BenRiceMSep 6, 2024

I agree with some of @gruber’s points:
- browser ballot pages are likely confusing for many users; being informed of choice != being forced to make a choice
- the EU should more in conversation with Apple about what features are non-compliant

But it misses the forest for the trees:
Apple holds ungodly amount of power over many aspects of daily life. Banking, grocery shopping, dating, communication, art and culture are all mediated by our phones
https://mastodon.social/@daringfireball/113091446183508943

Show threadJohn GruberSep 6, 2024
@BenRiceM Putting aside the argument that those things are better under Apple's App Store control than they were before or would be without (at least banking, grocery shopping, and communication -- I can't speak to dating in recent decades), the DMA, thus far, has reduced absolutely none of Apple's control other than being able to play Fortnite on iOS devices in the EU again.
Show threadCasey LissSep 6, 2024
@gruber @BenRiceM Delta has entered the chat.
Show threadJohn GruberSep 7, 2024
@caseyliss @BenRiceM The DMA resulting in Apple reconsidering its policy on game emulators is a happy side effect, but the fact is we have Delta in the App Store now. And I think if you asked Vestager for 100 goals of the DMA, “game emulators in the App Store" wouldn't have made the list.
Show threadCasey LissSep 7, 2024

@gruber @BenRiceM Sure, but I _do_ think the goal is “ensure Apple’s customers more choice and stop Apple from standing in their way”.

If that's the ultimate goal — regardless of the _how_ — then I think the DMA is [marginally] successful so far.

Show threadJohn GruberSep 7, 2024

@caseyliss @BenRiceM What is the success so far other than giving access in the EU to a game that was fined $245M for swindling children out of in-app purchases?

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/03/ftc-finalizes-order-requiring-fortnite-maker-epic-games-pay-245-million-tricking-users-making

FTC Finalizes Order Requiring Fortnite maker Epic Games to Pay $245 Million for Tricking Users into Making Unwanted Charges

The Federal Trade Commission has finalized an order requiring Epic Games, the maker of the Fortnite video game, to pay $245 million to consumers to settle charges that the c

Federal Trade Commission
Show threadAlex

@gruber @caseyliss @BenRiceM is this the reason Apple took Fortnite off the App Store? Come on, let’s stop pretending that everything Apple does is right and holy.

While I don’t think the DMA has achieved what the politicians thought it would, it’s a good first step. It has to start somewhere, otherwise Apple will continue to turn the screws on both developers, and end users.

Sep 8, 2024 at 4:50amIceCubesApp
Show threadJohn GruberSep 8, 2024
@sennmood @caseyliss @BenRiceM Is it a good first step because you perceive its intentions as good, or because you perceive its effects thus far as good?
Show threadAlexSep 8, 2024

@gruber @caseyliss @BenRiceM I do perceive the intentions as good, yes. The effects, up to now, have been negligence, at best. However, part of that comes down to the way Apple chose to implement the DMA.

For example, why does iOS require a core technology fee, yet macOS (and any other OS, for that matter) does not? A lot of the value of iOS comes from the apps (see the Vision Pro, and its lack of), yet Apple chooses to very much ignore this fact. They are taking advantage of their power.

Show threadBlackSheepSep 8, 2024

@sennmood @gruber @caseyliss @BenRiceM “For example, why does iOS require a core technology fee, yet macOS (and any other OS, for that matter) does not?”

“The Core Technology Fee (CTF) is an element of the new business terms in the European Union (EU) that reflects the value Apple provides developers through ongoing investments in the tools, technologies, and services that enable them to build and share innovative apps with users.”

Show threadBlackSheepSep 8, 2024
@sennmood @gruber @caseyliss @BenRiceM And what kind of twisted logic is that because MacOS allows you to download and install 3rd party software freely so iOS should be exactly like that.