What is it?

Software, computer programs that perform operations, is developed by experts who use specific languages. As computers have become popular, developers and programmers have adopted a business strategy that involves not disclosing software source codes. They then began charging for programs and preventing sharing and access to source codes. 

In 1984, Richard Stallman, a programmer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in the USA, founded the GNU Project. The goal was to develop a totally open source software platform as an alternative to the commercialization of knowledge. This involved the creation of a legal instrument for anyone wanting to guarantee their software's freedom, called the General Public License (GNU GPL)(content in Portuguese).

A program with this type of license is open source in which users have the freedom to run, distribute, modify and make amendments without having to ask permission from the creator of the program. 

Typically, open source software, besides providing the source code, creates communities that in turn create documentation and provide support on the internet. It also generates knowledge networks and shares information, and fosters the growth of domestic technology, as systems designed abroad can be adapted to Brazilian needs. 

Learn more about it at the Open Source Software Portal (content in Portuguese).

Source: 
Ministry of Communications