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Japan forces Apple and Google to open their mobile platforms • The Register

⁨239⁩ ⁨likes⁩

Submitted ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al⁩ to ⁨technology@beehaw.org⁩

https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/13/japan_smartphone_software_law/

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  • Gamers_Mate@kbin.run ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Good job japan, corporations should not be allowed to lock you out of using competition on a device you own.

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  • nasi_goreng@lemmy.zip ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Japan has so many unique store that operated in their country with region-locked apps/games.

    As far as I remember, even DMM and DLsite already has their own game store on Android.

    This is truly a win for Japanese customer and company.

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  • eveninghere@beehaw.org ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    The funny thing is that this is probably lobbying from NTT Docomo, who lost their own app store monopoly for feature phones the moment smartphones arrived.

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    • umami_wasbi@lemmy.ml ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      That’s nice. Let the in fighting begains.

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      • eveninghere@beehaw.org ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        I just hope they’ll let non-profit app stores join. I just want an open source package manager tbh.

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  • Beaver@lemmy.ca ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    As a Canadian I thank you Japan

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  • Templa@beehaw.org ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    If this means that I might be able to use NFC payments because alternatives to Google Pay will exist, I am very happy. Hopefully this will also make possible to F-droid to provide auto updates.

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    • Duke_Nukem_1990@feddit.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Huh…my F-Droid already does auto updates 🤔

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      • Templa@beehaw.org ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Yes I realized that, the one that doesn’t is Aurora I think

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      • jarfil@beehaw.org ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Unattended? Unrooted? What Android version?

        I still have to confirm each install, wich is a bit tedious, and was looking around for a new phone.

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    • NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Until earlier this year, I could make NFC payments with the app of my credit card company. AFAIK contactless payments on Android were never locked to Google Pay/Wallet. But I have no idea why there’s no competition in this space. I’d expect e.g. PayPal to have something, but if they do I never heard of it - and I did look once, briefly.

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      • kevincox@lemmy.ml ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Because to implement this you need to negotiate with individual credit card issuers. Basically how this works is that your phone is being issued a virtual card with the keys locked inside the phone’s HSM. Then it can be used to make NFC payments just like any physical card. So you need 1. contracts with many card providers, 2. card issuance processes with these providers 3. huge amounts of compliance bureaucracy. At the end of the day it isn’t really worth it unless you are a huge company and expect to have tons of users or see it as an essential feature of your phone OS.

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      • Templa@beehaw.org ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        It seems many banks/providers used to had this functionality and just stopped maintaining in favor of Google/Apple Pay.

        Hopefully they decide to do it again.

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      • Stitch0815@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Paypal has a nfc feature

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    • barsoap@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I’m confused why would you need a phone to pay via NFC. All you need is your card.

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      • Templa@beehaw.org ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        I’m confused why you would assume that there isn’t any context where someone might need to store their cards on their phone instead of carrying a wallet. Have you considering asking why instead of assuming everyone is like you? Is amazing when you get to know other perspectives.

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      • kevincox@lemmy.ml ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
        1. I can usually pull out my phone faster than taking a card out of my wallet.
        2. Phone-based cards typically have significantly higher limits than physical cards. (I can tap hundreds of dollars with my phone, only about $100 on my card.)
        3. The phone needs to be unlocked which is safer than the card which just needs to be tapped with no other authentication.
        4. One less thing to carry around.
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      • AnonStoleMyPants@sopuli.xyz ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Some countries have limits to nfc payments with a card. Finland has 50e but with a phone no limits (unless the bank limits).

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      • Blackmist@feddit.uk ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Much higher floor limit, and no need to enter your PIN every X transactions.

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  • RootBeerGuy@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Google allows that though or do they mean access of Google Play via 3rd party apps?

    Not that I am saying it might not be necessary to include Google from the start, sets a good precedence and prevents a future where they might go the Apple route.

    Just hope both Google and Apple won’t restrict opening up to Japanese market only. But who am I kidding, they will.

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    • petrescatraian@libranet.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
      I think this means allowing the listing of third party app stores inside the Google Play Store - so you could search for F-Droid in Google Play for example instead of downloading and installing the .apk manually.
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      • TWeaK@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Downloading F-Droid from Google Play kind of defeats the purpose of F-Droid.

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      • NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        I don’t like that, if I am going through the play store, I only want things that have gone through googles vetting process, flawed though it may be.

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    • themurphy@lemmy.ml ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      If they didn’t open up to anyone else when EU implemented it back in March/April, they won’t do it now.

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  • intensely_human@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    It’s like reading interdimensional news from a world that is still sane. I’m glad Japan exists

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    • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      i can assure you japan isn’t that much saner than the rest of us, like really the one big thing they have going for them is pretty good urban planning and public transport.

      Where most nations have people working their asses off because they need money to buy food, japan made the innovation of having people work themselves to death mostly out of social obligation instead! Much more exciting.

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    • eveninghere@beehaw.org ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      No, Japan just listened to the previous app market monopoly that was NTT Docomo and other providers who wanted their money pot back.

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  • TWeaK@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Doesn’t Google already let you do this?? My Android phone doesn’t even have Google Play Services, I just only use 3rd party stores. If I want an app from Google Play I get it through Aurora.

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    • TWeaK@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Ah wait, I should’ve read the article lol:

      The law allows local authorities to name “designated providers” of a certain scale – currently only achieved by Apple and Google – and require those providers to do three things:

      • Allow third-party app stores on their devices;
      • Allow application developers to use third-party billing services;
      • Enable users to change default settings with simple procedures, and offer choice screens for tools like browsers;

      And it forbids them doing three more:

      • Engage in any form of preferential treatment of their services over those of competitors in the display of search results without justifiable reason;
      • Use acquired data about competing applications for their own applications;
      • Prevent application developers from using features controlled by the OS with the same level of performance as the one used by Designated Providers.

      So Google already allows 3rd party app stores and lots of settings (although these are always hit and miss, even in the custom ROM scene - I can’t get pocket detection right now and my phone keeps doing things in my pocket), but the 3rd party billing and choice screens applies to them.

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      • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        unrelated to the OP but a suggestion for your problem:

        Waveup has a setting to lock the screen after X seconds with the proximity sensor covered, it’s not very sophisticated and thus it can be a bit over-eager, but if the phone being interacted with by your leg while in the pocket is driving you up the wall then this should fix that.

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    • esaru@beehaw.org ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      How do you acces your bank account without an app that requieres Google Play Services running? I can install bank apps via Aurora, but almost all of them won’t run without Google’s Software.

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      • TWeaK@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Run Magisk in Zygisk mode with the deny list hiding itself from banking apps.

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  • autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    🤖 I’m a bot that provides automatic summaries for articles:

    Click here to see the summary

    Japan’s parliament has passed a law that will require Apple and Google to allow access to third-party app stores and payment providers on devices running their mobile operating systems. The Act on Promotion of Competition for Specified Smartphone Software passed Japan’s upper house yesterday and will be enforced once Cabinet rubber-stamps it at some point in the next eighteen months. The last item on the list is a shot across Apple’s bows, as the iGiant has been reticent to allow third-party developers to use the NFC chip in iPhones for payments. Requiring the same level of access is a big deal – especially as non-compliance could result in fines that represent “20 percent of relevant turnover.” As it implements the law, the JFTC will seek comment from relevant ministries and agencies on matters including security, privacy, and protecting kids. Apple has sometimes argued that security is a major concern if third party app stores are allowed to access iThings – but has complied with requirements to open its devices to competition under the DMA. — Saved 56% of original text.

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