EU unveils ‘revolutionary’ laws to curb big tech firms’ power - The Guardian - eviltoast
  • New regulations will target six major tech companies to improve consumer experience and data privacy. These include Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft.
  • Pre-installed apps like weather and email that are difficult to delete will be disallowed, aiming to promote interoperability and reduce “gatekeeping” activities.
  • Companies will be prohibited from monetizing user data collected from phone apps for advertising purposes.
  • The regulations will encourage competition by allowing alternative payment systems, benefiting startups and consumers.
  • The European Commission aims to empower consumers and ensure tech giants adhere to European rules, providing immediate accountability for any issues.
  • mannycalavera@feddit.uk
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    arrow-down
    14
    ·
    1 year ago

    I don’t really understand how this is a material change from what AOSP gives you right now? Can anyone explain?

    For example: AOSP has been available to EU start-ups for over a decade for free and open source but none have built alternative payment systems or email or maps or advertising services on top of it in a cohesive way before. What is this law going to allow them to do that they couldn’t before? 🤔

    • ExLisper@linux.community
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      21
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Stock Android on every phone sold in EU will have to offer those features. There’s a big difference for a start up between targeting AOSP and targeting all Android phones in EU. That’s exactly the point of this law: making gatekeepr devices/services equally accessible to competition.

      • mannycalavera@feddit.uk
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        arrow-down
        10
        ·
        1 year ago

        Stock Android is AOSP. And it’s free.

        I’m not sure why EU start-ups don’t just build services on top and compete like Huawei does in China or to a certain extent Amazon does with its Android variant.

        • ExLisper@linux.community
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          10
          ·
          1 year ago

          You’re confusing start ups making phones with start ups offering services. If you want to sell phones yes, you can sell phones with AOSP or Lineage OS, no problem. If you’re a start up that sells Map application you’re competing with google and their app can’t be removed from phones that most people have. Most google apps can’t be removed. This is about equal access to the platform most people use, not offering alternative platform.

          • mannycalavera@feddit.uk
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            5
            ·
            1 year ago

            Ok that’s strange I can uninstall and disable Google Maps just fine in my phone right now and install an alternative Map provider of I wanted. Didn’t need legislation to do it.

            • ExLisper@linux.community
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              10
              ·
              1 year ago

              There’s a huge difference between things you can do on some devices where the manufacturer decided to allow it and things required by the legislation.

              Good thing you don’t need this legislation. 99% of other users will still benefit from it.

              • mannycalavera@feddit.uk
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                1
                arrow-down
                9
                ·
                1 year ago

                What’s the principle here? That manufactures aren’t allowed to tailor the user experience of their products? That doesn’t sound like good legislation. The equivalent would be if I wanted to bring my steering wheel from Toyota to my Audi because it promotes competition.

                The regulations will encourage competition by allowing alternative payment systems, benefiting startups and consumers.

                Car manufacturers must be compelled by the EU to provide pluggable and safe steering columns in cars to benefitting startups and consumers.

                Obviously such a thing wouldn’t happen because it wouldn’t benefit EU car manufacturers. But let’s not talk about that, eh?

                Let consumers vote with their feet. Let them choose alternatives that work for them. If there aren’t decent alternatives, build them. Why go heavy handed on legislation thinly veiled to extort money out of companies? Seriously why not build a competing payment system for the EU? The APIs are available and there’s tonnes of talented engineers in the EU. Start there. Build something better.

        • ඞmir@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          1 year ago

          Stock Android is AOSP + Google Apps, which is a part that has become so integral to Android that you wouldn’t be comfortable with actually running just AOSP anymore.

          • mannycalavera@feddit.uk
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            1 year ago

            Stock Android = AOSP

            Google Android = AOSP + Play Services

            I totally accept that Google Android is the defacto Android. But to claim that people can’t build competing services based on AOSP is just wrong. Just take Huawei as an example. That’s all the EU needs to push. EU Android with EU specific services. They could build it now.

      • mannycalavera@feddit.uk
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        First of all, phones aren’t sold with AOSP.

        They’re not. But my point is that EU manufacturers / start-ups could easily make their own flavour of Android based on AOSP and launch that as a product. Why don’t they? Case in point Huawei.

        • EddieTee77@lemdro.id
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          I think the argument is that the monopoly is present because it’s basically pointless outside of China to launch a phone without play services. So while you can release a phone based on AOSP, it’s not going to be successful financially without the Google apps and tweaks from Play Services