Privacy 101: How Free and Open Source Software Empowers Digital Freedom

As Windows 10 reaches End of Life and the walls of proprietary ecosystems tighten, our digital autonomy is under unprecedented threat. Users are being pushed into closed systems that harvest data, restrict control, and discard perfectly functional hardware a cycle of planned obsolescence disguised as innovation. Privacy is becoming a privilege, not a right.

This talk dives into how Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) stands as our defense against this massacre of digital freedom. Drawing from real-world cases from, we’ll explore how open collaboration, transparency, and user freedom can rebuild trust in technology. We’ll also cover practical ways to “fight back” using privacy-respecting tools: hardened Linux distributions, FOSS browsers and messaging apps, and self-hosted alternatives for cloud and search.

At its core, this session is about empowerment. It’s a call to understand the systems that shape our digital lives, to reclaim control over our data, and to build a future where privacy isn’t optional, it’s fundamental.

• Understand how surveillance capitalism and planned obsolescence threaten user autonomy.

• Learn how FOSS philosophy directly supports privacy, transparency, and digital freedom.

• Discover practical privacy-first FOSS tools (browsers, OSes, messaging, clouds).

• Gain insight into the xz-utils incident as a case study in trust and open collaboration.

• Learn how right-to-repair and FOSS are intertwined in the broader movement for digital rights.