Open Search Foundation

The Open Search Foundation (OSF) is a non-profit initiative working on concepts for a cooperative, open and distributed Internet search.

Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2026-02-13

❗Conference Alert ❗New date for Open Search Symposium #ossym26 : 7-9 Oct 2026.

🇪🇺 "Boosting Digital Sovereignty" is the #ossym26 conference topic. Join us in Berlin at the CODE University of Applied Sciences.

👉 We are calling for your contribution with scientific papers, sharing of practical experiences or introductions of concepts and positions in relevant fields, such as computer science, legal, economics & ethics.

📗 The Call for Papers is still open! All info:
opensearchfoundation.org/event

New Date for #ossym26: 7-9 October 2026. Conference Topic: Boosting Digital Sovereignty
Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2026-02-11

⚡ 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗵𝘁𝗴𝗲𝗳𝗮𝗵𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗶 𝗧𝗶𝗸𝗧𝗼𝗸? 𝗩𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗷𝗮!

Seit Februar 2024 untersucht die Europäische Kommission, ob TikTok die Vorgaben des Digital Services Act (DSA) einhält. In einem förmlichen Verfahren überprüft die Kommission u.a. das Design von TikTok auf Suchtgefahren, die Empfehlungssysteme und den sogenannten “Rabbit Hole Effect” sowie Sicherheit, Privatsphäre und Jugendschutz auf der Plattform.

Unsere PriDI-Juristin Charlotte Werther ordnet das Verfahren in unserem Blog ein. 👉 pridi-projekt.de/tiktok-auf-de

TikTok-Suchtgefahr - Darstellung des Prozesses
Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2026-02-10

@thom Wir nehmen den Impuls auf :)! Danke.

Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2026-02-10

💡Neue Woche – neues Wissen! Holt Euch Eure Daten – und nehmt sie mit!

👉 Ihr wollt Euren Anbieter, zum Beispiel beim Musikstreaming, wechseln? Nach Artikel 20 DSGVO habt Ihr das ⚖️ Recht auf Datenübertragbarkeit. Die Anbieter müssen Euch Eure Daten in maschinenlesbarer Form zur Verfügung stellen. Das gilt zum Beispiel für Playlists oder Gesundheitsdaten von Fitnesstrackern.

Mehr Infos gibt es auf unserer PriDI-Projektwebsite in der Serie (R)echt bekannt?! 📚 pridi-projekt.de/#wissen

#DSGVO

Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2026-02-03

🫵 Have you already become DI – Digitally Independent?
No!? Let's get started!

Last Sunday was Digital Independence Day again (#DIDAY) – an initiative that we wholeheartedly support 💙. Switch now to 🇪🇺 European alternatives for search engines, email, etc.. "Recipes" on how to switch are available at: 👉 di.day (𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯)

#diday #digitalsovereignity

@mailbox_org @MetaGer @Mojeek @protonprivacy @LibreOfficeDE

Grafik die europäische Alternativen für Software, Bezahldienste, E-Mail-Provider und mehr zeigt.
Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2026-01-29

📢 Gestern war Europäischer Datenschutztag 2026. 👉 Es ist an der Zeit, zu handeln!

Die Nutzung des Internets ist nämlich teuer geworden. Sie kostet uns den Großteil unserer Privatsphäre – denn Daten sind die Währung im Netz. Werdet aktiv und steigt um – es gibt sie nämlich: Alternativen, die Eure Privatsphäre respektieren. 💡Gute Wechsel-Tipps findet Ihr hier: di.day/.

Erfahrt mehr über Eure Rechte in puncto Datenschutz unter: 📌 pridi-projekt.de/#wissen

#Datenschutz #diday

Eine Illustration im schwarz-weißen Comic-Stil. Zu sehen ist ein junger Mann, mit einem Shirt und er Aufschrift Me. Hinter seinem Kopf fließt ein Datenstrom der am anderen Ende des Bildes von einem Staubsauger-Rohr angezogen wird. Symbolisch steht das für das "Einsaugen von Daten". Über der Illustration steht die Frage: "Wo sind nur all die Daten hin?". Unter de Bild fordert ein gelb markierter Text dazu auf, für E-Mail Anbieter, Suchmaschinen und Co. auf europäische Alternativen umzusteigen.
Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2026-01-08

Another year, another #ossym to look forward to!
And this is your chance to be a part of it –
we are #calling for #contributions! 📣

The 8th International Open Search Symposium will take place in Berlin from 5-7 October 2026.

Don't miss your chance to hand in your contribution ideas before 1 March 2026.

All info available here 👉 opensearchfoundation.org/event

The 8th International Open Search Symposium will take place in Berlin from 5-7 October 2026. The Call for Contributions is open!
Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2025-12-06

Schönen Nikolaustag!💫

"Lieber, guter Nikolaus,
hol uns aus der kniffligen Lage raus!
Bring uns Spenden – große und kleine,
dass der OSF e.V. all seine
Mitarbeiter:innen halten kann,
die fleissig arbeiten daran,
Europas digitale Souveränität
von der Vision in die Realität
zu überführen schon ganz bald
– ein offenes Web für jung und alt.
Wer braucht schon einen Santa Claus
Wenn es doch gibt den Nikolaus ;)!"

🙏 Danke für Unterstützung:
opensearchfoundation.org/de/sp

Nikolaus: „Ho ho ho, was bin ich froh, zu legen Eure kleine Spende, in gemeinnützige Hände!"
Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2025-11-07

📍In eigener Sache! Wir brauchen Eure Untertützung, denn in 3 Monaten wird es eng. Im Februar 2026 endet unsere Hauptfinanzierung. Das Anschlussprojekt startet erst Ende 2026.

Damit wir unser Team halten können, den europäischen offenen Webindex weiter promoten können & um die #OpenWebSearch Initiative weiter zu koordinieren, benötigen wir jetzt Eure Hilfe!

👇 Über diesen Link könnt ihr mit Eurer Spende einen Impact machen:
opensearchfoundation.org/de/sp

Gerne weitersagen!
Vielen Dank! 🙏

Unterstützt unsere gemeinsame #OpenWebSearch Mission mit Eurer Spende!
Open Search Foundation boosted:
2025-10-31

🎈 Save the Date for #EuropeanBigDataValueForum, 12-14 Nov in Kopenhagen

European Big Data Value Forum brings the European data-driven AI research + innovation community together to share knowledge, collaborate & celebrate achievements.

Among the speakers from our team:
🗣️ Stephan Hachinger from @LRZ_DE
🗣️ 🗣️ Jan Martinovič and Katerina Slaninova from IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center
🗣️ Stefan Voigt from @osf 🗣️
Per Öster from CSC - IT Center for Science

☕ Swing by our booth ;)

OpenWebSearch.eu is a project partner for EuropeanBigDataValueForum, happening 12-14 November in Kopenhagen. Come see us at our booth!
Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2025-10-19

Read more and sign here: charter.freewebsearch.org

Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2025-10-19

5 bln. ppl use #SearchEngines & #AI daily for health information, education, news & more.
Dr. Tong-Jin Smith, professor of journalism at Media University of Applied Sciences in Berlin signed our #FreeWebSearch charter.

“Democracy requires free access to information. However, the digital public sphere is controlled by commercial providers. For them, democracy is not a business model. We therefore need a web search that sees itself as public infrastructure & is committed to the public good.”

“Democracy requires free access to information. However, the digital public sphere is controlled by commercial providers. For them, democracy is not a business model. We therefore need a web search that sees itself as public infrastructure and is committed to the public good.” says Dr. Ton-Jin Smith, Professor of Journalism at Media University of Applied Sciences in Berlin
Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2025-10-15

📰 Have you seen the news? German newspaper Starnberger Merkur writes on the #FreeWebSearch Charter!

"Web search is too important to our democracy to be controlled by the Googles of this world. It belongs under democratic oversight." says Christine Plote, Co-Founder Open Search Foundation and Project Manger #FreeWebSearch Charter.

And there is so much more to it!
Luckily you can dive deeper in today's article in Starnberger Merkur:
merkur.de/lokales/starnberg/st

Thank youTobias Gmach for this piece!

"Web search is too important to our democracy to be controlled by the Googles of this world. It belongs under democratic oversight." says Christine Plote, Co-Founder Open Search Foundation and Project Manger #FreeWebSearch Charter
Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2025-10-15

Lawyer Prof. Dr. Thomas Höppner, expert in antitrust law & digital regulation, is among the first signatories of the #FreeWebSearch charter.
He points out their social responsibility:
“Search engines are the primary gateway to information of all kinds. As intermediaries, they’ve become bottlenecks: policing what content gets seen by whom. Given their ‚kingmaker’ power, it is essential that they keep the public interest and their social responsibility in view.”
More: charter.freewebsearch.org

RA Prof. Dr. Thomas Höppner: "...Given their 'kingmaker' power, it is essential that seaech engines keep the public interest and their social responsibility in view..."
Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2025-10-11

It's a wrap for #ossym25
The good news: The proceedings from the 7th International Open Search Symposium are already available:

opensearchfoundation.org/en/co

Thank you to all contributors and supporters! 🙏

Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2025-10-10

#ossym25 Day 3 brought us an insightful talk on "Searching for Trust: Reflections on Epistemic Virtue Online", provided by Viivi Lähteenoja, CEO of The MyData Company.

Key learnings:
👉 Trust is a two-way relational concept
👉 Trust and Reliance are independent concepts, that are not mutually exclusive in web search
👉 A focus on virtue reduces the arbitrarity of trust with regard to inevitable "hinges".

Viivi Lähteenoja, CEO of The MyData Company speeks at #ossym25"Optimise for the virtue of the searcher, and not for (your) truth."
Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2025-10-10

Throwback to yesterday's keynote at #ossym25
Thank you to Harri Ketamo for sharing about the Headai products and services! Impressed by the deep research that went into building those comprehensive applications that put publicly available data to use to try and make better predictions about the future. 🔥

Harri Ketamo, Founder of headai at #ossym25Harri Ketamo: "Data is going to be the driving force of the future."
Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2025-10-08

#ossym25 kicked off at CSC
🎙️Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy of the EC spoke on the need for a European open search ecosystem + AI solutions that offer users more choices & fosters innovation. The EU AI continent action plan focuses on this.
🎙️Finnish MEP Aura Salla voiced a market focused angle in her keynote on European digital sovereignty. She suggests to adjust current regulations in ways that boost European economy while protecting citizens.

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy of the European CommissionFinnish MEP Aura Salla
Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2025-10-07

💬 “Whoever controls search algorithms controls access to the world's knowledge, to our history and how it is remembered...”

Digital expert + former member of the German Bundestag Anke Domscheit-Berg grew up in the GDR. In her statement for the #FreeWebSearch Charter, she describes why she supports the demands of the charter as one of its first signatories.

Read her full statement here:
freewebsearch.org/en/statement

Sign now and take a stand for freedom of information:
charter.freewebsearch.org

"Whoever controls search algorithms controls access to the world's knowledge, to our history and how it is remembered..." says Anke Domscheit-Berg
Open Search Foundationosf@suma-ev.social
2025-10-06

‼️ Who controls what BILLIONS can find on the web?

For years now, a handful of tech corporations alone have held this power.

With the #FreeWebSearch Charter, we are campaigning for a web search system that: ✅ Works transparently/comprehensibly
✅ Shows diverse perspectives & sources
✅ Respects privacy
✅ Provides equal access
✅ Is subject to democratic control

The Charter is a call to action to #ReclaimWebSearch as a #publicgood.

How to join?
Sign the charter: charter.freewebsearch.org

Search for the common good – #freewebsearch Charter

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