Hans-Christoph Steiner @eighthave@librem.one

@eff As far as I can tell, Google's plan means that citizens of countries sanctioned by the US can no longer develop Android software, as Google can't legally accept their payment to become approved developers even if the developer is willing to go through the process. No matter if they are dissidents against whatever regime the US disapproves of.

@eff This is a cause for concern for business develops like my team. We build internal apps and decoy them via MDM software. Never used play store or Google dev account. This could block us deploying our apps so it's been raised with the hardware manufacturer of the Android handheld scanners.

Big news! 🚨 More countries opt for #OpenSource to protect their digital sovereignty.

The Austrian Ministry for Economic Affairs migrates away from Microsoft 365 to a Nextcloud and LibreOffice solution. 💪

Read the story in @FOSSForce recent article:

https://fossforce.com/2025/10/austria-says-auf-wiedersehen-to-proprietary-and-willkommen-to-open-source/

Google creating a global centralized registration system for new Android apps is a bad idea for users, for developers, and competition. Google should nip it in the bud now. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/11/application-gatekeeping-ever-expanding-pathway-internet-censorship

If you are interested in becoming the strategic engine behind the EDIC’s long-term sustainability, in taking on a role that is both entrepreneurial and public-facing, and in working closely with international stakeholders, this is a unique opportunity to contribute to a European alliance that centers the public interest in the digital common.

Learn more about the role: https://www.sovereign.tech/jobs/digital-commons-edic-director

Applications must be submitted before Monday, 1 December 2025.

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Help shape Europe’s Digital Commons — Open position for EDIC Director (F/M/X)

Last week, the European Commission announced the creation of the EDIC Digital Commons, a new initiative to support open, interoperable digital commons and strengthen digital sovereignty for 450 million Europeans.

The consortium is now hiring a Director to join the founding team and take the #EDICDigitalCommons into its next phase.

https://www.sovereign.tech/jobs/digital-commons-edic-director

1/2 #GetFediHired #FOSSjobs

@eighthave This is and has no longer been true for a while now.

AppStore is full of ads. OS full of pseudo- anonymized (this can't be a thing) tracking. And next up is a plan to add ads to maps apps. Oh well 🙄

#Apple #enshittification

- Why digital commons are the most cost-effective solution for everyone
- Whether we should invest more in foundations that support our digital commons
- What Europe can do to regain digital sovereignty

We appreciated the opportunity to share how the Sovereign Tech Agency is working to ensure that Europe’s digital foundations remain open, resilient, and sovereign.

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➡️ From the EU Commission: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-launch-digital-commons-edic-support-sovereign-european-digital-infrastructure-and 3/3

#EDIC #DigitalCommons #EuropeanUnion

The #EDIC #DigitalCommons, launched by France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy, reflects a shared ambition: building the foundations for a strong, open and sustainable European digital landscape. The Sovereign Tech Agency’s experience in strengthening open digital infrastructure directly informs this work, having developed structures and programs with international reach and impact.

Find out more:

➡️ In our blog: https://www.sovereign.tech/news/open-resilient-european-the-edic-digital-commons

➡️ Press release: https://www.sovereign.tech/press/edic-digital-commons

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Today @EUCommission announced the creation of the #EDIC #DigitalCommons, a major milestone in a multi-year European effort the #SovereignTechAgency helped shape from the start.

“The confirmation of the Digital Commons EDIC marks a new chapter in Europe’s digital journey — one built on collaboration, transparency, and shared responsibility. Together, we’re working to ensure that Europe’s digital foundations remain open, resilient, and sovereign.” - Adriana Groh, Sovereign Tech Agency CEO.
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Tech firms are spending more than ever on #lobbying the #EU amid mounting opposition to the bloc’s digital rules, according to @corporateeurope.

The 733 digital #industry groups registered in #Brussels now spend €151 million a year pushing their interests, up from €113 million 2 years ago.

Meta is the overall largest lobby spender in the EU (€10 million).

There are now an estimated 890 lobbyists working to shape the tech agenda, up from 699 in 2023.

https://corporateeurope.org/en/2025/10/big-tech-lobby-budgets-hit-record-levels

#Google trips over its own words, when they sell you #Android it's the best computing device in the world that does everything. After you bought it Google doesn't let you do anything *you* want to.

#Sideload is a made-up term. Putting software on your computer is simply called “installing”, regardless of whether that computer is in your pocket or on your desk.

What Do You Talk About When You Talk About Sideloading?

What does Google?

Here's #FDroid: https://f-droid.org/2025/10/28/sideloading.html

@ret @eighthave Now, following that, the legal post pertains to any #FDroid repository in general, but we can only speak for "f-droid.org repo" since this is the one we admin, is currently the biggest (by volume) and users usually refer to it by saying "F-Droid".

@ret @eighthave F-Droid (the word) is many things: a repo client, a repo software, a repomaker and an actual apps repo. The "f-droid.org repo" is centralized (w/ mirrors), yes, by its nature of being controlled by the repo admin.

When we say decentralized we mean that: you can use any F-Droid client with any F-Droid app repository out there.

Users are fed the notion of "there can be only one app store", be it from Apple or Google, and find it hard to grasp the idea of what #FDroid can do.

🏛️ We have just arrived at @Curia!
💼 Today, our lawyer, Dr. Martin Husovec, will explain to the court why #DMA #interoperability should apply to #Apple in full extent!

👀 Stay tuned for updates! And if you need a quick recap of what's at stake for #FreeSoftware in this case, have a read here: https://fsfe.org/news/2025/news-20251015-01.en.html

What time it is? It's 5 o'clock... somewhere. So here comes the fifth #FDroid legal post.

It's all about content, transparency, and user protections. It features strong tags like #OnlineSafetyAct #Ofcom #DSA and #DMA and how these shape our own policies.

Will this break some prejudice? One way to find out: https://f-droid.org/2025/10/21/navigating-the-digital-markets-act-digital-services-act-and-the-online-safety-act.html

@nobody The FSF is a fiscal sponsor of the Guix project, together with Guix Foundation, but the FSF does not contribute per se to Guix development (even less so now that the project no longer uses FSF infra).

@signalapp @eighthave