Hans-Christoph Steiner @eighthave@librem.one
Joined Aug 2019
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
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 ?
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
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."
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
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.... 🙄
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
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.)
Given that technical details are key to many of the questions of #DMA enforcement, why doesn't #Alphabet include technical staff in these compliance workshops? It feels to me that they want to stick strictly to an evasive legal strategy rather than constructively engage with the technical community around #Android.
#Google #DigitalMarketsAct #DMAWorkshop #EC #EuropeanCommission
A question to #Google about whether they could allowlist apps for sideloading they know to be legit. They punted and gave a weak attempt at a technical reason. They say their is a 100 million apps out there, so how could they ever? And malicious apps can impersonate the Application ID. Sure, true, but they could also allowlist based on all the signing keys, which cannot be simply faked and they already manage in #GooglePlay
#DigitalMarketsAct #Alphabet #EuropeanCommission #EC #DMA #DMAWorkshop
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
"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/
https://eupolicy.social/@ilumium is posting lots of key info about the #DigitalMarketsAct Follow him for more!
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
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.
Good morning from the #EuropeanCommission #DigitalMarketsAct compliance workshop on #Alphabet that is focused on things like #Google #search #browser choice #GooglePlay #Android and more.
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
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/
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
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
When does #Apple plan to fix the security issues that only affect third party browsers? #Safari is not affected by these leaks but it affects all the other browser vendors. Eg:
* Inability to tunnel like Safari does, hence protect user's privacy
* Tunnel audio/video traffic
* Stop leaking IP addresses through share sheets and WebRTC
An open call to #Android #developers! The #EuropeanCommission needs help evaluating #GooglePlay's #security claims. I'm going to do what I can. Anyone with knowledge of how app installation, uninstallation, sandboxing, signing, etc. could really help here. If you want to contribute, please reach out!
I think #Apple's strategy is just wast everyone's time and delay so they can push things through the courts. Their #monopoly profits on #iOS are just so vast that this approach will mean biggest profits than actually engaging with the democratic process and complying with the #DMA . It feels almost pointless listening to Apple's answers, they mostly just rehash more marketing points and waste time with blah blah.
#Crowdstrike is a great example for how not to do interop. #microsoft acknowledged that and changed their malware scanning interop setup so that all scanners, including their own, no longer have highly privileged access to the operating system.
#Apple is not the only one dreaming up new features. There are many of us. @fdroidorg on making the most trustworthy app distribution platform, following as many best practices as possible. Many Apple has not implemented, like app reviews of source code rather than binaries, or #ReproducibleBuilds. We require human review or apps. Over 60% of our apps are reproducibly built. Apple encrypts app files, making reproducible builds impossible. It continues to only review binaries apps not source code
#Apple comes out fighting again, lots of stalling and pure marketing claims rather than concrete answers.
Joined Aug 2019
