This is the framing Apple wants to sell for their decision to withhold features from the EU, and blogs are parroting it.
In reality, Apple is purposefully withholding these features from the EU, either because Apple are being retaliatory against EU customers for the existence of the DMA, or because Apple (with full knowledge of the DMA for years) refused to build these features in compliance with it.
Apple chose to harm their products in the EU. The DMA didn't. This framing is marketing.
@stevestreza but we should have sympathy for this commission that tells us we are too stupid to choose for ourselves what we want?
Apple’s closed system has always been proven lightyears ahead when it comes down to privacy and security.
In the meanwhile in the EU we are still clicking “reject cookies” on every website whilst cookies are still being installed. 🙄
@SebastienK @stevestreza this is another lie you’ve been fed. There is no GDPR cookie banner law.
https://www.amazingcto.com/cookie-banners-are-not-needed/
https://www.bitecode.dev/p/there-is-no-eu-cookie-banner-law
Similarly, Apple’s promise of superior security is nonsense. Android zero days sell in black markets for similar prices, if not higher, *despite* being a more open platform. On Android, users can make informed choices in sacrificing security for freedom — the default platform is highly secure
@SebastienK @stevestreza The simple reality is that Apple has found touting privacy to be an effective marketing strategy, but their actions consistently demonstrate regard for nobody other than shareholders, as is their legal responsibility as a public company.
This is why government regulation is necessary.
This EU smear campaign is obviously a carefully crafted lie to this end, and Americans are buying it.
@SebastienK @stevestreza
> the only thing it cares about is protecting EU monopoly tech
It’s crazy to accuse the EU of wrongdoing because it doesn’t regulate monopolies *while* complaining that it is regulating monopolies. Your double standard is just as bad as the one you accuse the EU of.
Actually, it’s arguably worse, because if the EU is playing favorites as you say, well god forbid they protect the interests of… their own economy.
@SebastienK @stevestreza You deleted your replies, or blocked me, but ok, but I can provide sources to substantiate my nonsense:
https://www.crowdfense.com/exploit-acquisition-program/
https://boehs.org/node/private-apis
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1039938
https://archive.is/wW8AD
Apple refused to support RCS, a protocol that unarguably allows more privacy to users than SMS, but would challenge their monopoly
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/05/why-your-wi-fi-router-doubles-as-an-apple-airtag/
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/technology/apple-china-censorship-data.html
It goes on and on. Do *you* have evidence?
@SMillerNL @SebastienK @stevestreza you missed the "than SMS" in the message. RCS is more private than SMS. On a basic spec level, the security improvements of SMS are marginal over SMS (though non-zero), granted, but RCS also has the capacity to be extended for E2E.
Also, I wasn't trying to assert that Apple is somehow more evil than google, just that they aren't the good guys in any sense of the word, despite people tending to be much softer towards them (imo this makes them dangerous tbh).
@SMillerNL @SebastienK @stevestreza some more nuanced thoughts:
"but iMessage was explicitly not regulated by the EU"
imo, converse to Gruber's opinion, the reversal was an unexpected win for apple, after they had already announced RCS they decided they couldn't walk back. Also, imo it helped china apply more pressure asw, but the real hesitancy was always in US markets where iMessage *is* a monopoly, and where RCS support hurts said monopoly
2/3
@SMillerNL @SebastienK @stevestreza in regards to the "credit to apple" point, I'm hesitant give them a cookie.
To the extent we are aware of, Google is the likely the worser privacy (*not* security) evil. Still, there's a lot that we *don't* know. They make it immensely difficult to monitor any part of the network stack (e.g. some apple connections bypass VPNs). On android, for many reasons, its much easier to audit, and hence trust we get the real picture.
https://protonvpn.com/blog/apple-ios-vulnerability-disclosure/
Steve Streza
Sebastien 🌍 🇵🇸🇺🇦 
Evan B🥥ehs
SMillerNL