Gina2d ago

🚨 Say that I were to give a talk to EU policy makers and OSS communities at a very big conference tomorrow..

and that I want to spend half of my talk on how Google is locking down #Android through:
1. Device attestation
2. Developer registration
3. Age/identity verification

What should I absolutely include? 👀

Input is welcome, sorry for the short notice. Plain language + realistic calls to action pls.

@fdroidorg @GrapheneOS @postmarketOS @Fairphone @appfair @fsfe @murena @volla @IzzyOnDroid

Show threadGina2d ago

Boosting and tagging is appreciated, DM's are welcome too.

I really want to get this right, so please only use verified information. And yes, I'll be mentioning https://keepandroidopen.org/ extensively.

(And yes I will also mention Apple and the role of the DMA, but only briefly. More info: https://mastodon.social/@kirschner/116440678455335985)

Keep Android Open

Your phone is about to stop being yours. In September 2026, Google will block every Android app whose developer hasn't registered with them.

Show threadGina2d ago

I'll start with the #opensource strategy and EU tech sovereignty package, and good things happening and alternatives being build etc.

Then mention how the mobile ecosystem is one of the last frontiers left critically assessed.

I'll share how Google is closing down Android (input welcome!). 

And that we need to promote, fund, regulate and perhaps even build open (EU) alternatives in the mobile ecosystem if we don't want to increasingly become captured by 2 US big tech companies.

Show threadJan Lehnardt 2d ago
@Gina I would appreciate the not-everything-needs-an-app angle and focussing more on the web as a true open platform. Good luck with it all 🫶🙌🤞
Show threadGina2d ago
@janl I really like apps though. They just need to be open source and not reliant on Google's Play Integrity API.
Show threadElse, Someone
@Gina
They are too general-computey though, ie they're an extra attack surface and also will include a bunch of unnecessary telemetry stuff, while also failing to implement proper offline functioning, like the HSL app which discards the bus schedule on suspend and won't recover it without internet connection.. All because the API allows requesting stuff from the Cloud in the first place
@janl
Jun 7 at 10:16amWeb
Show threadDavid Ginn2d ago
@nobody @Gina @janl As someone who lives in the "countryside" with terrible mobile coverage I'm constantly shocked by how many apps need constant connection to the mobile network to function. I can only assume it is because their stated function is second to telemetry. When I'm out and about, 3/4 of my phone's functions are unusable without coverage.
Show threadDavid Ginn2d ago
@nobody @Gina @janl Just for clarification, "countryside" in my case is 10 miles from Oxford, and it's a flat area. I have no explanation for why it's so terrible. I have a lot of theories but no concrete proof.