Mastodawn

Serhiy Makarenko Apr 24, 2025

@rileytestut An attempt to regulate something without the ability to create any pressure except fines is always a bad approach, which will barely provide the desirable results.

The problem with the EU market is that they don’t have a competitive homemade solution for smartphones, mobile, and desktop operating systems. So, Apple feels no pressure at all.

Good examples are the Chinese or Japanese markets. Strong competition from home companies and Apple comply with all requirements voluntarily.

Ankkuli Apr 25, 2025

@SerhiyMakarenko what competitive operating systems Japan has?

@ankkuli They have no home-made operating system like iOS or Android, but home vendors make smartphones with all necessary software for local mobile operators for decades, so competition is pretty strong.

@SerhiyMakarenko
@SerhiyMakarenko @ankkuli

https://gs.statcounter.com/vendor-market-share/mobile/japan

Mobile Vendor Market Share Japan | Statcounter Global Stats

This graph shows the market share of mobile vendors in Japan based on over 5 billion monthly page views.

StatCounter Global Stats

@2happy1sad @ankkuli Good catch. Will see how the market share will impact compliance with the Act on Promotion of Competition for Specified Smartphone Software. Still, China’s example is proving that competition does the job better.

@SerhiyMakarenko @ankkuli You mean communist China where the government can dictate market shares? I agree that that’s a pretty good comparison to the EU fines ;)

@2happy1sad @ankkuli I’m not comparing governments. I’m comparing how the government is fostering innovations and growing a competitive market inside the country to resist external threats. Yes, you are right, China’s government is bad. But for some reasons, the EU, surprisingly good in democracy, science, and technology, failed to fulfill the gap in the smartphone market and is now trying to regulate something without the ability to enforce the regulations except by issuing fines.

@2happy1sad @ankkuli And China is not "dictating" market shares. The USSR did, and this is one of many reasons it failed. China successfully adopted Western economic practices, and now they have a capitalistic market with a communistic flavor. This model is far away from being perfect, but it is definitely better than the USSR has. And it’s working to make necessary pressure on Apple to comply with law requirements in China.

@SerhiyMakarenko @ankkuli Of course it does. Just look at the movie industry for example, China changes how and if foreign films are allowed in the country all the time, depending on foreign relations, economy and national politics.

@2happy1sad @ankkuli This can be possible in the movie industry because it heavily relates to propaganda. However, I’m not 100% sure because I have a very basic understanding of how this industry works in China. I see no signs of the government regulation of the market shares in the smartphone market. Home vendors are dominating in China just because their models are cheaper and outperform iPhones in the specs. Probably, also because they have better integration with popular Chinese services.

@SerhiyMakarenko @ankkuli There are *tons* of state regulation to the markets in China.

@2happy1sad @ankkuli I’m not saying regulations do not exist on the Chinese markets. I’m saying that the desire to outperform competitors and generate more revenue forces Apple to comply with these regulations. In the EU, people will buy Apple or Google products no matter what, because there are no home competitors, only Korean or Chinese vendors. This will be an endless legal battle, and at the end, this fine will be paid by EU citizens because Apple hikes prices to cover this fine. That’s it.

@2happy1sad @ankkuli The same situation is in the EU not only with the smartphone market. Basically, with everything else: social networks (X, Meta, Bluesky), public clouds (AWS, GCP, Azure), all major OS originating from the US. I’m still wondering why the EU is not considering this as a security threat. And there is no way to solve this problem with regulations and fines.

Mathias af Jochnick Apr 26, 2025

@SerhiyMakarenko @ankkuli Agree with you on the bigger picture re. security and social networks. And yes, hard to solve with fees. It’s a sh*tshow if you ask me.