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Fighting for Developers

As the home for all developers, GitHub is committed to shaping policies that promote their interests and the future of software.
See our impact

Every developer has the right to do their best work. Period.

No matter who they are or where they are, we believe developers should be able to work on the projects they care about. This means advocating for policies that promote developers' most basic rights: The rights to innovation, collaboration, and equal opportunity.

Our principles

What we stand for

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How we make an impact

Protecting open source from EU copyright law

When the EU began working on the Copyright Directive in 2016, software developers weren't on policymakers' minds. Drafts effectively required upload filters that would have wreaked havoc on online software collaboration. We worked to mobilize developers and convey their concerns to members of parliament, and together we succeeded: The final text included an exemption for "open source software developing and sharing platforms."
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How we make an impact

Advancing developer freedom and access in Iran

No matter where developers may live, we're committed to keeping as much of GitHub available to as many developers as possible. As part of this commitment to support software development everywhere, we make the case to governments for licenses and changes to the law. Starting in 2019, we worked with the US government's Office of Foreign Assets Control to obtain a license to fully serve developers in Iran. Building on this success, we're pursuing similar efforts to be able to fully serve developers in Crimea and Syria, and are also advocating for changes to the law so that all developers can have access — whether they use GitHub or other collaboration tools.
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How we make an impact

Establishing the Developer Defense Fund

Section 1201 of the US DMCA can pose challenges to developers. Each year, GitHub receives a small number of 1201 takedown claims, contending that developers are hosting code that illegally circumvents a technological protection measure. To help, GitHub has committed $1 million to establish a Developer Defense Fund and sponsored the GitHub Developer Rights Fellowship at Stanford Law School's Juelsgaard Intellectual Property and Innovation Clinic.

Advocacy

Areas where we advocate

"GitHub is leading the way for developers' rights worldwide. Our Policy team uses its voice to advocate for the developer community and shape policies that impact the software ecosystem as a whole." — Mike Linksvayer, Head of Developer Policy

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Get Involved

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