SWISS MANDATE: ALL GOVERNMENT SOFTWARE MUST BE OPEN SOURCE, PIONEERS 'PUBLIC MONEY, PUBLIC CODE' APPROACH TO INNOVATION!

In a transformative shift in approach to digital governance, Switzerland has introduced new legislation, the Federal Law on the Use of Electronic Means for the Fulfillment of Government Tasks (EMBAG), which necessitates the use of open-source software in all operations of the public sector. According to the law, unless third-party rights or security issues inhibit it, all public bodies must disclose their software source code, a radical move aimed to upscale government operations' transparency and security while also boosting its efficiency.

EMBAG is notably the fruit of a long-standing political and legal endeavor that began in 2011. After an arduous journey lasting more than a decade, the law was able to garner the necessary consensus and was eventually passed in 2023. This legislative move is hyped as a game-changer when it comes to government engagement in the digital sphere, setting a precedent for other countries to consider a similar path.

Professor Dr. Matthias Stürmer, Head of the Institute for Public Sector Transformation at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, backs this perspective. According to Dr. Stürmer, the law's execution will prove beneficial not only for government operations but also for the IT industry and society in general.

In addition to software source code disclosure, EMBAG imposes another crucial requirement: the release of non-personal and non-security-sensitive government data as Open Government Data (OGD), a principle that signifies a paradigm shift towards greater openness and transparency.

Charged with leading the implementation of the ground-breaking legislation, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (BFS) now shoulders a critical responsibility that will lay the groundwork for future interaction between government, industry, and the public.

Open-source software usage isn't an unheard-of trend, especially in the European digital sphere. The concept finds acceptance in several European nations, albeit to varying extent. However, the USA, a global IT heavyweight, is quite restrained when it comes to open-source software in government operations. There, the legislature only mandates a certain percent of newly developed code to be open-source, a striking contrast to the Swiss legislation's all-encompassing nature.

Nonetheless, as pioneering as the Swiss move might seem, considerable challenges remain, both in Europe and the US. While the benefits of open-source software use are evident, a panoply of issues related to its use and management run rampant. Their resolution will be pivotal to the successful implementation of the EMBAG and similar potential legislations across the globe.

With the advent of EMBAG, Switzerland undoubtedly has sent a loud and clear message about its vision of the future - a future significantly intertwined with open-source software at the core of digital governance. However, it remains to be seen how well the Swiss Federal Statistical Office can drive this ambitious project and how the rest of the world will react and possibly, follow suit.