On my own time, I have to read a ~50 page document produced for the #EuropeanCommission in order to effectively participate in a two hour meeting where #FDroid is pitted against #BigTech on the #DigitalMarketsAct and its requirements around installing and allowing other #AppStore options.
Its all NDA'ed so I can't ask for help.
This game is really rigged for the megacorps. Wish me luck! Here's to fighting the good fight!
In the end, it was a series of six meetings, each lasting two hours, with 75 pages of quite technical background material. We really need more public interest involvement in these kinds of things, but it is no surprise that few people want to do this kind of thing in their spare time. I always thought I'd contribute code, I'm still surprised to be invited to these things. It is clear that #FreeSoftware voices carry a lot more weight in this setting. How can we get more people involved?
Looks like the existence of this study is public info, here's the EC tender https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/dma-commission-launches-call-tenders-study-mobile-ecosystems-2023-09-19_en
@eighthave Good luck! 💪
@eighthave Best of luck and many many thanks!
@eighthave I wish you success!
@eighthave You might go crowdfunding for a lawyer? I'd pay for that. 💪
@thisven We are exploring funding for litigation and lawyers, that is looking promising. Meetings like this require technical people to spend quality time reviewing documents and joining meetings. #FSFE @edri and other orgs like that do have lawyers and policy people, and are doing a good job engaging on these issues, especially given limited resources. If you're ready to donate now to support this specific work, I recommend giving money to FSFE and EDRi.
@eighthave I already donated... But it may be time for another donation to @fsfe and @edri to support #FreeSoftware #development, #infrastructure and #funding for better #freedom and #privacy in technology especially from a legal side of things.
@eighthave Good luck!
@eighthave Thank you so much for your work on this! 🙏
@eighthave NDA to produce public policy?
@hub yeah, crazy isn't it? I think they made it NDA'ed so the mega corps would participate. Plus I think its just EC habit: commission work from big consultancies, which do NDA and corporate think by default.
@eighthave here (Canada) they set some of the telecom policies based on confidential submissions from the telecartel. And the worse is when one of them say "sorry can I refile ? I didn't realize I could inflate numbers that much until I read my competitors"
It's to set wholesale telecom tariff. Whatever you pay in Europe for telecom we pay more.
So yeah. Not unique to the EC.
Good luck @eighthave and thank you for this work! Feel free to call if you'd like to catch up afterwards.
@eighthave best of luck!!! we need you. we need lawers next to you like @noybeu
There were some other key people there too on their own time, I'd like to thank them for their work too! And some people there for their job were also giving valuable input. (I can't mention who anyone is because of the NDA).