I wonder if the EU could be convinced to fund some mobile GNU development, especially of touchscreen UI for existing apps, so they have a mobile OS option that isn't controlled by a single US corporation (Goggle or Apple)?
@strypey Particularly considering that some consumer banks in the EU are *excusively* accessible by Apple or Google-distributed apps & the fact that having a bank acct in Europe is mandatory for tax-related transactions. Cash transactions above a limit are banned in #France & #Belgium.. so effectively, EU residents are forced to use Google or Apple.
Great idea!
I think there is a strong case to be made that it is fundamentally wrong to force people to use Google/Apple and at the same time EU politicians have shown some understanding of the problems with big tech companies having too much power.
I've been trying to argue locally here in Sweden, but it could be that doing something at the EU level has a better chance.
The #FSFE should help, but I'm worried they won't since they get so much money from Google.
@eliasr @strypey BTW, it's not just a data minimization violation but also cross-border. That is, the #GDPR requires that the data be stored within the EU. When a European is forced to give #Google a mobile phone number to open an acct, if Google stores that # on a server in the US, it would violate the GDPR.
@eliasr @strypey I 1st thought perhaps #GDPR compliance would be an angle here because if one must submit to Google's data collection (& supply a mobile ph#) in order to do mandatory banking tasks, then surely it's a breach of the GDPR data minimization clause. But OTOH the bank can simply say that the app is "optional" & customers can do everything over the counter (for an extortionate fee).