[Bradford] [Fwd: Fwd: [open-government] UK Open Standards: Proprietary Software Strikes Back (and this time is nasty)]

[David Carpenter]

You will probably be interested!

Cheers
David



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Javier Ruiz <javier at openrightsgroup.org>
Date: 2012/4/17
Subject: [open-government] UK Open Standards: Proprietary Software
Strikes Back (and this time is nasty)
To: "open-government at lists.okfn.org" <open-government at lists.okfn.org>
Cc: EU Open Data Working Group <euopendata at lists.okfn.org>


PLEASE HELP DISTRIBUTE

Dear all

The UK is in the middle of a public consultation on the adoption of Open
Standards for public ICT, including those involving Open Data. This
policy is also part of the Open Government Partnership commitments in
the UK National Action Plan.

There are grave concerns that government commitments to open standards
are in danger after extreme lobbying by proprietary software firms.
Insiders are telling us that this is an unprecedented dirty tricks
campaign to destroy the challenge to existing ICT lock-in frameworks.
They are sending around scaremongering stories about inflated costs and
the danger that government ICT will grind to a halt.  

This lobbying has already led to the freezing of the initial policy and
forced a full consultation, which has seen a major mobilisation by large
commercial interests to pack the meetings and drive responses. A
reversal of this policy would be a serious blow to the credibility of
the current government openness policy.

Jeni Tennison has written an excellent summary, showing why his is much
more than a battle for the desktop office as in DOC vs ODT.

http://www.jenitennison.com/blog/node/169

This organised campaigning of vested interests needs to be urgently
countered by the active

participation of the wider open community. 


The deadline for submissions and participation is May 3rd, so there is
not much time.




The Open Standards consultation web site is at
http://consultation.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/openstandards/.




Details of how to respond can be as simple as an email – see
http://consultation.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/openstandards/how-to-respond/,


-- 
Javier Ruiz
javier at openrightsgroup.org
+44(0)7877 911 412
@javierruiz



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-- 
David Carpenter

nornir

E: david.carpenter at nornir.co.uk
Skype: carpenter.david

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