Not to mention fines create bad incentive for the government. Specially if control of fine money is given to the same people who are fining the companies.
I'd love to see more competition in the OS space. I feel that a big reason there isn't more competition is the gatekeeping of drivers by hardware vendors and the locking of bootloaders.
Why can't I install Linux on a Snapdragon laptop? Why can't I install OpenWRT on my router? Why can't I install Linux on my Pixel? It's certainly not because they are not capable - it's just that the vendors don't want you to (for one reason or another) or decide not to support a platform without giving users the ability to support it themselves.
With the liability that is an over-reliance on American core software (OS, firmware, etc) - I believe the EU should mandate unlocked bootloaders on electronic devices and force vendors to either distribute driver sources or provide enough documentation for bootleggers to write drivers.
This is simply "the right to repair" extended to the software component of hardware.
Seems fair enough to me that if you open a store front somewhere the local government gets to lay down the law on how to run that store front.
mdhb•9mo ago
Enforce your own laws and sovereignty and don’t think twice about it.
LinuxBender•9mo ago
immibis•9mo ago
You know, exactly how it was 25ish years ago before the regulated Internet era. We had an internet back then, and people were slightly more constrained with what they do on it.
Over time, people tested the boundaries of what they could get away with, found they could get away with a lot, and then got away with a lot. Now we generally agree it's gone too far and the boundaries need to be set tighter. This is the cost of that.
LinuxBender•9mo ago
In terms of legality it is not clear to me that countries will enforce the laws of other countries even if they are allies. Global trade is changing and I suspect that could affect international enforcement as dependencies shift, maybe. Time will tell.
raxxorraxor•9mo ago
linotype•9mo ago
immibis•9mo ago
And you can do the exact same thing online.