Why for only 3 years? Why not make these changes permanent?
Court Orders Google (a Monopolist) To Knock It Off With the Monopoly Stuff.
Submitted 6 months ago by Dot@feddit.org to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/10/court-orders-google-monopolist-knock-it-monopoly-stuff
Comments
laxe@lemmy.world 6 months ago
FuryMaker@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Guess their thinking is that Google may not be a monopoly in 3 years, so the rules might not need to apply at that point, or they be reviewed?
stupidcasey@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Why can’t these rules apply to everyone always?
lemmeBe@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
Yeah, makes no sense - could it be that the poster isn’t native speaker and actually meant: “in the next three years”, implying that the criteria must be met within that timeframe…
chuckleslord@lemmy.world 6 months ago
… why are you boldly speculating on OP’s language status? That’s pulled directly from the article
Aeri@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I hope they included barring them from using scare tactics to try to coerce you to sticking with just google play “TURN ON GOOGLE PLAY PROTECT NOW”
mrvictory1@lemmy.world 6 months ago
turns off google play services
gets spammed by 976688286 apps begging for google play immediately
btaf45@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I like all of this stuff. But Apple needs to do all this even more than google.
Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 6 months ago
That’s exactly what I was thinking. I’m baffled as to how Apple won their version of this lawsuit when their system is arguably more of a monopoly than Google’s, since there were still ways to use 3rd party app stores on Android but not in Apple’s ecosystem.
Does it just come down to how connected Apple’s lawyers were vs Google’s? How about an investigation of all involved, assuming things don’t go to complete shit over the next few months?
pup_atlas@pawb.social 6 months ago
The answer to this question is quite simple, because Google (excluding the Pixel line) isn’t making the actual phones, just the software. The actual manufacturers (Samsung, Motorola, Huawei, etc) are taking Google’s OS and putting it on their phones. This case mostly hinges on Googles behavior being monopolistic to them, not to the end consumer.
On the other hand, Apple make both the OS and the Hardware, there’s no manufacturer they’re forcing the app store on, so the same rules don’t apply here.
msage@programming.dev 6 months ago
Or what?
ogmios@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
Or they’ll be fined 0.005% of their revenue for the quarter.
Vertelleus@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
Sounds like the cost of doing business.
BigTrout75@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Just curious, does Apple allow all those 3rd party options? Not saying anything just wondering.
drake@lemmy.sdf.org 6 months ago
I believe that Apple has been given the same or similar, set of requirements from the EU, tried to soft-ball it by doing some bare minimum shit that the EU didn’t consider good enough, and is back in court over it.
HK65@sopuli.xyz 6 months ago
Yeah but they only do that in the EU, they still offer a degraded service everywhere else.
Blackmist@feddit.uk 6 months ago
Or Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft on consoles.
TriflingToad@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Allow apps to use any payment processor, not just Google’s 30 percent money-printing machine;
This is a big one. Google taxes 30% off all payments on apps from the play store and now they have to lower it to compete or lose customers.
TriflingToad@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I know people here are gonna say it’s not enough and while I agree, I still want to celebrate that a positive change has been made at all. Especially at a time where side loading is starting to be cracked down on.
Ahardyfellow@lemmynsfw.com 6 months ago
We need another bell lab
fl42v@lemmy.ml 6 months ago
I don’t really understand the 1st requirement…
allow 3rd-party app stores
So, apparently f-droid/aurora/etc are not allowed or something?
let stores distribute the same stuff gplay does
As in “give 'em a way to pull stuff from gplay and not punish for letting ppl download it”? Mb useful, but the lack of specificity may defend the purpose. Like currently, AFAIK, nobody really prevents ppl from publishing both on gplay and f-droid, for example
The rest lgtm
Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 months ago
Probably because of this?
Distribute third-party app stores as apps, so users can switch app stores by downloading a new one from Google Play, in just the same way as they’d install any app; Allow apps to use any payment processor,
madis@lemm.ee 6 months ago
I don’t understand the second one “Distribute third-party app stores as apps, so users can switch app stores by downloading a new one from Google Play, in just the same way as they’d install any app”.
In real life you don’t see big supermarkets spread their flyers in competitors’ stores, how does that make sense digitally?
sjpwarren@lemmy.world 6 months ago
It’s a bit like how you use Edge to install Firefox
Starbuncle@lemmy.ca 6 months ago
Google made the Play Store the primary (and only, for most people) way to install apps on Android.
madis@lemm.ee 6 months ago
But sideloading and OEM stores (Samsung, Huawei) have been available for years?
RecluseRamble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 months ago
Well, to make your metaphor more fitting, the whole town would have to be owned by your supermarket chain and they chose to put the town hall into one of their stores.
Now the court forces them to hand out build permits also for competing supermarkets.
kayazere@feddit.nl 6 months ago
Allow third-party app stores for Android, and let those app stores distribute all the same apps as are available in Google Play (app developers can opt out of this);
Developers should definitely be able to pick with AppStores their apps are distributed in. This seems strange they can’t opt out.
Pretty sure Fdroid doesn’t want PlayStore spyware apps.
Jrockwar@feddit.uk 6 months ago
I’m not sure I’m following, it says developers can opt out!
kayazere@feddit.nl 6 months ago
Whoops, I thought it said “not opt out”. Too early in the day apparently 😅
SeattleRain@lemmy.world 6 months ago
IT job market about to get a lot better for applicants.
ThePantser@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Ok now do Apple.
Google has always been the OS that allows users to get their apps anywhere. Apple has not.
Also could we throw in something that allows me to remove all Google apps from a stock OS instead of just disabling?
TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 6 months ago
iOS is certainly far more locked down than Android.
But thats not really what courts are looking at with the Google stuff going on recently.
The courts take issue with Google strong-arming OEMs to do what Google says. Forcing them to include Google services, Google tracking, not to have other stores as default, etc. under threat of not allowing Google Apps, Play Store, or Play Services/notifications to work - something that is effectively a requirement if you want to sell your devices.
Apple isn’t doing that. Apple isn’t forcing OEMs to push Apple services and telemetry, because they own their own hardware business. Apple isn’t forcing Samsung/OnePlus/Sony/etc to do their bidding. Google is.
I firmly believe Apple should be made to open up their devices, but it cannot be done under current US law (unlike with Google, who is unquestionably abusive their dominant market position by strong-arming OEMs). Forcing Apple to open up would require something like a US equivalent to the EU’s recent Digital Markets Act.
Cethin@lemmy.zip 6 months ago
IIRC they are doing things like requiring payments to go through them, and all kinds of other monopolistic stuff. Yeah, they aren’t doing all the same things, but they’re doing a lot of it, and it’s more restricted by default so it’s even more pervasive.
drmoose@lemmy.world 6 months ago
The way Apple gets away with stuff makes me feel very conspiratorial. Like, how?
How is Apple getting a pass every time and my tin foil hat would say that they are protected by the US government. Maybe because it’s just an important corporation for the US economy but maybe it’s an important corporation for US spying too.
unautrenom@jlai.lu 6 months ago
Well, I have some good news for you!