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

consilium.europa.eu

951–960 of 1001 posts

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

#951

This is easily one of the most expansive Acts regarding computing devices passed in my lifetime. The summary is in the link. As an iPhone user, this will enable me to: * Install any software * Install any App Store and choose to make it default * Use third party payment providers and choose to make them default * Use any voice assistant and choose to make it default * User any browser and browser engine and choose to…

Six months??? What does "comply" mean? Ship a version of the OS that supports all these new features? Or begin implementation of them?

Six months is barely enough time for companies to digest and understand the new requirements, and certainly not enough time to develop and ship such dramatic changes.

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

#952
post #100

This is easily one of the most expansive Acts regarding computing devices passed in my lifetime. The summary is in the link. As an iPhone user, this will enable me to: * Install any software * Install any App Store and choose to make it default * Use third party payment providers and choose to make them default * Use any voice assistant and choose to make it default * User any browser and browser engine and choose to…

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.

I'd put good money on this only being available to EU users for all companies affected by the act. Especially Apple.

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

#953

This is easily one of the most expansive Acts regarding computing devices passed in my lifetime. The summary is in the link. As an iPhone user, this will enable me to: * Install any software * Install any App Store and choose to make it default * Use third party payment providers and choose to make them default * Use any voice assistant and choose to make it default * User any browser and browser engine and choose to…

Six months??? What does "comply" mean? Ship a version of the OS that supports all these new features? Or begin implementation of them? Six months is barely enough time for companies to digest and understand the new requirements, and certainly not enough time to develop and ship such dramatic changes.

Yet Samsung manages to release a new phone every 6 months.

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

#954

This is not good. I really enjoy the security of the walled garden that IOS is right now. Some say just don’t install a third party app store. My line of thinking is that takes the power away from the individual. Lets take for instance an app that everyone seems to want: TikTok. Right now they must abide by the app store rules and do security the way Apple requires and I want. This is the ONLY way they get onto the m…

>My line of thinking is that takes the power away from the individual.

Takes the power away from Apple you mean.

If Apple cares that much about privacy, as opposed to their bottom line under the guise of caring, then they can implement additional controls into the OS layer that will help users control or even anonymize/randomize their data when running third-party apps.

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

#955

I actually think this is an awful decision, and will likely result in the erosion of the data/privacy guarantees Apple has established, for little to no benefit. “We’ll be able to side load apps” great. Good for you. I eagerly await the proliferation of trash app stores peddling all the apps that were rightfully rejected from the Apple Store for good reasons. “You’ll be able to iMessage android users” fantastic, now…

Apple has not established any meaningful privacy guarantees. It's just PR.

No post body was provided.

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

#956
post #922

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I am using, say, Signal, I do not want it to be possible to send me an unencrypted message at all. That philosophy of security sounds likely to run afoul of this legislation.

Signal can give you the option to disable that. They just cannot force that decision on users.

Security needs to be a default though. It will be a serious problem if this law ends up being interpreted as requiring encrypted messaging systems to accept insecure messages by default.

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

#957

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, so now nobody can ever launch any new messaging features without reaching a consensus in a standardization body. Progress!

Nope, that's not how standardization works. I'd refer you to the process of HTML/CSS/JavaScript if you want to see how it can work in a global manner that also works for innovation too (unless you'd argue that HTML/CSS/JavaScript is exactly the same in terms of "innovation" since they each first were created). In short, the process is something like this: 1) a browser implements a new feature they think is useful 2)…

Step 1 of that process violates the law, if it adds new “core messaging capability”. Perhaps the EU considers “core messaging capability” to refer exclusively to functionality that already exists today, and it could not even in principle refer to anything that doesn’t already exist, but that seems vague and unlikely. If support for Unicode emoji did not already exist, would a vendor be allowed to unilaterally add it? It seems uncertain.

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

#958
post #885

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For some reason every Linux user assumes everyone is as smart as they are and anyone who doesn't take the time to learn whatever esoteric config file to manage their DE is a child that can't tell left from right. Notably, most of the non-technical users I am acquainted with manage to use Windows, which will also let you install any software package you want if you click continue on the warning.

Hm, why does my mom call me every few months for help with her Windows laptop, then? She never needed help with her phone, since she tossed the Android one for my old iPhone (ok, actually once, but that was a faulty charging cable)..

I don't know, why do generalizations sometimes fail on specific anecdotes? My relatives need help with iPhones and Windows devices about equally.

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

#959

I'm sort of surprised at the positive tone here. Sure, it's nice for non-technical people to enumerate a lot of nice to haves, but just asserting something doesn't make it true or possible. As one example, making "core messaging functionality interoperable". How exactly does that work with end-to-end encryption? I suppose we'd need some sort of open system and protocol for all the tricky key sharing stuff? That would…

> As one example, making "core messaging functionality interoperable". How exactly does that work with end-to-end encryption? Quite simply: it doesn't. It can only work the same way as iMessage interoperates with SMS, by throwing away security.

That's plainly not true. There are hundreds of open protocols able to establish encrypted connection, including some dedicated to instant messaging.

There's literally zero benefit that Apple, Google, FB or whoever is able to offer with their in-house implementation.

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

#960

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Use existing hardware and software features without competitive prejudice. E.g. NFC What this will mean for me as an iPhone user: instead of using Apple Pay which is seamlessly integrated in my phone, watch and desktop OS, I will instead have to use my bank's terrible HTML-based 'app' to perform contactless payments, making it 100 times less convenient. This probably will make me switch back to using my bank card.…

So your bank can have more funding, instead of Apple shaving it off up to 50%, and it is able to develop a neat React-based UI instead of the simple HTML ui you so strongly disdain...

How about they just make a native app ?
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