European Commission Chooses to Keep EU Users Locked Up Behind Big Tech’s Gates

According to EFF Deeplinks, the European Commission has decided not to extend the Digital Markets Act's interoperability mandate to social networking platforms. In its first review of the law, announced in April, the Commission said there's no clear demand for letting users move between networks like Facebook and TikTok while keeping their connections, and that the technology is too complex for now. EFF calls this a missed opportunity, arguing the same law already requires interoperability for messaging despite similar hurdles, and that open protocols like ActivityPub, which powers Mastodon and the wider Fediverse, prove it can be done. The group contends demand won't materialize until users actually see progress, and warns the wait-and-see stance mainly entrenches incumbents like Meta, Apple, and Google, who EFF says have been slow-walking these openness requirements all along.

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