Hey. Michael here.

All of today's news round-up is related to tech but I suggest you keep reading even if you have no interest in technology news.

This is because technology now affects every aspect of our lives, whether we like it or not...which is exactly why many of the major efforts of the (real) enemy are concentrated in this space (Digital ID, Digital currency, Digital vaccine passport, Digital surveillance...you get the gist)!

Let's start with the good news

• Google has just had a MAJOR loss in court in their ongoing legal stoush with Epic Games, the makers of the hugely popular game Fortnite. Epic Games sued Google back in 2020 over the 30% cut Google takes from all in-app purchases. Epic claimed that given Google's own Play Store is the only app store available on many (if not most) Android devices and thus their 30% cut constitutes "unlawful monopoly" under US Anti-trust legislation. This court case has been going on in various forms for almost 6 years during which Google fought back against the claims on three continents and finally it is done and dusted and the outcome for Google is not great to put it mildly (which means it is a great outcome for US by default): the court ruled in no uncertain terms that the Google Play Store IS indeed an "unlawful monopoly" and Google MUST allow alternative app stores to be used on Android devices. Google on its part has rolled over, announced it will not attempt any further appeals and WILL allow alternative app stores (other than its own Play Store) to be used. You can get the full details on this decision and its implications in this article.
• If you thought that the above news was good, this one is even better: The idea of a "De-Googled phone" is about to go mainstream early next year with the very recent announcement by Motorola that it has entered a strategic partnership with GrapheneOS, which is the leading alternative Android Operating System to Google's own 'variant'. In case you didn't know, Android is technically an open source project (unlike Apple's iOS) which means developers can use the code in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) to develop alternative Android operating systems for mobile devices. GrapheneOS is the most mature, well supported and secure alternative Android that has emerged in recent years as a serious contender to Google's own and it is not just completely "De-Googled" but also has extensive security features that do not exist in what Google provides. As a result, it has become the first choice for people who want an Android experience without the spying by Google built-in. Because of the very stringent security requirements that GrapheneOS has, the only practical way to use it was by getting a Pixel device and replacing the Google software it comes with, with GrapheneOS. For people who are not tech savvy, this created a major barrier as was the need to purchase a new phone for those who don't already have a Pixel (which can be a significant expense). What the announcement by Motorola means is that starting from early next year, the company will start selling a range of smartphones (including "very affordable" ones) that come with GrapheneOS preinstalled straight out of the box. Better yet: software updates are guaranteed for at least 5 years and are likely to be extended to 7 years. This video goes into a lot more details about this potentially game-changing development but keep in mind it is aimed at tech enthusiasts so does get a bit "geeky" at times.
• I discovered a new RSS reader this week that is not just privacy-respecting and fully open source but also has a great UI (User Interface) and UX (User Experience) that seems on par with my podcast listening app of choice AntennaPod. But wait, there's more: It allows you to generate natural sounding voice narration in over 70 languages & dialects so that you can listen to articles you fetch via RSS instead of just reading. All that is completely free with no tracking or ads! If you want to sync your feeds across devices, you will need to sign-up for an account (which is free) but you don't have to. You can use this reader with all the other functionality (including voice narration) without providing ANY information at all. The RSS Reader has the very appropriate name Blogs are back. Go and check it out and let me know what you think. As you probably know, I am a HUGE fan of RSS for the very simple reason that it is a protocol rather than a platform. There is no company that owns it or mysterious algorithm that controls what you see.

Now, some bad news

Can't get you going into the weekend too euphoric, right? ;)

On a more serious note, the news I discuss below only illustrate further why we MUST change the way we use the Internet. "Steady as she goes" is simply no longer an option!

• Apple announced that it is integrating "Age verification" at the operating system (iOS) level in Australia, Brazil, Singapore and the US states of Utah and Louisiana in the name of "compliance". The implementation is highly intrusive, very problematic and because of the very closed off nature of iOS (the infamous "walled garden") effectively impossible to circumvent. After all, it's not like you can install a different operating system on your iPhone or iPad, right? You can read the full details in this article and this article explains why GrapheneOS is the way out for Apple 'refugees', even if they've never used anything other than iOS.
• Brazil as well as two US states (with more coming) have introduced legislation that mandates age checks at the operating system level. This applies not just to Windows and MacOS but ANY operating system, including Linux. Due to the fact Linux is not a single operating system and comes in many (many!) different flavours (called "Distros"), it is up to the developers of each such Distro to decide how they will respond. While some have already made it clear that they will not comply, the situation remains unclear and highly fluid for some of the bigger Distros including Ubuntu, which is unfortunately also the Distro both Linux Distros I was intending to recommend for beginners in my upcoming Actionable Take, are based on. As a result, I am delaying publication until the situation with both Ubuntu itself and the two Distros that are derived from it, becomes clearer.
• The rollout of Age Verification/"Papers Please" across any and all aspects of online activity is accelerating as per the "Lockstep" playbook. The latest major development in this space is the passing of the KIDS Act, the App Store Accountability Act and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) by the the House Committee on Energy and Commerce of the US Congress. If these bills become law, "Papers Please" will become mandatory for ALL Americans across ALL 50 states. This despite the fact that over 400 security researchers from 30 countries signed a public letter just a few days ago which states in no uncertain terms that the various "age verification" schemes being rolled out around the world pose UNACCEPTABLE privacy and security risks and must be halted immediately. Amongst the signatories are some of the most prominent names in this field including Ronald Rivest, Turing Award winner, and Bart Preneel, the President of the International Association for Cryptologic Research. Obviously, none of the stooges in any government care the slightest and continue with their "we must protect the children" narrative given to them by their actual masters. As the saying goes: "History doesn't repeat...but it often rhymes".

That's it for today. While the (real) enemy has suffered some setbacks in this space in recent weeks, they will no doubt continue advancing this agenda which, as I have explained many many times before, is a LOT more important to the (real) enemy than injecting as many people as possible and as quickly as possible with some experimental concoction.

If you want to support my work, you can find all the ways to do so here and make sure to also check out the private community and official merch store.

Bye for now and remember that (turn on images if you can't see):