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European "age verification" "app" forcing everyone to use Android or iOS

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Re: European "age verification" "app" forcing everyone to use Android or iOS

#411

Post by mghackerlady »

account42 wrote: post #373
mghackerlady wrote: post #356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't disagree, but the eu needs their own mobile OS alternative in general so if they absolutely need to rely on a private company, it isn't an american one

This doesn't follow. Why is public infrastructure no longer a possibility as soon as computers get involved? We aren't talking about cutting edge innovation here anymore, mobile phones are boring standard devices.

It is a possibility, just not one I see as likely to happen. Could the EU fund a public phone company? Probably. Will it happen? Most likely not

Re: European "age verification" "app" forcing everyone to use Android or iOS

#412

Post by roundabout-host »

netsharc wrote: post #336
anal_reactor wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> only with Android or iOS 99% of people understand this as "you need a smartphone" which is not a problem in 2026, even for the elderly.

Imagine if the requirements were instead "You need to have a phone with an OS controlled by Huawei"... do you see the issue there? Maybe 99% of people have surrendered to Google/Apple (include me there), but the 1% has a valid point...

Indeed, it is just as unfair no matter if 1%, 55% or 99.99% of the affected population has one. Your operating system should be a choice.

1. By doing this, the EU is killing any alternative operating systems for phones: no one will switch to one if they can't access online services. Banks are already making it extremely hard.

2. Google and Apple might be better regarded than Huawei, but they are not moral (or they are not guaranteed to remain so).

3. The very idea of a de facto state-enforced monopoly on operating systems is outrageous.

Re: European "age verification" "app" forcing everyone to use Android or iOS

#413

Post by roundabout-host »

izacus wrote: post #406
literalAardvark wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wth. Does it at least have the decency to use aosp attestation? Or are they just happy to give the keys to the kingdom to Google and require Play Protect?

How would you "use AOSP attestation"? The point is that the signatures are compared against a database of certified builds - and that exists on Google servers. If you want AOSP attestation, you need to build your own database to compare against.

Even if they did that, it would not be OK. Free software is no longer free if it has to be on a list.

Re: European "age verification" "app" forcing everyone to use Android or iOS

#414

Post by blackqueeriroh »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #281
reloadtak wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Each member state has to implement the system themselves. Where is the loss of control?

The US federal government has been doing that to the states for a while now. They don't have the constitutional authority to do something, so instead they shove a lever under something they nominally are allowed to do and tell the states "do the thing we're not allowed to, the way we tell you to, or else." Where the "or else" is something like, they collect billions of tax dollars from your constituents that you then…

Please provide examples, because this sounds highly speculative, and also straight up incorrect!

Re: European "age verification" "app" forcing everyone to use Android or iOS

#415

Post by inigyou »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #338
inigyou wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, Facebook conducts genocides and we just, let it do that.

You seem to have jumped from "protecting children" to accusing them of an unrelated war crime for not censoring things aggressively enough. On top of that, the relevant law they would have to comply with in those countries would be the laws of those countries, and those are the governments committing the genocides.

Do you think Radio Libre was at all responsible for the Rwandan genocide?

Re: European "age verification" "app" forcing everyone to use Android or iOS

#416

Post by jasonvorhe »

fancyfredbot wrote: post #309
jasonvorhe wrote: post #248

Don't use it. Don't even consider it. Do whatever it takes to let everyone know you're not gonna use this and tell your friends the same. These corrupt bafoons talk of sovereignty and then they pull stunts like this. Even if you're totally pro EU, vote with your actions if you can't outvote the Commission.

Buffoon (not bafoon).

Thanks, I really had no idea!

Re: European "age verification" "app" forcing everyone to use Android or iOS

#417

Post by toasty228 »

synecdoche wrote: post #386
toasty228 wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> as intrusive if not more than say: Russia. Ping me when people are physically tortured by police for facebook posts, because that's what happens there.

Many examples of prison for Facebook posts in the UK. Not bad enough?

It's bad, just not "We ArE LiTeRaLlY RuSsIa". But I guess it's the logical conclusion of the last few decades of critical thinking erosion and people not being able to form any kind of nuanced opinion

Re: European "age verification" "app" forcing everyone to use Android or iOS

#418

Post by JodieBenitez »

blop wrote: post #25

This is the elephant in the room regarding the big "digital sovereignty" talks in the EU. For the moment in the EU institutions the focus is mostly at the post-acceptance stage that everything must eventually migrate off US clouds. There is still some denial and hope that things will go back to "before" because it's going to be extremely costly to migrate, but at least high level EU civil servants start to see the st…

The sovereignty thing is a theater. Many french unis use Google cloud because they're broke and can't maintain in-house services, and none gives a damn.

Re: European "age verification" "app" forcing everyone to use Android or iOS

#419

Post by chopin »

microtonal wrote: post #261
chopin wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Governments will track with whom you verify. Much worse.

Can we not spread nonsense narratives? One of the explicit requirements of the EU age verification system is that they cannot: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/factpages/blueprint... First, the user downloads the app onto their phone and sets it up by certifying their age. This can be done with a biometric passport/ID card, a national eID (e.g. national ID Card or other electronic identification mean), a pre-…

The app will likely have access to a bunch of unique identifiers on the phone. At least on Android whichs core concept is spying on the user.

For me, it's enough that your activity could be linked to any unique identity. I don't want mandatory government apps on my phone, that's very chinese. We should strive for better.

Edited to add: your linked FAQ conveniently leaves open how the communication between the web site and the app happens. There are myriad of ways that ones behaviour leaks in this step.

Re: European "age verification" "app" forcing everyone to use Android or iOS

#420

Post by literalAardvark »

izacus wrote: post #406
literalAardvark wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wth. Does it at least have the decency to use aosp attestation? Or are they just happy to give the keys to the kingdom to Google and require Play Protect?

How would you "use AOSP attestation"? The point is that the signatures are compared against a database of certified builds - and that exists on Google servers. If you want AOSP attestation, you need to build your own database to compare against.

https://grapheneos.org/articles/attestation-compatibility-gu...

It exists on Google's servers for lock in reasons alone.

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