Hans-Christoph Steiner @eighthave@librem.one
Joined Aug 2019
More fun with #DigitalMarketsAct meetings! This time I'm in some meetings organized by the European Commission, run by a super expensive, multi-national consultancy. We are in with well paid representatives of #BigTech, some academics, and a couple public interest techies like me. Volunteers like me are again driving the key points that will make or break the #DMA. I applied to #FordFoundation to fund our work, but was rejected. How can we in the #EU get more people paid to represent users?
So maybe #PlayServices is a special case here, maybe not. But all of the apps that #Google requires to be in the bundle do not require special privileges, so can easily be built into Android devices in a way where they are easily uninstallable, e.g. disabled and deleted. I'm thinking Maps, Gmail, etc.
After 2018, #Google stopped publishing data about malware coming via sideloading. Today in the #DMA workshop they made big claims that sideloading is much more likely to be malware. Since they are making claims based on that, they should again release that publicly.
https://transparencyreport.google.com/android-security/overview
#Google said it has no involvement of OEM's including app stores by default. To ship an #GooglePlay device, it has to comply with secret NDA'd "GMS Compliance", which requires OEMs to justify to Google pre-installed app store needs to access the same APIs that Play uses to install and uninstall apps. Somehow, I don't think Google will stop requiring OEMs be granted permission by Google to include the app stores of their choosing.
#GooglePlay's competition is more than just businesses. Free software communities, governments, non-profits, and institutions are already making #Android app stores.
The #EuropeanCommission is having workshops to get feedback about making companies that have been designated #gatekeepers comply with the #DigitalMarketsAct. You can register to attend in person or online:
* #Alphabet / #Google https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/events-poolpage/alphabet-dma-compliance-workshop-2024-03-21
* #Apple https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/events-poolpage/apple-dma-compliance-workshop-2024-03-18
* all https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/events
We need more voices for #FreeSoftware and #Privacy present to counterbalance #BigTech and #SurveillanceCapitalism!
The #DigitalMarketsAct and other #competition actions against #gatekeeper app stores are based on the idea that an app store companies should not "self-preference" their own apps or services. This makes sense to a certain degree, especially when thinking about business. Ethical reasons must also be considered. #FDroid preferences apps based on #FreeSoftware and Anti-Features, which we as a community define. We should always be allowed to preference apps that follow standards of #UserFreedom.
#Apple and #Google are also acting as #gatekeepers when it comes to medical, health and wellness software. #SurveillanceCapitalism and #monopoly control do not belong in health care.
I got the opportunity to go to #FOSDEM and of course I had my #FDroid "hat" on. I wrote up some quick impressions of my trip, including what I learned about the #EU's #DigitalMarketsAct #CyberResilienceAct and #ProductLiabilityDirective
There really are a lot of important projects represented there:
https://f-droid.org/2024/02/06/at-fosdem.html
It seems like the #EU #DigitalMarketsAct is already having an effect on #GooglePlay: now that they might actually have some real competition, they seem to be ramping up efforts to clean up their app store:
I think it is impossible to regulate #BigTech or #gatekeepers with the current structure of #AntiTrust because it is all about pricing as if software was a commodity. Until #competition #policy takes into account #UserFreedom, it will be an extremely limited tool for dealing with problematic software companies. This is laid bare in this current case against #Google https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/08/google-escapes-play-store-class-action-after-finding-more-persuasive-expert/
The most promise is in #EU #DigitalMarketsAct. #FTC's & #UK's policy overhaul shows promise.
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Joined Aug 2019
