Sovereign OS: a false good idea adopted by the National Assembly – ZDNet France

If the amendments aimed at giving priority to free software have not been retained by the Assembly, those relating to the issue of sovereign OS have however been adopted by MEPs on Wednesday evening. Article 16b of the bill for a digital Republic and provides for the creation of a “digital police attached to the sovereignty of the Prime Minister” responsible for delivering a report on the issue of digital sovereignty and on ” establishment, under the aegis of the Commission, of a sovereign operating system and data encryption protocols. ”
 

No real blank check for the development of a national OS then, but a first step towards a project of this type. The idea had been discussed in Law Commission: two similar proposals were filed in part by Delphine Batho and Laurent Granguillaume and opposite Martin Lalande and several deputies Republicans.

So transpartisan sovereign OS? Given the positions expressed in the Chamber, it does not seem to put everyone agrees: the deputy Lionel Tardy LR had thus tabled an amendment proposing the outright withdrawal of this article. “Having this article proves that one has clearly not yet drawn all the consequences of failed attempts sovereign cloud” explained MP front of the hemicycle, recalling the passage distrust of Internet users with regard to the idea. A view shared by Luc Belot, the rapporteur of the text, which expresses a negative opinion.
  

For the Rapporteur setback, Axelle Lemaire points out that the article is not confined to the question of a sovereign OS, but on the idea of ​​engaging a broader reflection on the issue of digital sovereignty. A digital sovereignty “should not just be ridiculed” the eyes of Delphine Batho. Martin Lalande for the member, this issue goes to the logic of the text “It strengthens the individual against the digital control, but it would be absurd to abandon the idea of ​​collective control. We mentioned there is little question of free software: there is no free software without a sovereign OS “he recalls.
 

An indictment that did fly: Article 16b was adopted by the National Assembly, despite the objections raised. While some criticize already costs necessary for the development of such an OS, however, recall that the government does not undertake too much. The text provides for the creation of a report and a commission on the subject, which largely allow time to reverse if the project is finally considered inappropriate.