this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2025
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Doctorow: don’t retaliate with more tariffs, hit them where it hurts. (pluralistic.net)
submitted 8 hours ago by threesigma@lemm.ee to c/canada@lemmy.ca
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[–] sbv@sh.itjust.works 23 points 8 hours ago (5 children)

I really like the idea of opting out of IP agreements, but it's unclear how effective it would be. AFAIU jail breaks are illegal in the US thanks to the DMCA - if Canada produces the kits, it's still a risk to American farmers/Tesla owners to use them.

And:

But you know what Canada could make? A Canadian App Store. That's a store that Canadian software authors could use to sell Canadian apps to Canadian customers, charging, say, the standard payment processing fee of 5% rather than Apple's 30%. Canada could make app stores for the Android, Playstation and Xbox, too.

This requires cooperation from the platforms we're attacking. The EU had the clout to force Apple to open their platform, but would Canada? Would a bellicose US allow one of their most profitable and iconic companies to do that? Given a choice, I suspect Apple would happily make the "alternate app store" experience so user unfriendly that most users would avoid it.

Android has allowed side loading forever, and has a bunch of non-Google app stores, but they have only gained traction in limited circles.

It's a fun idea, and it'd be interesting to see how it works out, but I'm not sure it would have a significant impact.

[–] threesigma@lemm.ee 5 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

I think you misunderstand: Canada just makes jailbreaking legal. We allow the jailbreakers to distribute their hacks and even sell them.

This isn’t crazy: even if it’s just for John Deer farm equipment it’s a huge boon to consumers.

Sure, Apple and Google will try to make this impossible, but there is a reason they want legal recourse as well as technological.

[–] sbv@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 hours ago

We allow the jailbreakers to distribute their hacks and even sell them.

I understand that. The target market for those jailbreaks is outside Canada, so distribution of our product would be limited by foreign laws. Foreign buyers would be dissuaded by stuff like the DMCA.

It works for Canadians, but it wouldn't really affect anyone outside Canada. Given the size of our market, it would have a minimal effect on the sellers of locked products.

even if it’s just for John Deer farm equipment it’s a huge boon to consumers.

Canadian farmers who aren't part of supply management schemes are in rough shape. As much as it might help them, they aren't a large market, and (if John Deer cares) the sellers will probably use other monopolistic practices to discourage it.

Sure, Apple and Google will try to make this impossible...

Android app builders regularly complain that their apps are heavily pirated by alternate app stores in China. As far as I can tell, that hasn't really changed Google policy. If Google is willing to ignore an app market the size of China, I don't think there will be any real effect from Canada doing the same.

I like the idea behind the proposal, but unless it hurts US corporations, it seems like a small tweak to help Canadian consumers, rather than meaningful retaliation in a trade war.

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