Google's new developer mandate is hitting alternative app stores hard. F-Droid says forced registration, fees, and ID checks could end the open-source project.
Hopefully they go to court to get an injunction. Hopefully, they also go to the powers that be in the EU, those same powers have been so focused on the Apple App Store they failed to take into account Google can do something like this with the Play Store. It would be a shame for the F-Droid project to end but it is completely avoidable.
To be fair, up until recently, there was no clear indication that Google would do this. Google made it so that installing non-play store apps was slightly more difficult, Apple made it pretty much impossible. So Apple was a pretty logical target at that point (and honestly, up until then, they had pretty much gotten a free ride - think of the default browser issue in Windows, no one every bothered with Apple).
Complaining tells yhe company this isn’t popular. Complaining while talking about alternatives is helping others towards doing something, and giving the idea that it will be a net negativeove for their hegemony,even if you don’t do shit.
Hopefully they go to court to get an injunction. Hopefully, they also go to the powers that be in the EU, those same powers have been so focused on the Apple App Store they failed to take into account Google can do something like this with the Play Store. It would be a shame for the F-Droid project to end but it is completely avoidable.
To be fair, up until recently, there was no clear indication that Google would do this. Google made it so that installing non-play store apps was slightly more difficult, Apple made it pretty much impossible. So Apple was a pretty logical target at that point (and honestly, up until then, they had pretty much gotten a free ride - think of the default browser issue in Windows, no one every bothered with Apple).
What we can do is complain. Loudly.
Degoogle where possible. Fuck these assholes.
And i guess prepare.
We can also do that.
Complain without doing something is worse than doing something like the other person suggested, though.
Complaining tells yhe company this isn’t popular. Complaining while talking about alternatives is helping others towards doing something, and giving the idea that it will be a net negativeove for their hegemony,even if you don’t do shit.