Hans-Christoph Steiner @eighthave@librem.one

Did you know there's a German non profit association (Verein) behind #NewPipe? [1]

You can donate to it, or even join the association.

And also, did you know they are looking for two freelancers for android development and sysadmin things? [2]

[1] https://newpipe-ev.de/about.html
[2] https://newpipe-ev.de/opportunities.html

An app developer has jailbroken Echelon exercise bikes to restore functionality that the company put behind a paywall last month, but copyright laws prevent him from being allowed to legally release it.

🔗 https://www.404media.co/developer-unlocks-newly-enshittified-echelon-exercise-bikes-but-cant-legally-release-his-software/

> If every author in the class filed a claim, industry advocates warned, it would "financially ruin" the entire AI industry.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/08/authors-celebrate-historic-settlement-coming-soon-in-anthropic-class-action/

Good.

To be clear, copyright maximalism is a problem and I had spent years fighting it.

But in this case I am celebrating. That whole industry is built on the idea that they can take whatever they want without anyone's consent.

At the same time, publishers selling of whole catalogs for training data showed how morally bankrupt copyright is.

📣 we are pushing one last OTA update before the new CalyxOS release to reach as many current users as we can about the current CalyxOS hiatus and its impact. Details about this OTA update: https://calyxos.org/news/2025/08/27/last-ota-update-before-new-calyxos-release/

Thank you @grote for sharing this.

In addition to telling #Google that locking down #Android is bad, I'd also recommend every app developer to write to the @EUCommission's #DMA enforcement team and tell them that this practically circumvents Article 6(4) of the #DigitalMarketsAct, which was supposed to *enable* 3rd party app (stores).

The EC is discussing the same question with #Apple atm and they have to understand what happens if they let this happen.

Contact form:
https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/contact-dma-team_en

Alas, it is time for more uncomfortable questions, in this case regarding the announced Android developer verification program: https://commonsware.com/blog/2025/08/26/uncomfortable-questions-android-developer-verification.html #AndroidDev

Let's carry on our legal series, in part two we will discuss jurisdiction, legal entities and liability in #FLOSS #FOSS.

Ever wondered “What laws apply to #FDroid ?" We had to...

Just 12 minutes of your time: https://f-droid.org/2025/08/20/legat-two.html

(And yes, that typo in the URL will stay there forever 🙄)

#DEfO has completed #ECH implementation for #nginx and there is a pull request:

https://github.com/nginx/nginx/pull/840

If you want to see ECH in nginx sooner rather than later, please jump in and review, give feedback, thumbs up, etc.

#EncryptedClientHello #TLS #OpenSSL

Oh dear, the Belgian government's #cybersecurity centre manages to write an entire page about the #EndOf10 without mentioning any other operating system than #Microsoft #Windows. Instead of telling people they might want switch to e.g. #Linux, they suggest to:

* pay Microsoft for #ESU, or
* buy a new computer. 😤

https://safeonweb.be/fr/actualite/windows-10-cessera-bientot-ses-mises-jour-comment-rester-en-securite-sur-internet

Journalist Discovers Google Vulnerability That Allowed People to Disappear Specific Pages From Search

🔗https://www.404media.co/journalist-discovers-google-vulnerability-that-allowed-people-to-disappear-specific-pages-from-search/

Europe has a unicorn obsession, and frankly it needs to stop. 🦄

The EU is pouring €43 billion through the CHIPS act into creating "European champions," but we're missing the bigger picture: why are we treating essential tech infrastructure as private property instead of public commons?

We need a different approach. One that serves public benefit over private extraction. Read my thoughts here: https://tarakiyee.com/the-hardware-innovation-monopoly-problem-why-europe-should-stop-chasing-unicorns/

#OpenHardware #TechPolicy #DigitalSovereignty #PublicInterestTech

“#Economics today resembles Catholic theology in medieval Europe: a rigid doctrine guarded by a modern priesthood who claim to possess the sole truth. Dissenters are shunned. Non-economists are told to “think like an economist” or not think at all… It’s indoctrination.’ https://on.ft.com/4o3TSGf

📣 Is "disable" the same as "uninstall"? We do not believe it. Google does.

Under the DMA, the FSFE with a coalition of civil-society organisations prompts the @EUCommission to open proceedings to investigate Alphabet's (#Google) regarding the uninstallation of pre-installed apps in Android.

Uninstalling is completely removing the app, not just disabling it! This is key for #DeviceNeutrality!

📎 https://edri.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Joint-DMA-complaint-Alphabet-for-publication.pdf

#SoftwareFreedom #DMA

It felt like kindergarten to do it but this week we @edri +others filed a complaint against #Google with the @EUCommission for breach of the #DigitalMarketsAct.

Despite the #DMA's clear obligation for #gatekeepers to allow you to uninstall pre-installed apps, #Alphabet claims this can also mean disabling. Yes seriously.

So we wrote a 7-page explanation why disable ≠ uninstall.

The complaint was filed together with @article19, @fsfe, @Freiheitsrechte, @HomoDigitalisGR and @vrijschrift 🙏

"Hey Google, what is Android?"

* "Android is... quarterly source-code over the wall called AOSP"
* "Android is... not GMS or Play Integrity"
* "Android is... not the device trees or driver binaries of Pixel phones"
* "Android is... not part of the monthly security reports"

And today, we discover, "Android is... not `system-images;android-36;default`" per https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/432143095

The F in #FDroid stands for "freedom", but there's no "F" in Android... nor any promises.

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