Company
Date Published
Author
Mike Linksvayer
Word count
442
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

Policymakers worldwide are crafting policies that influence software development, and GitHub Policy aims to represent developers and foster software innovation by supporting research, such as updating the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) dataset on government policies affecting open source software. This dataset, which catalogs global open source policies since 1999, has been a vital resource for developers and researchers, illustrating contributions like GitHub's role in startup formation. Governments are increasingly recognizing the benefits of "contributing upstream" for security and influence, with examples like the German Sovereign Tech Fund supporting open source project maintainers. The importance of open source in cybersecurity, innovation, and service delivery necessitates thorough data on government policies, as seen in the EU's Cyber Resilience Act and AI Act. GitHub's Chief Legal Officer, Shelley McKinley, joined a CSIS panel to launch the updated dataset, emphasizing the growing focus on open source in cybersecurity and the need for community contributions to enhance the dataset.