My former thesis supervisor Konrad Kollnig has published a very good book “The App Economy”, which delves into the way big tech companies through the example of Apple and Google, are exerting their power within the realm of app economy and its impact
bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/monobook-oa/...
Pepsi is a coke without dignity. Outside the US I can nowhere find a full sugar version. It's all full of sweeteners. I'm heartbroken to find out that this even is the case in Asia. #toughlife
"Auditing Social Media Platforms: Public, Non-Public, and Alternative Data Access Methods under the DSA & GDPR for Public Interest Research" This workshop explores how official and alternative data access methods—provided by platforms and those developed independently by researchers and civil society—can be combined to audit systemic risks on very large online platforms. Participants will compare research APIs and transparency tools available under the Digital Services Act (DSA) with alternative approaches such as sockpuppet audits, analyzing strengths and limitations of each. Through scenario-based simulations and interactive group role-play exercises, attendees will collaboratively design and debate audit strategies while confronting challenges like API restrictions, access barriers, platform compliance tactics, and legal uncertainties. Participants will gain hands-on experience with the SOAP (System for Observing and Analyzing Posts) tool, learning to simulate user interactions and collect algorithmic recommendation data. Throughout the session, ethical and legal considerations surrounding data collection and usage will be explored, equipping participants with practical skills to independently audit platform practices Organised by University of Lausanne with Konrad Kollnig, Luka Bekavac, Simon Mayer
Auditing Social Media Platforms: Public, Non-Public, and Alternative Data Access Methods under the DSA & GDPR for Public Interest Research
Organised by University of Lausanne with @kollnig.net, Luka Bekavac, Simon Mayer
More info: cpdp.be/20015
#CPDP.ai #CPDP2025 #TheWorldisWatching #DSA #GDPR
Book manuscript on app store power submitted, now off to the Bay Area for some inspiration. Let me know if you wanna grab coffee! ⭐
Looking for a new PhD to do some really exciting stuff. Application is under this link: vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric...
Speedy bikes used to be my thrill. Complete obsession with the craft. Gone now, sadly, in part due to firece competitive pressure in the biking business. E-bikes is where the margins are now. And they also degrade much quicker..
I'll be around London/Oxford/Edinburgh in the week of 3 March. Let me know if you'd like to connect. 📩
This is one of many things that I talk about in my book. With Trump upon us again, there's every incentive for the big tech companies to venture whatever area they please, including warfare.
Why does that matter? It matters since these corps already hold so much power and allow little competition.
Especially California is much more dynamic. I find this really cool actually!
Yeah, but lawmaking in the US is different. It doesn't work like that with an EU Directive that is transposed differently into 27 member states and only sets a minimum level of harmonisation.
Recitals are not legally binding.
Describing, for a non-tech audience, how Google uses Chrome to reinforce its dominance, and considering this from the perspective of US antitrust law.
The work was led by the extremely bright and impressive Shaoor Munir. He's got a unique ability to write about and study legal topics, with a computer science angle. Do check out his profile and other work! @shaoormunir.bsky.social
Thanks, Pat!
Thanks for listening. The research wouldn't have been possible without the hard work of my co-authors.
The full paper can be found here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
The slides here: docs.google.com/presentation...
A general-audience blog article here: www.promarket.org/2024/08/08/c...
9/9
These all are just some examples of how Chrome to reinforces Google’s cross-market dominance. There are many others. Controlling this behaviour will be impossible by just making simple changes to Google. Therefore, forcing Google to sell Chrome seems the only option. 8/9
More generally, Google has, for years, been engaging in strategic acquisitions to become the most widely used service across many categories. The slide below, in bold, highlights, which of Google's services are the result of an acquisition. Most services are. Is Google then really so innovative? 7/9
Conversely, Google uses its dominance in online services (incl. search) and ads to reinforce Chrome's dominance, particularly through dark patterns and an abuse of web standards. For example, Google bombards non-Chrome users with prompts to install Chrome on its websites. 6/9
On the one hand, Google uses Chrome to reinforce its monopoly in online ads and online services (incl. search),by self-preferencing and subpar "privacy" options in Chrome. For example, if you sign in with your Google account anywhere, Chrome sends your browsing history to Google to show you ads. 5/9
Also, Google also operates its own distribution channels for search: Android and Chrome are the primary ones. This is where the monopoly concerns about Chrome come in. We identified Google's "Holy Trinity" that describes how Google systematically uses Chrome to reinforce its monopoly. 4/9
In order to foster its monopoly in search, Google tries to control the distribution channels for search: phones (e.g. iPhones) and desktop browsers (e.g. Firefox). Google pays the major operators of distribution channels billions of dollars every year to have Google set as the default search. 3/9
The thing about Chrome is that its development and operation costs billions of US dollars. A profit-oriented company like Google wouldn't do this out of good will but rather because they expect a significant return on their investment. 2/9
The US gov wants Google to sell Chrome to stop Google' monopoly in online search. But don't we all love Chrome? ❤️ Why then sell it ? Let me explain, having published the first in-depth research article about this with @zubair-shafiq.bsky.social and others, and recently given a talk about this. 🧵1/9
🚨 New pre-print – dark times for privacy. For 10+ years, Google has allowed #Android users to limit data sharing for online ads. We find that this does.. NOT much. The same goes for Californians, when they exert their LEGAL right to limit sale or sharing of their data. Link: arxiv.org/abs/2407.14938
I know I’m preaching to the choir, but it has already made google search pretty much entirely worthless. Endless garbage AI-generated articles that exploit SEO. Google often pulls the top answer from these articles and thus presents misinformation as definitive.
Sounds like the definition of a bad handout? Although I do think Tufte was right about presentations, and PowerPoint in particular – handouts can be great, if done well.
My first lectures at Maastricht Uni yesterday. Naturally, I put on the same clothes as in 2016 – when I first visited the law faculty here.
Sorry to hear. Be well!
Anything that puzzled you in particular?
Schadenfreude
