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Just in case you're wondering why #Apple & #Google etc. are such jerks about implementing #DMA, here are some numbers:

* play store revenue 2019: $ 11.2 Billion
reuters.com/technology/google-
* apple appstore revenue 2021: $ 85.1 Billion
statista.com/statistics/296226
* apple app store made more money on games alone in 2019 than nintendo, microsoft and sony combined
techspot.com/news/91577-apple-

Today: #DMA compliance workshop with #Alphabet/#Google :)

While Alphabet seems to be better in terms of the new #browser & #search choice screens, they have a strange view regarding their new obligation to allow un-installing pre-installed apps like #PlayStore or #Gmail:

Alphabet's lobbyists argue un-install and remove are two different things and as the #DigitalMarketsAct's Art 6(3) only mandates un-install but not removal, the current "deactivation" feature in Android would be enough. 🤔

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EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager called out Apple’s proposed core technology fee for what it is: a way to protect its monopoly instead of actually complying with the Digital Markets Act.

“…if the new Apple fee structure will de facto not make it in any way attractive to use the benefits of the DMA. That kind of thing is what we will be investigating.”

reuters.com/technology/eus-ves

#DMA

said it has no involvement of OEM's including app stores by default. To ship an 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.

Haha #Google bitches against #Apple: "We allow 3rd party app stores, #sideloading, automatic updates for sideloaded apps, and #PWA for free."

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I really like the phrase malicious compliance.

There's a lot of that going on so many levels. Not just #DMA and finally I can call it out with one single phrase.

's competition is more than just businesses. Free software communities, governments, non-profits, and institutions are already making app stores.

desparately wants to limit the scope of the as much as possible, and wants the European Commission that is not part of the operating system, even though users cannot uninstall it. Google is even working to change the definition of "uninstall" so that it means the same as what currently calls "disabling". Even Google Play itself will entirely delete the app when users click "uninstall" except of course for the stuff where Google prevents uninstallation.

It looks like #Apple is using salami tactics with the @EU_Commission on #DMA compliance, giving up tiny slices in hope that might sway (and shut up) the regulator and the public.

I sincerely hope the Commission's enforcement team is not being fooled by this.

#DigitalMarketsAct #competition #appstore #appfreedom #foss
Source: #PoliticoPro newsletter

I'm sitting in the @EU_Commission #DMA compliance workshop for #Apple right now and as much as I appreciate the format, it's frustrating to see that Apple is the only party on the panel and in addition has its proxies like #CCIA and the #AppAssociation #ACT in the audience that are allowed to ask convenient questions and steer the discussion in Apple's interest.

#DigitalMarketsAct #competition #appfreedom #deviceneutrality #foss

With today's votes on #CRA and #PLD on the introduction of liability rules for software, a broad exception for #FreeSoftware was made, so that after long and intense debates individual developers and non for profit work are safeguarded.

fsfe.org/news/2024/news-202403 #SoftwareFreedom

I'd pay good money to read a 2,500-word deep dive comparing voluntary carbon markets with Pope Leo X's pay-for-penance scheme.

#climate #church

Want to see a visual example of why and have such a big impact? Massive amounts of water and resources go to growing cheap alfalfa, which is mostly cattle feed.

edition.cnn.com/2022/11/05/us/

took another big step towards "transition[ing] to a fully Open Access publisher... under a financially sustainable model". publishing is clearly the future of disseminating academic, scientific, and medical knowledge. Not so long ago, people were being jailed for opening up access while the publishers were not.

cacm.acm.org/news/cacm-is-now-

Docusign just admitted that they use customer data (i.e., all those contracts, affidavits, and other confidential documents we send them) to train AI:

support.docusign.com/s/documen

They state that customers "contractually consent" to such use, but good luck finding it in their Terms of Service. There also doesn't appear to be a way to withdraw consent, but I may have missed that.

has been moving more towards the deb.debian.org mirror which is provided by a single CDN company, . It works well, but also feeds an enormous amount of to a single company, and it can be used to track computers and maybe even people. And the privacy policy in effect is unclear. Fastly says the policy of the "subscriber" applies, but the privacy policy for deb.debian.org is not listed anywhere I could find. Anyone have any insight here?

This week in F-Droid (TWIF) was published again :fdroid:

We try to explain the "app was developed for an older version of android and can not be upgraded automatically" banner for some apps (including F-Droid itself).

Also, we talk a bit about the current localization problems on our website.

On the apps side:

- new Aurora Store version
- Element and SchildiChat were updated to fix two vulnerabilities.
- OpenKeychain was updated
- sing-box was added

f-droid.org/2024/02/29/twif.ht

#FDroid

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