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  > This should be illegal that the government forces people into apps controlled by private, commercial entities. I call such a government corrupt.
Or how about schools requiring parents to use WhatsApp to receive updates and information? Luckily my ex forwards to me the important stuff, but not everyone is as lucky to have an ex like mine ))
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If the government (or school) is going to require us to have a smartphone in order to access critical government information, then we should demand that the government provide us with a compatible smartphone.
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Would you use that phone?
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Forget exes—-how about current partners! I predict with high confidence that my wife’s response to such a request would be “grow up and install WhatsApp already.”
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Mine would be the exact opposite. She'd walk into the school district office and read them the riot act for being so stupid.
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To which one might reply "I can not unread those terms of service to which I do not consent".

Oh, wait, I think I've just figured out why I'm divorced.

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I switched bank in the UK due to enforced app use, from Starling to Nationwide. They use a card reader to issue codes, so I can still use the web. I see this as a much of a must-have as physical bank branches with real cashier services.
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Might be able to file a complaint with the financial services that they're charging you hidden fees to access and manage your money.. (the requirement of having a working mobile, phone, service, etc)
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But Starling has always been app only?
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Especially in Europe! They shouldn't be forcing you to run an OS from an American company.
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Even the EU initiative Wero requires Google or Apple. You can't even use it on a desktop pc and you're not even allowed to have developer options on. Ridiculous. I've never seen any app that is so strict.
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That's not exactly right, Wero the app is not Wero the payment system. Banks and payment processors are expected to integrate Wero the same way they do with iDeal and similar systems. So ultimately if your bank's app doesn't require attestation you will be able to use Wero through it.
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Weird, because Wero is an internationalization of the dutch iDeal and that worked fine without any apps. You clicked ‘continue to bank’, select your bank, and then login on the bank web portal.
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American here who values individual liberties greatly. I know things are politically tense at the moment, but I’m not sure I understand this popular contemporary sentiment.

I’ve always believed governments and companies should be regarded with fairly low trust, and the behavior of big tech companies and some recent government actions are great examples why.

But what disappoints me a bit about this moment is (the perhaps inevitable?) response to nationalism with more nationalism.

Just as I didn’t seek to punish the EU over authoritarianism in Hungary and Poland, I feel the current moment has many responding to the symptoms instead of the sources of the problems. This is not a defense of policies I believe concern you, it’s a question of priorities.

I think the author of the article got it right. Because in addition to privacy, I believe one should be able to navigate the internet freely without a mandate to do business with monopolistic dominant companies, which includes rights like ownership of your data.

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I don't think this is about the current situation in the US.

Big US tech companies are infamous for not following the EU's data protection rules, and they wouldn't even able to, because some US regulations (I think PRISM, FISA and others) are incompatible with the requirements of EU GDPR. This dates back at lest to Snowden leaks and the invalidation of EU-US data protection agreements by Schrems judgments.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Schrems#Complaints_with_th...

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> But what disappoints me a bit about this moment is (the perhaps inevitable?) response to nationalism with more nationalism.

Unfortunately it is now a question of sovereignty and basic risk management, not nationalism ([0] and multiple other sources).

[0]: https://mspoweruser.com/europe-calls-out-us-tech-after-micro...

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My bank still supports TAN codes with a device too. Unfortunately, once it breaks or the battery goes dead you cannot get a new one and have to use their app. Fortunately, their app works on GrapheneOS without issues.
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As long as it includes websites made by commercial entities. Only standardized API endpoints!
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The DSA European digital wallet spec currently requires Google or Apple attestation, so not for much longer.

And that is mandated by the EU.

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Sigh.
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Reputational awareness is what keeps people safe!
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[flagged]
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