#FreeWebSearchDay 2026: A day dedicated to freedom of information and democracy is taking place for the fourth time!

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For the past four years, #FreeWebSearchDay (FWSD) has been held annually on and around September 29, featuring various activities and events centered on free and transparent internet access. Together, participants work on ideas for an open and fair digital future and raise awareness of how important this is for preserving our democracy.

FWSD thus offers a global platform for various events related to these topics.

This year’s program highlights include:

  • As part of the monthly Open Web Search Community Meet-up, a presentation on “Acceptance Requirements of Search Engine Users” will be held on September 14, during which the results of a Europe-wide survey will be discussed and analyzed in an online meeting.
  • From September 22 to 25, the German Informatics Society (GI) invites you to this year’s Informatics Festival 2026 at TU Dresden. Under the motto “Digital Sovereignty – Now or Never!”, a symposium will take place on September 22 as part of the festival to discuss solutions for a sovereign digital future, including a keynote address on the topic “Europe Disconnected from the Web? Open Web Data as the Foundation of Digital Sovereignty.”
  • On October 3, as part of this year’s Open House at the Garching Research Campus, a lecture titled “Can You Still Think That’s Okay?! How Search Engines and AI Shape Our View of the World” will take place at the Leibniz Computing Center Garching.
  • From October 7 to 9, the 8th International Open Search Symposium #ossym26 will be held at the Code University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. Under the theme “Boosting Digital Sovereignty”, various conference formats will explore how an open web data ecosystem can contribute to digital diversity.
  • As part of an evening event for #ossym26, a side event on the topic “Sovereignty on the Web – How a European Web Data Infrastructure Strengthens Freedom, the Economy, and Democracy” will take place on October 8 at the Weizenbaum Institute in Berlin.

For more information on other events and ongoing updates about #FreeWebSearchDay, visit: https://freewebsearch.org/en/events/

Get involved!

Whether you’re a data center, search engine, school, company, or even an individual… #FreeWebSearchDay thrives not only on its planned program but above all on individual initiative. If you have ideas and would like to get actively involved, simply send an email to .

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