I’m not sure who’s to blame in the #EU for giving up to the lobbying efforts of #Apple and #Microsoft (I can’t think of anything short of public official corruption behind the last minute reversal of the #DMA definition of “gatekeeper” for the two most valuable companies in the world), but these are some consequences of this decision:
If Apple isn’t labelled as a gatekeeper when it comes to #iMessage (an app used by 1.3B people), then they won’t have to comply and open up their walled garden to 3rd-party clients, while, for example, Messenger and WhatsApp will have to.
If Microsoft isn’t labelled as a gatekeeper when it comes to #Edge (a piece of software installed as the default browser on an OS used by at least 1.5B people), then they’ll be free to keep rewriting https:// URLs as microsoft-edge:https:// just for the sake of intercepting everything and breaking compatibility, they’ll no longer have to provide browser selection pop-ups on fresh Windows installations, and they can keep opening all the web views and PWA on Windows devices in their own browser without providing alternatives - while, for example, Chrome and Safari will have to comply.
Shame on the EU for bending to them. Shame on these companies. Shame on their filthy lobbying efforts. Shame on everybody who uses their products.
The DMA and the “gatekeeper” definition was supposed to be the proof that these companies are now run by responsible adults. Being a “gatekeeper” is the acknowledgment that you are running platforms used by billions, and with great power comes great responsibility - towards society, towards the rules of the open market, towards your own competitors.
My employer might be included on the list soon as well, and I’m more than happy to comply. Large tech companies like ours have enjoyed lavish profits and outrageous market shares and ignored anti-competition laws for too long: now it’s time to prove that we’re all grown ups who want to play by the rules.
Instead, Apple and Microsoft have unleashed their overpaid legal counsels and lobbying crews, who have engaged in a pathetic dance to gaslight Brussels officials, and force them to say that one of the largest messaging platforms and one of the most used browser in the world, run by the two companies with the highest evaluation in the world, for some reason are not expected to play by the rules written for everyone else.
Shame on them, and shame on the childish selfish sociopaths who run them.
@fabio
"Following a thorough assessment of all arguments, taking into account input by relevant stakeholders, and after hearing the Digital Markets Advisory Committee, the Commission found that iMessage, Bing, Edge and Microsoft Advertising do not qualify as gatekeeper services."
The last I’ll say on Beeper/Apple/iMessage debacle:
I think it’s within Beeper’s right to attempt at reverse engineering iMessage, but not Apple’s responsibility to be forced or even expected to host Beeper customers. It’s clear Apple doesn’t want to and I don’t blame them. If this ever went to court, Apple would obliterate Beeper—even if they switched lawyers. It’s not Beeper’s right to push the burden and expense of hosting on Apple.
@richmurrills@snazzyq even then I'd not call anything #open unless people have full custody of ALL keys (!) and can #SelfHost the entire #backend as well as choose from a variety of #clients and build their own.
I know #WhatsApp is popular amongst Americans 🇺🇸 who travel outside of the country, but I doubt #Meta will replace #iMessage in the #UnitedStates 🇺🇸 in the near future.
#Apple has already lost to #Facebook Messenger in #America 🇺🇸, so in a sense @zuck has already won.
@darnell@zuck as a foreigner I don’t get #iMessage popularity in the US. The clients are total crap, a lot of features are lacking, the UI is not very nice, it's a hassle to set up if you change sim cards, activating requires SMS (which have roaming fees if abroad), they lock out any non-Apple user (which is a significant portion of the world), etc. (1/2)
I haven’t acrually had one of these, and it made an amusing read. Many people expect packages and unthinkingly might respond. EVRI are a delivery company in the U.K. (I verified that), but the url is not correct even though it starts with EVRI.
I’m not sure whether this is just a data gathering exercise or whether I will have to validate it with card details, and I won’t bother having a look. Some will….
Looks like iMessage won't be forced to integrate with third-parties in the EU but they'll still need to bring #RCS. Frankly I think its a great compromise.
#CyberSecurity#iPhones#Apple#iMessage: "Today, on December 27, 2023, we (Boris Larin, Leonid Bezvershenko, and Georgy Kucherin) delivered a presentation, titled, “Operation Triangulation: What You Get When Attack iPhones of Researchers”, at the 37th Chaos Communication Congress (37C3), held at Congress Center Hamburg. The presentation summarized the results of our long-term research into Operation Triangulation, conducted with our colleagues, Igor Kuznetsov, Valentin Pashkov, and Mikhail Vinogradov.
This presentation was also the first time we had publicly disclosed the details of all exploits and vulnerabilities that were used in the attack. We discover and analyze new exploits and attacks using these on a daily basis, and we have discovered and reported more than thirty in-the-wild zero-days in Adobe, Apple, Google, and Microsoft products, but this is definitely the most sophisticated attack chain we have ever seen."
If this gets released, it should work on #iOS too otherwise it's pointless. I'm tired of hearing #Apple users complaining about their struggles to share files (mostly images) to #Android users - which often requires #Telegram cos I guess you could send pics uncompressed there (easily).
I respect the EU tryna open up #iMessage or whatever but can they tackle #AirDrop first since #Google's efforts to implement this has either been non-existent or shitty af. All I know is there should be an easy way for devices regardless of platforms to share files wirelessly, reliably.
Beeper users say Apple is now blocking their Macs from using iMessage entirely. This is likely the final nail in the coffin for what Beeper has been trying to accomplish.
Recently I was adjusting my son’s parental control on his tablet, and thought ya know I guess I really should just allow my iCloud.com email (that I don’t really use) to make me more findable for messsages and FaceTime.
Not even 47 hours later I r had four scams texted to me and randomly added to some crazy group. Uh no. We’l just leave that stupid thing turned off now. Yikes.
Messengerservice der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung @bpb]:
„Deine tägliche Dosis Politik – Infokanal für Messenger“
Kurze Erklärtexte jeden Morgen (Montag bis Freitag) zu Begriffen aus Politik und Geschichte, Hinweise auf bpb-Angebote und Hintergrundinfos zu aktuellen Themen und Debatten.
Wie es sich gehört, finden sich auf der Internetseite auch die vorherigen Infos, so daß sich ein guter Eindruck über die kompakten Infos gewinnen lässt.
Things like #Apple removing #PWA support and artificially slowing down the speed of their USB-C port, as well as the fact that they are stuck on SMS, an insecure, old technology just to keep people use #iMessage and an iPhones is the reason I eventually switched over to #Android after using an #iPhone for 5-6 years
Their forcing of users to use their stuff instead of adapting standard technologies annoyed the hell out of me.