KDE supports the "Keep Android Open" campaign
#Google will cut off independent developers to #Android if they do not register with Google first. This will kill independent platforms like @fdroidorg and severely impede FLOSS devs from creating apps for Android.
Many KDE apps are deployed for Android: KDE Connect, Itinerary, Tokodon, and there's even a test version of Krita for Android.
KDE calls on Google to reverse course and @keepandroidopen.
Spread this post and, if you are the maintainer of a software project with versions for Android, please join us and sign the open letter:
It costs a missed opportunity to give more appropriate advice: stay away from google and use more private community forks of android that if I understand correctly will not be affected by googles papers please app ecosystem.
A strategy focusing on begging tech giants to not do the will of capital is basically lying to the public that there is a chance this can work.
In theory yes the open letter is a nice thing to have regardless of how google reacts because then we have something to point to how google is ignoring public opinion - but it needs to be presented with heavy caveats and we need to focus on getting average people out of googles grip so they don't hold this much power over us
@ambiguous_yelp @kde Fair point.
However, if we insist on using Android (forks), we're still impacted by Google's decisions. Sooner or later, these forks will be less and less of a valid option (cf. how google's changes to the Pixel 10 series were a pain for the Grapheneos team).
Even if this letter fails, we shouldn't simply stick our heads in sand and look away from these issues. As you mentioned, raising public awareness is critical. So is fighting against their control.
I expect hardware to become more locked down, this is what states and capital want. The best solution to that continues to be open source hardware and modular devices.
I believe this because open source hardware and modular devices create power at a grassroots level and invites tighter crackdowns from governments - but there is a political limit to how oppressive a regime can be and the more power we build for ourselves the more expensive it will be for them to stop us using unapproved apps which slows the whole oppressive system down
@GopherPete "Permacomputing", now that's a concept I've never heard of before.
Sounds particularly interesting!
Edit: Also while at it @frameworkcomputer @pine64 @pine64eu
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