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Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

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Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#641

Post by alex_reg »

Arathorn wrote: post #472
Arathorn wrote: post #3

So we got notified by the developer console at 21:45 UTC that the app had been suspended, but still haven’t had an email to explain why - it’s 02:24 now. Our assumption that this is due to someone reporting abusive content in Matrix to Google, and Element catching the blame — although this is currently speculation. To be clear: Element is a Matrix client just as Chrome is a Web browser, and just as it’s possible to v…

We received a generic update at 05:31 UTC confirming that the app had been suspended due to abusive content (Sexual Content and Profanity: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answ... ); we're following up to explain how Matrix and Element works and get this resolved.

This is probably not a coincidence or an oversight, but rather a "what can we get away with" attempt, similar to previous efforts to remove UBlock Origin.

But why? Matrix is tiny and no threat to Google services.

I'd personally expect three letter agencies to be involved here. The US government has been aggressively going after encrypted communication for years, with extreme tactics like personal intimidation and secret courts. Read this story about a secure email provider if you doubt it. [1]

This doesn't work so well with EU based companies, even though they have been pushing EU governments to do the same. (There recently was a leak that the encryption ban currently discussed in the EU parliament has some roots in Five Eyes efforts and that governments were pressured by the US to support it. Published by FAZ or Sueddeutsche, I'm trying to find the article...)

I also doubt that iMessage and What's App gaining "backdoors" to their encryption is purely motivated by user experience.

At a time where a lot of people want to switch communication platforms, nipping any such efforts early might well be viewed as important.

"Abusive content" is a convenient excuse that can be arbitrarily applied.

[1] https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/how-the-...

Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#642

Post by ClumsyPilot »

throwawayboise wrote: post #45
ClumsyPilot wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'You can't change how they operate' We used yo have laws.. And opting out is literslly impossible, there are people and authorities i -have-to- communicate with, and its impossible outside those platforms

It's not impossible. You just have to make choices.

Building management, landlord, local charities and residents association are using whatsapp and Facebook, good luck moving them.

Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#643

Post by gameswithgo »

grishka wrote: post #458
oji0hub wrote: post #415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Installing software outside of play store is technically possible, but if something contains enough hurdles, most people won't do it, which results in no users and a meaningless platform.

There aren't that many hurdles. 1. You download the apk 2. When you try to install it, it tells you it's from an unknown source and the installation was blocked to protect you 3. You tap "settings" and flip a switch to allow installing apps from your browser 4. You go back and tap "install". That's it. It's done. And you won't need to go to the settings the next time, it'll just work.

thats a huge hurdle for normal people, it means you can't make a business out of selling things that way unless you have an established product like fortnite

Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#645

Post by monopoledance »

emayljames wrote: post #293
mrec wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What they were talking about is giving up on smartphones and social media altogether That's incredibly encouraging to hear. It seems to be a common feature of "I quit Facebook/Twitter/whatever" accounts that once you break the immediate addiction there's no real urge to go back, so if this does happen it should have a decent chance of sticking. (And as a mobile refusenik I sometimes feel like the last holdout left,…

Yeah, I totally get the enjoyment of not being "always available". I have had lengthy periods without a phone, and it teaches you that; no, you don't have to be always available, and no the world will not end etc. The only "social media" I use is Reddit, but it isn't/I don't use it as they person centric networks like boomerbook/twitter.

Reddit is by far the hardest to quit tho. I get constantly dragged into the shitshow, but can't really get off, because there is useful information there, I can't find anywhere else.

In a similar way, I can't quit smartphones for encrypted messaging and navigation (not even Google Maps, but OSMand).

Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#646

Post by nabla9 »

Instead of putting some money into good service in two sided markets, Google is fine with automatized or low effort curation. High visibility post in Hacker News seems to be how errors can be corrected.

Monopoly power in action. There is little pressure to fix this.

Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#647

Post by ognarb »

elkos wrote: post #498
ognarb wrote: post #480

Now I have one reason more to continue to develop a matrix client for Plasma Mobile.

If I get to work with matrix and element io plasma mobile I'm ordering a device next day.

NeoChat does work on Plasma Mobile but it is still missing a few features to be production ready. https://carlschwan.eu/2020/12/23/announcing-neochat-1.0-the-...

I'm currently working on encryption support in the base library: https://github.com/quotient-im/libQuotient/pull/443 and once this is done the other big missing feature are notifications.

Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#648

Post by monopoledance »

Thorentis wrote: post #317

This is basically the last straw for me. The past week has made it perfectly clear that Big Tech will close the circle and protect their own. Anything that appears to be censorship resistant, that allows the little guy to get ahead and compete, or that allows individuals to have greater levels of privacy and freedom, will be shut down and de-platformed. As was predicted in 1948, "hate speech" has just become a smoke…

> This is basically the last straw for me.

Now you're just out of straws, or pulled the trigger on some decision? What's the implication?

Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#649

Post by malwrar »

alichapman wrote: post #344
throwaway3699 wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Assuming from the subtext that GP means they're wanting to give up because of (app)(?) censorship. Having a whole strata of society no longer participating in the conversation is not healthy. Politicians are now looking to these platforms to guide policy decisions, so anybody not on them has no voice.

Surely politicians aren't using social media as the main driver for policy? The demographic who votes the most (the elderly) is also the demographic that has the smallest presence on social media, so only listening to Twitter seems like shooting yourself in the foot.

It doesn’t even matter if politicians aren’t making decisions based on social media—-their constituents are demanding action because of what they see on it. A video of one person in power choking another person to death got widely shared on Twitter and the result was massive and worldwide protests. Hell, in general social media has replaced pretty much every other form of it, we can’t keep pretending the internet is a niche place anymore.

Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#650

Post by LockAndLol »

vbezhenar wrote: post #398
LockAndLol wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or they make F-Droid more known. Publishing apks yourself means you have to implement an update feature. F-Droid takes care of that

How is F-Droid conceptually different from PlayStore? They can ban anything just as well.

What @throwaway525142 said and you can host your own repo.
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