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EU Digital Markets Act, aimed at Google, Apple, Amazon, approved

consilium.europa.eu

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Re: EU Digital Markets Act, aimed at Google, Apple, Amazon, approved

#861
post #81

It blows my mind how many people have bought into Apple's position on this. No, Apple restricting your freedom does not afford you greater security. You, as an adult, can choose not to install shady software. If you're not confident in your ability to tell shady from legit, just stick to the App Store. Don't demand that Apple treat the rest of us like children just because that's how you would like to be treated.

Ah, it's so easy to write something like this, but... > No, Apple restricting your freedom does not afford you greater security. No, Apple restricting your freedom does not afford you greater security. You don't know anything about me. How can you possibly make the call on what makes me secure or not? Not being able to install malware... that is by definition more secure than being able to install malware. > If you'r…

> Not being able to install malware

Not being able to drive is also much safer than being able to drive.

Not having internet access is also much safer than having it.

Not getting out is also much safer than getting out.

Re: EU Digital Markets Act, aimed at Google, Apple, Amazon, approved

#862
post #192

What HackerNews thinks will happen: "zomg, I will finally be able to run Arch on my iPhone!" What will actually happen: "honey, something is wrong with my phone, whenever I unlock it, a popup jumps up that says 'Please update the Adobe™ Updater™ to get up to date Adobe™ Software Updates', could you take a look at it?"

Yeah. And that totally clueless person SOMEHOW found how to install a 3rd party app store on her phone and she was able to successfully configure it as well.

The argument doesnt make sense. The user is either tech savvy or not tech savvy.

...

And even more: You people talk as if that doesnt happen today. Nobody will try to scam anyone by creating an entire freaking APP STORE while they can just phish them by sending them an email to get their credit card numbers and whatever data they can collect.

And further: Today anti-virus software is capable of detecting and preventing most of those scams already. We are not in mid 2000s. Anti virus software will not disappear with the appearance of 3rd party app stores. So the problem does not even make sense to be considered a problem.

...

It just feels like some of you people (i mostly saw Americans) are SO mentally hostage to your corporations that you really defend the indefensible.

Re: EU Digital Markets Act, aimed at Google, Apple, Amazon, approved

#863
post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's an ironic take given that these rules are there to take away monopoly power and have an actual open market.

Apple is not even close to a monopoly, especially in Europe, where they have less than a third of the mobile market. That said, the rest of the market is divided up between several different Android phone companies, so Apple is in fact the largest single mobile vendor in the EU (Samsung is neck and neck with them though, and may have overtaken them since I last checked). So from a regulatory standpoint, Apple is the…

> where they have less than a third of the mobile market

Its amazing how some people are SO obsessed with their favorite brand that they cant see outside its limits: Apple controls ~30%, Google controls ~30%, thats pretty much majority of the 'market'. And that 'market' is actual people, having to daily use these devices.

There being 3-4 companies implementing exactly similar business practices does not make an 'open market'. It makes uncoordinated, non-conspiratorial monopolies.

Re: EU Digital Markets Act, aimed at Google, Apple, Amazon, approved

#864

I'm not sure how I feel about this. My gut instinct is that opening these things can lead to a ton of malware and fake app stores, which will lead to a not-insignificant number of people being victimized. I'm also annoyed that the EU produces effectively 0 innovative tech, and subsequently has very suppressed tech salaries, but is so ready to regulate the American companies that make the world go 'round.

> the EU produces effectively 0 innovative tech

Eu produces effectively 0 innovative tech because the PR marketing-machine that is geared to sell you stocks on the US stock market makes incessant noise about American companies to sell those shares to you while excluding anyone outside.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/meet-europe-top-tech-...

Those are the 'hot up and coming'.

https://www.value.today/top-companies/top-technology-compani...

Those are by size.

All of this, without talking about SAP and the like.

European businesses dont operate on 'Sell over-inflated shares to those suckers to "capitalize"' - they operate on traditional indicators. Hence there isnt a need in Europe to constantly hawk any company's shares to make fools part with their money for the sake of financial sector. So you end up with companies like Hetzner slowly growing from engineering roots and then suddenly jumping on to the other side of the ocean to kick incumbent cloud butt there.

Re: EU Digital Markets Act, aimed at Google, Apple, Amazon, approved

#865

European democracy at its best. Proud to be European today.

did you feel proud when the eu passed the cookie law? are you proud every time you have to wait for and click through a cookie modal? (never mind the development costs) you might end up with an ad- and app-store- riddled europhone and if you decide that you want to buy a us or international spec iphone you won’t be permitted to do so.

I love that cookie pop up. That's an instant C-w.

Re: EU Digital Markets Act, aimed at Google, Apple, Amazon, approved

#866

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm also annoyed that the EU produces effectively 0 innovative tech, and subsequently has very suppressed tech salaries, but is so ready to regulate the American companies that make the world go 'round Because its almost impossible to compete? These companies have so many resources, its impossible for any local competitor to compete. Amazon can just crash the prices till the competition dies, Google can just not al…

> Because its almost impossible to compete? Explain the number of American unicorns and the (almost) complete lack of European unicorns then? Somehow American companies and startups find ways to compete and be relevant, and it just does not happen in Europe. If you could snap your fingers and force Apple and Google to implement this today, these new markets (app stores and browsers for iOS) would be 99% filled by Ame…

Uncontrolled amounts of dollars entering the stock market and the financial system thanks to dollar having been used as a reserve currency for mainly trading oil? Allowing fractional reserve lending from private banks to awash the economy with cash?

Leading to EXTREME bloat in the stock market in 'valuations' that go over, what, 700 times the actual near-term revenue of corporations? Based on 'future revenue' that is supposed to materialize, but not visible into the next decade?

Ending up in the investment space being able to dump insane amounts of money on hundreds of startups at a time by calculating that even if 99 of them fail at any given time, just one of them turning into an over-valued 'unicorn' would end up flushing the investor with 'value'?

Which came down crashing the moment a few countries started trading oil and other resources with non-dollar currencies? So much that now all those unicorns all the way to Twitter and Facebook are in hot water because of their overvalued shares compared to their actual profits?

...

Give any country free, non-devaluing money, and anyone will be able to do anything.

Re: EU Digital Markets Act, aimed at Google, Apple, Amazon, approved

#867

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having used iPhones since the very earliest ones, I also fear this might turn it into an Android situation. I like iPhone because I know it’s likely the page works in Safari since iOS+Safari is a large customer group. While choice, a diverse web, competition & all that is important, I personally wouldn’t want anything but a walled garden monoculture in most cases. Being able to integrate a different voice assistant??…

>> I know it’s likely the page works in Safari since iOS+Safari is a large customer group That until you find out some of the best web technologies are not working on safari(i.e indexeddb has been left unfixed for years on purpose by apple). I don't think people would like a safari only on desktop. Why would they want that on mobile?

Part of why I like Apple products is because they tend to have more apps made natively and well fitting into the ecosystem. I don't want web apps which use double the energy, don't look and feel like they were designed for iPhone/Mac. And I use Safari because it does everything it has to (display information) while using the least energy for it. I've yet to see any really good web app, no matter the browser or device.

Re: EU Digital Markets Act, aimed at Google, Apple, Amazon, approved

#868
post #550

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm also annoyed that the EU produces effectively 0 innovative tech, and subsequently has very suppressed tech salaries, but is so ready to regulate the American companies that make the world go 'round Because its almost impossible to compete? These companies have so many resources, its impossible for any local competitor to compete. Amazon can just crash the prices till the competition dies, Google can just not al…

The parent comment was being unfair. There is one market where Europeans dominate both in sheer volume and in innovation: excuses. Excusing business, excusing governments; an international pastime of the Europeans, apparently. Europeans did in fact exist before all of the listed examples came into being, and so could have outcompeted any of them even if they are now dominant. But I still think Europeans _could_ compe…

Yeah. And Europeans are astounded by American affinity for excusing socipathic corporations who bloat on uncontrolled cash influx floating their shares, giving them to power to profit from even murdering you Americans. From healthcare to guns to pink goo being sold as 'food'.

Any country can 'compete' if they allow their society to be ravaged by such sociopathy. Until they face social collapse. Like the US is doing now.

Re: EU Digital Markets Act, aimed at Google, Apple, Amazon, approved

#869
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interestingly enough, an iPhone that complies with these demands is actually the first iPhone I'd ever consider paying for. I wonder if this might actually increase adoption.

It’s not a popular opinion around here, but the reason I like my iPhone is _because_ it’s a walled garden. It just works, reliably, without surprises, for years on end.

I don't think that letting you choose third party services is going to change that aspect of the iPhone...

Re: EU Digital Markets Act, aimed at Google, Apple, Amazon, approved

#870
post #190

Why is the EU able to pass pro-consumer laws, but America unable to? Are big tech companies just unable to properly bribe the European Union like they do the American Government?

Proportional representation allowing representation of all views in countries' parliaments on top of doing the same in Euparl.

This leading to many actual left-wing MPs getting elected and informing entire parliaments about stuff which the average American may never know about - less American congressmen would ever want to hear about: The browser wars came to Euparl way back in mid 2000s and left-wing MPs first warned that major corporations would abuse it, then over time they demonstrated that it was happening exactly so. Leading to Microsoft vs the Commission and the browser ballot box. Then GDPR. In the meantime, also GMO labeling. And food standards WAY back. And right to repair and all that stuff. And now this.

There are even communist MPs in Euparl who are MAJOR proponents of Open Source since a long time ago. They also subscribe to the ideology as well.

Which brings about an interesting point: The legislation precisely targets the early, free state of the Internet from mid 2000s to early 2010s before major tech companies consolidated everything.

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