In first, Japan issues cease-and-desist order against Google

reminder: if you have anything saved with google, you should probably move it to somewhere that's not tied to the US govt. mark my words: it's just a matter of time before they weaponize Google.
- Yes. Backup everything and move away.
  I've started using Qwant as my search engine and it's not bad at all
  
  that's awesome! this is the first time in decades that i've even heard the name of a search alternative. i'm from the hotbot days. do you know if or how much it's rooted in google's search? i know that's wording it poorly, but i hope you still know what i'm asking
  
  Ecosia for me. I still find myself asking Google for stock prices and such, but other than that it's ok. Berlin based apparently, plus I like that they plant trees for every search you do. I don't like that they have sponsored links at the top but I suppose that's how it goes.
  
  Thanks, I've switched as well.
- Why dont you think its weaponized yet? Thats crazy
  
  you're ahead of the class, my friend. sometimes one must remove the tinfoil hat before addressing the crowd.
- This applies to Apple as well.
  
  And Microsoft.
- I have a ton of pinned map points for both my work and travel all over the world from the last decade or so... does anyone know of a way to export these from google in a format that will easily plug into openmaps or some other app? There are thousands and manually doing this is not really an option...
  
  I don't know about being easy to plug in, but Google Takeout lets you request an order of all data they have tied to your account across all services, in compliance with EU rules.
- I've been putting off reflashing my custom rom without gapps... I have the necessary self hosted infrastructure in place where I wouldn't need Google. I just needed the extra push.
  Thanks for the push.
- Which email provider to use?
  
  Was just going to say “host your own on AWS” and then remembered who owns aws.
  Might have to literally host my own now.
  
  i've switched over to proton for now. that's not advice, though. look them up before you decide to try them.
  
  Tuta.com
  European, not Swiss, privacy-focused.
  
  Posteo.net is a buck a month
  
  I use fastmail. I have used it for couple of years now and it has been working well. It was a calendar, notes and file functions too. Tried proton. The app was always slow to open and refresh. It is also easier for people to understand fastmail.com when you are giving them your email.
  
  Not an email provider but I've been using addy.io (https://addy.io/) for a few weeks now and I feel it deserves a shout out. They let you use email aliases to protect your real email. There is a good free option which I use.
  I had been using DuckDuckGo's version (https://duckduckgo.com/email/) but they require you to use their browser on mobile or their extension on desktop. Also free.

In an unprecedented move, the Japan Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday issued a cease-and-desist order against Google for violating the country's anti-monopoly law by forcing manufacturers to preinstall the company’s apps on their Android smartphones.
This is the first time that Japan has issued such an order against any of the major U.S. technology companies referred to collectively as GAFAM — Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft.
- MAGAM sounds more appropriate - Meta Apple Google Amazon Microsoft 😉
  
  Totally should suggest that to Japan time. Maybe also suggest l AMGAM or MAGMA, I like those too.
- I guess this is the new one and FAANG is out??
  
  N for nvidea and no Microsoft?

Damn Japan, good stuff.

You love to see it.

Anyone know of a good android fork to switch to? I'm sick of using the google bullshit
- GrapheneOS. However it only installs on Google phones as only those have their bootloader unlocked.
  
  I've seen the word so much lately I read "bootloader" as "bootlicker" at first.
  
  LineageOS works as well and you can get it running on more phones than Graphene; however, GrapheneOS is superior in terms of security
- I've switched to CalyxOS. It supports some more manufacturer and models than GrapheneOS. Got no idea how their user experience compares. It's a bit of tinkering to do, so it's not for the untechnically inclined. Also, make sure you got a way to log on to things without using an authenticator or make sure it won't get lost when the phone gets wiped.
- There is no good android fork. Android is garbage. You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to contribute to the OS or port a fork like lineageOS to a new phone. Even just compiling android is a massive pain in the ass. Mobile linux, like postmarketOS, is the clear way forward. And not on former android phones, but on phones with open hardware specs, specifically designed to work with mobile linux.

Tariffs incoming in 3, 2...
- This is push back against the tariffs. Japan got hit hard
  
  Yeah but the orange thumb isn't known for rationality so joke aside, I wouldn't put it past him to escalate.

How do you move it ?

Not going to do much. If they actually wanted changes and not fines, they'd do something truly novel like order the manufactures to use GrapheneOS or some other actual open source OS that doesn't depend on financing provided by the app stores and ads.
Otherwise, you're just making a show for the sake of showmanship, empty gestures.
- GrapheneOS
  The phone OS that only runs on Pixel devices. That'll teach Google.
  
  It works on some Samsung devices. The entire reason it doesn't work on more devices is because the manufacturers don't release the kernel source. Or did you miss that in the docs?
  Better question is, why would the courts not order the kernels to be open for open firmwares?
  "Let's order a for-profit company to eliminate their profit method, and ignore the actual problem" is a specialty of ignorant courts... And commenters.
  So the courts, instead of addressing the real problem of phone makers only making hardware that for-profit partners can write software for, they just order the for-profit software makers to... remove the profit?
  The fuck kind of ass-backwards thinking is that?
- This guy knows better than all of the professionals in the Japanese government, impressive. I mean he called out an OS that only runs on Google phones, but he's figured it out guys!
  
  Ah yes, because unless you're on a government payroll, you're clearly unqualified to point out superficial policymaking. Must be nice to believe that calling out performative regulation is the same as claiming omniscience.
  GrapheneOS does primarily run on Pixel phones—because those are the only phones where the hardware allows verifiable, secure boot processes and full control over firmware. Samsung and most others lock down key components and make it impossible to truly sandbox or audit the system at the level GrapheneOS demands. That’s not a limitation of the OS—that’s a limitation of the closed, proprietary design of most Android OEMs.
  Which, funnily enough, is exactly the problem.
  The Japanese ruling is essentially: “Hey, stop forcing your apps, but keep the same Google-dependent infrastructure, monetization model, and walled-garden app stores.” It's like demanding Coke remove the label from the bottle but still sell it in the same vending machines—still Coke, still their turf.
  If they actually wanted to disrupt the monopoly, they’d be mandating real platform openness—allowing non-Google OS installs, pushing for hardware-level access standards, and ensuring devices don’t lock out third-party operating systems or app ecosystems.
  But yeah, let’s all clap for another fine and pretend something changed.