EU Radio Lockdown Directive

4 hours ago

The Radio Equipment Directive's Article 3(3)(i) threatened to mandate hardware manufacturers to prevent installation of non-certified software on radio devices (e.g., routers, smartphones), risking a 'Radio Lockdown'.
After over 10 years of advocacy by FSFE and a coalition, the European Commission decided in January 2026 not to activate the article via a Delegated Act, leaving it without practical effect.
An impact assessment study (December 2025) concluded risks were theoretical, recommending voluntary guidance over binding restrictions, citing incompatibility with Free Software licenses like GPL.
The article would have shifted compliance responsibility from users to manufacturers, enabling manufacturers to control software choices, harming software freedom, innovation, user rights, and SMEs.
Potential dangers included security risks (blocking safer software), reduced competition (favoring large enterprises), environmental harm (shortening device lifecycles), and disrupting community services.
FSFE continues monitoring for similar regulatory threats and advocates for Device Neutrality to protect users' right to install Free Software on their devices.

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