I deactivated Google Play on my phone. The electricity company app was the first to be bricked. 'You must update.'
I wrote to them: ’I don’t have Google or Apple. Where else can I update the app?’ Nowhere else, they replied.
I wrote (politely) back: ’I can’t use your app any more then. It’s an odd requirement to make of your customers. A Norlys customer can only access all Norlys services if they are also a customer of one of two specific private for-profit US companies.’
I mentioned that there is a growing grassroots movement in Denmark to boycott the US and to switch away from BigTech. And that it therefore seems like an outdated strategy for them to say: 'If they want to use all our services, the Danish customers of our company here in Denmark must also be a customer of Google or Apple in the USA.'
To support my reference to a growing tendency to move away from Big Tech, I linked to the #DanmarkSkifter website.
42% of Danes want to try new alternatives to Big Tech. 68% would like to reduce their screen time. But far fewer act on it. Together, we can change that. What is Danmark Skifter? Danmark Skifter is a national campaign where thousands of Danes take back control of their digital
To my pleasant surprise, I got a nice and considered response. Paraphrased: They appreciated my feedback as a customer and user of their digital solutions. And they have passed my point about ’a growing focus on alternatives to profit-driven IT solutions’ further up the line internally so that the right department is aware of the trend and requests like mine from customers.
Fair play to Norlys for not just sending a standard or dismissive response.
I don’t think I would have got that response if I hadn’t been able to link to the DanmarkSkifter campaign site. That showed there really is a grassroots movement and that people are actually making the switch away from BigTech.
Tak and thank you to everyone at #DanmarkSkifter for giving us a way to talk about the need for change and the tools to actually make the changes.
I don't know if other countries have an equivalent to the 'Denmark Switches' campaign. I hope so. It's a great initiative.
@agturcz @CiaraNi @Gina there is https://www.appdwang.nl/ by @kevin.
At the same time, I haven't ran into a smartphone requirement myself yet in the Netherlands, either generally or blessed by Apple/Google. Such situation would create a problem as I would not have a suitable device.
Especially banks do appear notorious to try to push for this though.
@jschwart @agturcz @CiaraNi @Gina I've also never faced a smartphone requirement myself, but admittedly I do go out of my way to avoid getting into situations where that might happen, and I'm also perfectly willing to not do things if they would require those devices, just like I simply walk by any store that says "PIN only".
So I guess I'm not the best example case here. Banks are indeed the most problematic, although I do have accounts at four Dutch banks that don't require Android or iOS.
@CiaraNi I've always lived like this, so I never really had to change my ways. So yeah, I guess it's easy for me to say how easy it is.
And in the Netherlands the situation is relatively okay. Sure, there are some places I can't go and some things I can't do, but when I then hear stories about Sweden with their Mobile BankID for everything and many Swedes not even knowing what their physical currency looks like, that really makes me shiver..
Ciara
Agnieszka R. Turczyńska
Julius Schwartzenberg - Юліус
Kevin Keijzer
UkeleleEric