Hans-Christoph Steiner @eighthave@librem.one

What everybody wants to know: How can alternative providers compete with #Gemini?

What #Google uses its speaking time for: How AI is incorporated into all kinds of recommender systems since 1998.

Excellent online question by @GrapheneOS calling out #Google for selling "payment integrity" as security feature while using it to achieve vendor lock-in.

Google answer: None. Again. @article19's attempt to follow up was denied for sake of time. 😠

#DMA #DigitalMarketsAct

OK so now @beuc explicitly asks the question on the lack of uninstallation and I followed up here in the room to press #Google on how they keep on pretending disabling apps was the same as removing/uninstalling them and somehow enough for #DMA compliance.

Google's answer: Nothing in combination with lies: they say if an app is disabled, only "remnants of code" remain on the device (wrong) and that "if you remove an app from the Android system partition, the OS breaks" (also wrong). 😠

Can anyone with a regular and recent #stockROM #Android phone confirm if they were able to uninstall (not deactivate!) pre-installed apps like #Chrome, #Youtube, #GoogleMaps, #GoogleDrive, #GooglePhotos, or #Gmail ?

Hmmm, so #Google lobbyists claim "All apps on Android can be uninstalled" but from my testing on #Android 16 with all latest updates on a #Pixel this appears to be false.

Google's own #DMA compliance report from March 2025 says this is wrong:

"Android allows to uninstall apps by: (i) fully deleting apps that are downloaded or pre-installed in the user partition; and (ii) uninstalling apps in the system partition such that they are returned into an uninstalled state."

https://storage.googleapis.com/transparencyreport/report-downloads/pdf-report-bb_2024-3-7_2025-3-6_en_v1.pdf

Blah blah blah I'm gonna spare you the list of unsubstantiated bollocks claims by #Google lobbyists like "Europeans already pay more for flights because they can't use Google to find the cheapest." or "We had 3,000 engineers working 2 years full time to be compliant." and the like rather than explaining to us why we still cannot uninstall the Chrome browser.... 🙄

Okay thank you all, it looks like I'm gonna live toot at least the juicy stuff :)

Interestingly, the Commission introductory talk included a reference to how the fact that #Android is essentially #opensource software facilitates #DMA compliance. 😍

(Which does of course not mean there is no non-compliance in Alphabet products, there certainly is.)

"The DMA and the DSA are not on the table in the trade negotiations with the U.S.," [European Commission] spokesperson Thomas Regnier told a daily news conference. He said the EU would not brook any interference from foreign governments on how it enforces its landmark rules which come with hefty fines for violations." https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/eu-tech-rules-not-included-us-trade-talks-eu-commission-says-2025-06-30/

Today I will spend hours in the @EUCommission's #DMA workshop with #Apple so you don't have to. It'll be painful, it'll be funny, it'll be hot! 😆

The workshop starts with Apple lawyers speaking time in which they are supposed to explain how they comply with the #DigitalMarketsAct. Instead, they waste everybody's time with marketing BS and pointless rants against the law (or as they say "the Commission's interpretation of the law").

What a waste.

Purism- CNN Report

In a recent CNN report, skepticism surrounds the Trump Organization’s claim that its new “T1” smartphone is “Made in the USA.”

Experts, including Todd Weaver, CEO of Purism, challenged the claim, citing striking similarities between the T1 and a low-cost Chinese phone, the Revvl 7 Pro 5G, made by Wingtech, a Chinese manufacturer.

Weaver emphasized the logistical and technical difficulty of building a phone in the U.S.

Learn more at Purism:
https://puri.sm/posts/cnn-report-purism-is-the-only-known-u-s-phone-manufacturer/

The #DMA can open doors for #FreeSoftware: alternative app stores, browsers, emulators, and much more!

But right now, gatekeepers are throwing up roadblocks.

We need your help to hold them accountable.

🛠️ Developers: have you requested interoperability under the #DMA?

Share your story by taking this survey 👉 https://survey.fsfe.org/index.php/699938?lang=en

#SoftwareFreedom