In this week's #Linux, #OpenSource and #Privacy News video, we have #Fedora#KDE proposing to drop X11 when Plasma 6 is out, a nasty vulnerability in #Android and its fingerprint reader implementation, #Meta receiving an enormous $1.3B fine from the EU, and Intel proposing a new x86 architecture that would drop bare metal support for 32 and 16 bit:
@oblomov@sparkit@atomicpoet@pfefferle Also Wordpress hasn't repeatedly broken privacy and transparency laws, worked with Cambridge Analytica to give them reams of data to influence elections in favor of authoritarians, contributed to genocide, lied about metrics, colluded with Google on the ad "duopoly" and made money by selling discriminatory ads.
So a lot more people are willing to give them (and Vivaldi, Mozilla, Medium, Flipboard, Fast.ly etc etc) the benefit of the doubt than #Meta
Look, it's not that I don't get the enthusiasm about #P92/#Barcelona —that's not the reason why I warn against federating with it <https://sociale.network/@oblomov/110397020867065165>. I do get it. There is something elating, validating, empowering even, when some{one,thing} Big & Famous (seems to) adopts “underdog” tech. I know because I've been there, both as a user and as a developer. But because of that, and for having been burned already not once, not twice, but three times at least, I know what to look out for.
The single most important thing to look out for is the difference between actually adopting a technology and “adopting” it. And this must be looked at not from the perspective of the user, but from that of the Big & Famous: how can they best use it to serve their own interest?
And here's the thing: #Meta/#Facebook has literally nothing to gain from actually adopting#ActvityPub, exactly as it had nothing to gain from #RSS or from #XMPP
Now if the #Fediverse had the resilience to plow through #Meta's attempt at torpedoing it with #P92/#Barcelona, or if Meta actually had good intentions regarding federation, the privacy angle would be something to think about (whatever decision is taken ultimately, I assume different instances will have different takes on the matter). But if the #EEE strategy works, privacy will be the least of our worries, as the #Fediverse will crumble back to “also ran” numbers.
“There's no guarantee that #P92/#Barcelona will succeed” —no my dear, it's pretty much guaranteed that even #Meta doesn't care if it succeeds, because that's not why it's being developed. This is a golden opportunity for them to take a sweep at all of the competition at once: they can give a finishing blow to #Twitter, trip #BlueSkyand siphon out all the energy fom #ActivitiyPub/the #Fediverse, all in one go!
This seems very important and worth ongoing study:
“Once again, results suggest a rise in diversity as the 10 biggest server contribution to the Fediverse is reduced by more than 10%. So, even if the biggest servers are accumulating more users, it seems that the Fediverse is becoming more decentralized.”
@tchambers Agreed that we don't know what if anything actually #Meta's going to do with #P92 (@J12t makes some great points) but it will be #SurveillanceCapitalism because that's who they are. And if the biggest instance in #Fediverse is a surveillance capitalism site, then the fediverse will likely (and justifiably) be seen as a surveillance capitalism network.
Wir brauchen echt schlagkräftige Gesetze und Verordnungen gegen das Verbreiten von FakeNews.
Die Kosten in Leben (Covid) und Geld (Werbekampagnen für Impfungen, Strom sparen, usw.) sind für unsere Volkswirtschaften immens.
Hohe Strafen wie diese Woche bei #Meta in #Irland sind m.E. der richtige Weg.--Dann kommt #Schwarzgeld und gemeinschaftschädliches Geld wieder der Bevölkerung zu Gute.
I was on Morning Ireland today, talking about some of the wider implications of the Meta €1.2bn fine and orders for data transfers, TikTok and EU data relations with Chinese and US companies, and the data supply chain for EU companies.
"Meta, which had previously warned that 👉services for its users in #Europe could be cut off👈, vowed to appeal and ask courts to immediately put the decision on hold.
/s: I am quite sure that #Meta's advertising clients will appreciate that 411 million users* will not benefit from their adverts, and they will most certainly not see any breach of contract either. /s
@Jigsaw_You@geopolitics In the end, good will doesn't suffice: #Meta must fulfill #EULaw to operate in The EU, that simple. Of Course Meta could lobby the US Congress to pass legislation consistent with that implemented in the EU, this issue is Meta's problem, not ours to resolve nor accommodate. Surprising the lack of functionality of, my otherwise beloved, #EUCommission on this issue: trusting international agreements to discretionary authority is a no-no.
@rolle@admin@sigmasternchen Meta has a history of tracking non-users. That is, even though i have never created a #Facebook acct, FB built a profile on me from FB pawns who naïvely invited me to the platform, along w/anything else Meta can collect on non-users. Federating w/ #Meta also grants a certain amount of implied consent to use & abuse the data. Defederating likely avoids that implied consent.
So while one key piece of the #Fediverse is that entire instances can be blocked as a form of moderation, and keeping things safe for people. I think it should be clearly stated to newcomers to any instance if entire platforms such as #Meta / #Tumblr / #Medium / #WordPress.com / #Bluesky (through a bridge) are being blocked.
If someone wants to have a federated identity and follow family/friends on Meta then they are SOL if an instance completely blocks the entire platform. #fediblock
@anthracite I'm also not arguing for anything other than transparency for the general public. You may not want anything to do with Facebook but that doesn't mean others don't. Additionally, wouldn't you want your instance admins to be clear that they are blocking Facebook so you can have the peace of mind in knowing you don't have to deal with content coming from their services? #Meta#FediBlockMeta
@anthracite so to be clear there is nothing technical standing in the way of any business from joining the #Fediverse. If you aren't aware of how the Fediverse and it's protocols work it is a completely open standard. Saying you don't want #Meta on the Fediverse is like saying you don't want them on the internet. It just doesn't work that way.
Gosh, the #fediverse is annoying enough with the influx of liberal tech bros, reply guys; and centrist bootlickers, let alone Karen and Creepy Uncle being able to find us here. FML #Meta#Barcelona
Hearing #Meta "complaining that the company has been “singled out when using the same legal mechanism as thousands of other companies looking to provide services in Europe”" sounds awfully like my children saying "but X was doing it too…".
… to which the answer is "Yes, and I'll deal with them shortly".
Give us a share and come join the chat! The show is GO! https://www.twitch.tv/somegadgetguy #SGGQA 300: Meta Fined $1 Billion, DoorDash Charges iPhone Users More, Adults Don't Use Twitter, Right to Repair in France
With #Meta#Barcelona joining the #Fediverse, I am wondering if they will adopt the time-based time lines, or if they will stick with algorithm-induced virality for posts?
Will this even work for "influencers" if they can't rely on the snowball effect of the algorithm?
#Meta was fined USD 1.3B and seems to think it doesn’t have to change how it does business. The EU and US are trying to figure out how #GDPR and the #PatriotAct can coexist peacefully—I think in vain. And EU companies use US services that are probably not compliant with GDPR to compete in the digital market.