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GrapheneOS says Google is making life harder for rival operating systems and devices (www.androidauthority.com)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 105 points 4 months ago* (18 children)

Maybe the EU can slap some fines on that? It's anti competitive and against the DMA i assume

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  • [–] 50 points 4 months ago (13 children)

    The EU can fine them for things like this but it won't make much difference. To provoke long term change, we need a way to block them from our countries and that's impossible.

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  • [–] 18 points 4 months ago (10 children)

    They can also enforce changes if they want access to the EU market

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  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago* (9 children)

    We can't afford to start a real war with them because they control far too much of our technology. Yes, we could threaten to block their access to our markets but what if they don't change their behaviour? Do we go through with it? Some of their services are critical to our daily lives and just one day without a few of them and entire systems would collapse.

    EDIT: Big tech corporations like Google are more powerful than governments. While they are not invulnerable to sanctions, we may lose as much or more than they do if we take drastic action without viable alternatives.

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  • [–] 11 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    I agree that it's too early, but disagree that it would never be possible. If the EU can successfully move away from Microsoft like they're trying to do now, then I think that will provide an excellent model for moving away from other tech monopolies.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago

    Really its a much bigger problem then that. Where do you get your switches or computers. Sure there are European PC builders but who makes the parts. American companies control a lot of infrastructure and the fact nobody thought that was a problem is just ridiculous.

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  • [–] 8 points 4 months ago

    This is just looking at the material reality of the problem. I can't effectively threaten someone who I'm heavily dependent on without present alt. Kinda how Trump got slapped when he tried economic coercion on China. If the EU has a domestic alternative to Big Tech's cloud services that's in wide use and easy to scale up, the they can legitimately threaten Big Tech. That said even then that would not be enough given the newly developed dependence on US - LNG. Threaten Big Tech and the US threatens cutting off the gas supply. A gas supply shortage topples governments.

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  • [–] 7 points 4 months ago

    The reality is that they are powerful but if they were to become actice participants in some hypothetical war the governments could freeze and withold funds with the swipe of a pen.

    There are a lot of regs around the freedom of funds and stopping that if there is a legitimate national security risk. The US is doing it right now with funds provided from the EU to purchase weapons for Ukraine. The US is not fulfilling orders because they blew their load murdering innocent children in Iran.

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  • [–] 5 points 4 months ago

    Their power is fragile though. The EU has sanctioned big tech in the past and will do so again. Sure they could screw us over hard but that'd hurt their profits significantly more than complying and as slaves to their shareholders they will not do that.

    We shall not bow to tech twinks.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    You think Google is going to abandon the EU market over timely releases of their AOSP code and the ability to install apps from outside the playstore?

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  • [–] 7 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    No, I don't think so. I don't think they would ever abandon the EU market. I was thinking more along the lines of a "malicious compliance" approach, where they would make it more difficult for us to access certain services.

    Please note that I am not against fining and fighting Google and other big tech companies. Sorry if my comments make it seem like I am.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago

    sometimes you need to be stubborn and disallow all alternatives for better solutions to be developed. trying to use the big tech shit will inevitably always end in enshitification.

    grow some balls, say no and create alternatives if they don't budge. nothing else will work. and as soon as you have alternatives, everything will get easier

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  • [–] -3 points 4 months ago (3 children)

    You're so out-of-touch if you believe that the EU is against this.

    It's especially weird coming from an apparent German. You know all that rhetoric about how the internet is no "wild west". That means locking everything down. Only the properly licensed professionals are allowed to do stuff with properly regulated tools. That's how it goes in Germany.

    This stuff is what Google is supposed to do.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago* (2 children)

    This is a matter of anti-competitive behavior and market manipulation. And historically, the EU has always been against that (especially if it’s detrimental to them, of course).

    They’re in favor of regulation, but definitely not of individual companies handling it.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (1 child)

    No. That's not what these words mean.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago

    Anti-competitive practices are business or government practices that prevent or reduce competition in a market. Antitrust laws ensure businesses do not engage in competitive practices that harm other, usually smaller, businesses or consumers. These laws are formed to promote healthy competition within a free market by limiting the abuse of monopoly power.

    It’s exactly what these words mean.

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