Digital Markets Act aims to allow more competition and let consumers delete preloaded phone apps

Haven’t seen any posts about this and it’s a pretty big thing. From DMA website:

Examples of the “do’s”: gatekeepers will for example have to:

  • allow third parties to inter-operate with the gatekeeper’s own services in certain specific situations;
  • provide companies advertising on their platform with the tools and information necessary for advertisers and publishers to carry out their own independent verification of their advertisements hosted by the gatekeeper;
  • allow their business users to promote their offer and conclude contracts with their customers outside the gatekeeper’s platform.

Example of the “don’ts”: gatekeepers will for example no longer:

  • treat services and products offered by the gatekeeper itself more favourably in ranking than similar services or products offered by third parties on the gatekeeper’s platform;
  • prevent users from un-installing any pre-installed software or app if they wish so;
  • track end users outside of the gatekeepers’ core platform service for the purpose of targeted advertising, without effective consent having been granted.

We’ll see how this plays out but this is first move in a very long time that could open up platform like WhatsApp to 3rd party clients and force Google and Apple to open their mobile OSes to other apps. Maybe we’ll see stock Android without play services? One can dream…

P.S. https://digital-markets-act-cases.ec.europa.eu - page about the legislation

  • NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world
    631·
    10 months ago

    Sounds too good to be true. Why is the EU so concerned about privacy when most individual countries dont care.

    • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      31·
      10 months ago

      Because they can use the EU to set these standards more broadly?

      Why write laws for your country specifically when the governing body a step higher is known to already be working on something very similar?

    • CAPSLOCKFTW@feddit.de
      25·
      10 months ago

      Individual countries do care. Germany has pretty comprehensive privacy laws already. And it is not only about privacy, it is also about power and regulation.

      • PinkPanther@sh.itjust.works
        2·
        10 months ago

        Dashcams are illegal in Germany (no idea how Teslas are allowed, though), and so is Google Street View! Don’t fuck with the German government when it comes to privacy.

      • NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world
        5·
        10 months ago

        Not really a question, more of a statement. The U.S., China, even UK, and probably more have incredibly poor privacy laws, and keep aiming to strip even more privacy away. I’m just curious whats different about the EU that makes them do something actually good for people.

        • abrasiveteapot@sh.itjust.works
          2·
          10 months ago

          As no seems to have answered this, the EU’s political structure is more resistant to the anti-consumer desires of large corporates, particularly as the ones impacted aren’t European.

          Culturally the EU is diverse but broadly there is a lot more interest in / support for nurturing the common good (as opposed to beggar thy neighbour policies of the GOP). In particular pro-consumer policies are popular and get politicians re-elected, which segues to the next difference

          The EU is less influenced (not zero, less) by political donations from large corporates than the US. Very little of the priorities of the average person makes it into law in the US, a slightly larger sliver gets through in the EU.

        • QuazarOmega@lemy.lol
          2·
          10 months ago

          Sometimes things are done out of the goodness of people’s hearts, which makes sense when policies are brought up by some individuals, but also opposed by others. Ultimately they usually land, maybe for the lesser power the big tech corporations hold over the EU, but also for an egoistical desire to safeguard one’s own privacy that everyone has to some extent, especially people in power

    • ExLisper@linux.communityOPEnglish
      418·
      10 months ago

      Because all those Tech Giants are American or Chinese. EU is lagging behind US on innovation so now they want to make Tech Giants jobs more difficult in hopes that this will create some openings for EU tech firms. They don’t really care about you’re privacy that much, they just want it make more difficult for Google and Facebook to siphon money out of EU. It’s still great for us, don’t get me wrong.