomes with CRA.

As things stand today, there is not yet full guidance on what the
responsibilities and requirements will exist for these Stewards, or even full
explanation of who must be a Steward.  We're working closely with the FSF
Europe folks who are educating the legislators throughout Europe about this
issue as these regulations are developed.

SFC agrees with Hauke that, as a charitable, non-commercial organization, it
does not seem that SFC nor OpenWrt as part of SFC would be an “Open Source
Steward”, but we're cognizant that interpretations and regulations on the
ground could change.  We're actively engaged in those discussions.

Like with any new, complex legislation, we have time to try our best to
figure out if it even applies to us, and then comply if it does, and we're
actively engaged in that work.  We'll be in regular touch with the OpenWrt
Project Leadership Committee at SFC, and also update here when there are big
updates for the whole community.  In short: Don't Panic!  We're on it.

Finally, speaking of Brussels, I and a number of colleagues (some of whom are
also from the SFC and FSF Europe) are organizing the Legal and Policy DevRoom
at FOSDEM again in 2025.  While not all the talks and speakers have been
announced, I assure you that there will be CRA-related and other EU
regulatory content in our DevRoom that may be of interest of those concerned
about these topics:
      https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/track/legal-and-policy/

And, please feel free to find me and my SFC colleagues at FOSDEM if you want
to talk in person about these issues.
--
Bradley M. Kuhn - he/them
Policy Fellow & Hacker-in-Residence at Software Freedom Conservancy
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