Switzerland now requires all government software to be open source

Switzerland has passed the Federal Law on the Use of Electronic Means for the Fulfillment of Government Tasks (EMBAG), which requires public bodies to disclose the source code of software developed by or for them unless third-party rights or security concerns prevent it. The law was passed in 2023 after more than a decade of political and legal fights, which began in 2011 when the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published its Open Justitia application under an open-source license. Professor Matthias Stürmer, head of the Institute for Public Sector Transformation at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, led the push for the law and argues it reduces vendor lock-in and may lower IT costs. The Swiss Federal Statistical Office (BFS) is leading implementation, though organizational and financial aspects remain unclear.