In a significant win for smaller browsers, the open web, and the 🇪🇺EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Google has agreed to place the browser selected through the EU browser choice screen directly in the Pixel homescreen hotseat (replacing Chrome).

[owa@mastodon.social]

In a significant win for smaller browsers, the open web, and the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Google has agreed to place the browser selected through the EU browser choice screen directly in the Pixel homescreen hotseat (replacing Chrome).

https://open-web-advocacy.org/blog/google-backs-down--will-grant-hotseat-in-eu-browser-choice-screen/
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[owa@mastodon.social]

Previously, even when users selected a different default browser, Chrome remained in this prominent position, steering users back toward Google’s own browser and undermining the user’s choice.
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[owa@mastodon.social]

We are grateful to BEUC, Mozilla, Vivaldi, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia and Brave for their valuable support in achieving this result. We would also like to thank OWA volunteers John Ozbay, Roderick Gadellaa and James Heppell who helped make this happen at the DMA workshops.
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[owa@mastodon.social]

Finally, and perhaps most of all, we thank the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act team for its important precedent-setting work.
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[owa@mastodon.social]

Browsers need to compete on merit, not via privileged placement within an operating system. It is genuine competition between browsers that delivers the best outcomes for consumers and developers. This change is one more step in the right direction.
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[falcennial@mastodon.social]

@owa Vivaldi is the best browser I've ever used, Chrome is garbage. the manufacturer of Chrome is starting to realise that clearly and no longer wants users of their operating systems to have their opinion of that OS worsened by exposure to an in-built advertisement pushing their disgraceful excuse for a browser.

[wilhelm@fedia.social]

@owa do you think this will trickle down to other vendor OSs like #HyperOS etc? The same logic applies. Do you think those vendors will have to be sued to take action?

Thanks for the director's cut edition of the DMA hearing. Those were painful to watch with all those twisted arguments brought up by the big-tech lawyers. Thanks @EUCommission for doing your job

[owa@mastodon.social]

@wilhelm @EUCommission So it's mandatory where the EU choice screen appears... which has a list of conditions.. it needs to be where Google or Apple (the gatekeepers) have preinstalled their browser and set it as default. Is chrome currently the default on all XiaoMi phones in the EU?

Google has legal agreements with the device manufacturers called MADA, and via this the EU has the ability to impose conditions.

Thanks for your comment re: directors cut, we had fun splicing them together

[wilhelm@fedia.social]

@owa @EUCommission Due to the non-existent documentation of such matters it is hard to tell. I'd have to double check the HyperOS 3 situation with a factory reset device, which I currently do not have the time for. But I am pretty certain HyperOS comes pre-installed with both Chrome and Mi Browser, both of which in HyperOS 3.0.4.0 cannot be uninstalled. Chrome can be disabled but remains on device, while currently I can't find a disable option for Mi Browser. I can uninstall updates, force stop and that's that. I am not even sure a browser choice screen is in place currently in HyperOS.

[henry_null@sueden.social]

@owa thank you for your work!