Comment on Keep Android Open (Stop Google from limiting APK file usage)
placebo@lemmy.zip 2 days agoPublic pressure can be effective, but this isn’t public pressure. This is the “click a button if you agree” type of action. Online petitions are extremely ineffective unless they’re part of a broader, stronger campaign. This petition isn’t part of anything in particular.
From what I see, some student started it and there are no goals, and no planned actions. According to change.org, this petition mentioned in a medium.com blog and some tech website most of us have never heard of. That’s not much.
It’s just a place to vent your frustration.
it’s definitely better than doing nothing at all
It makes one feel better because it gives people a false sense of accomplishment.
Look, vote if you want, I just think this is off-topic and isn’t directly relevant to self-hosting. Hence the comment.
AmbitiousProcess@piefed.social 2 days ago
The petition is only one part of the puzzle.
Keep Android Open also says to contact your regulators and fill out Google’s developer verification survey, both of which either directly affect Google by influencing internal processes, or put regulatory pressure on them to back off.
The Change.org petition is moreso just a way to count overall total supporters, and add one more lever of pressure that can be leveled against them. (e.g. instead of “we’ve had a lot of people contact regulators” it’s “218,000 people are actively taking the time to tell you they don’t like this”, can be cited by lawmakers, advocacy groups, etc)
That said though, I do agree that a change.org petition on its own is… generally ineffective most of the time.