Contrary to headlines suggesting the EU has “backed away” from Chat Control, the negotiating mandate endorsed today by EU ambassadors in a close split vote paves the way for a permanent infrastructure of mass surveillance.
While the Council removed the obligation for scanning, the agreed text creates a toxic legal framework that incentivizes US tech giants to scan private communications indiscriminately, introduces mandatory age checks for all internet users, and threatens to exclude teenagers from digital life.
The article is non-paywalled, freely readable on the link --^
Including it here because Chat Control goes against the spirit of Open-Source technologies (which are usually meant and built for control over one’s device, privacy, trust… and no black boxes analyzing the content of messages you’re sending to your partner).
I feel like the biggest issue is the lack of 3rd party app stores or the need to “sideload” as opposed to just fucking installing an application like any normal computer
Whats the difference between sideloading and installing? I don’t get it tbh.
On windows for example, it is the norm to go online to a website, download an exe and double click it - instead of going to the microsoft store. And both are ways to install software. Neither way is doing it sideways.
But also
There could be a store that installs software from github (there already is) and additionally tells you “hey this app you have got forked and the fork has more development happening, do you want to switch to that one and migrate all your settings? y/n”
I think the term was originally coined for installing apps on jailbroken iphones, but every company with its own app store has since adopted it because it makes it sound shady.
There shouldnt be a difference but there is. Most iPhones require sideloading to get non-Apple App store apps.
The issue is for most people, if the government fucks around and gets Signal banned, Apple is their enforcer all the while harping about security and standards and other nonsense. Its horseshit because the lack of encrypted messengers like Signal makes people sitting ducks for surveillance and prosecution from a corrupt governement and Apple enforces their violent monopoly on deciding if the people using its products have safe access to quality, encrypted appz
you can use threema or wire or something else will become available on the appstore
Good luck to find people to use this apps.
You know, the network effect etc… 😔
But wait, the same EU is asking for interoperability to fight the network effect !! Maybe there is a light !
I dont think they necesswrily have the best intentions for interoperabillity.
Why wouldnt they do the same to Threema and Matrix/Elements/etc
The same stuff would likely apply to Threema, any chat app that publicly is known for e2ee and refuses to backdoor it will be fair game