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I'd like to see an enforced separation in law between commercial application providers and storage providers. So, if someone writes an app like Google Docs, the

I'd like to see an enforced separation in law between commercial application providers and storage providers. So, if someone writes an app like Google Docs, they can't just store the data opaquely on their own cloud servers. They legally have to integrate with a separate storage provider. And that storage provider has an obligation to make my data accessible and manageable by me. I think that is a bit much, I would much rather make reverse engineering/screen scraping/whatever for interoperability be 100% legal with zero grey area. Including a bit that says TOS/Eula/NDA/NonCompete/any contract can not give away this right. Edit: basically let asshole companies use technical means to try to stop us, but give them no legal recourse if we manage to get the cheese out of their trap.

mindslight 6y ago
We can split the difference by mandating that whatever storage services are provided via "webapps" must also be provided via a plain API. Users shouldn't have their data locked behind proprietary javascript. This would create zero additional burden, as every webapp needs such an API for the front end to talk to anyway.
- IX-103 6y ago
  Maintaining a stable API surface is a burden. That said, I would agree with such a mandate, as the costs are probably worth it.
  - mindslight 6y ago
    It wouldn't have to be any more stable than what's already required to coordinate with the proprietary front end. A company would actually have an incentive to stabilize the API, to encourage cooperative use rather than migration. (And if a company starts churning their API in bad faith, that's exactly the kind of thing courts are meant to figure out)
  - lupire 6y ago
    Stable isn't required. Just let the users use the same API the client software (JS,mobile) uses, with password or key authentication. Free market will build clients. For security against social engineering, add some rigamarole around opting into API access.
- dandelo1953 6y ago
  I'd like to see cold storage providers split from app providers. Strict enforcement policy on cold storage data warehouses. And sensible policy for the app providers, like not caching PII. Implement and enforce at the fed level using this division in a manner that is something akin to Glass-Steagall. Owning data should not be something providers can ever exploit. [edit]: I also think this could be used as a means to break apart Big Tech
  - mindslight 6y ago
    That seems like a stronger mandate, but I think what I proposed would actually reign in their power better than your proposed decoupling. First, different services would still have to agree on data formats to interoperate. The ecosystem would be quite similar to windows file formats, and we've got plenty of experience seeing how that works out. It's better than what we have now, but not a panacea. The bigger issue is that in addition to wielding data lock in, these companies wield network lock in. With storage decoupling, if I load up my own profile in a hypothetical "Facebook competitor" app and make a post, Facebook has no desire to display that post to users of its app that are my friends. However with my API proposal, competitor apps have the ability to publish directly on Facebook's site and be treated exactly the same as every other post. Also, my proposal has a longstanding philosophical grounding that the abilities of computing should be available to all - companies shouldn't be able to insist on specific methods of usage that computationally disenfranchise users.

mindslight 6y ago

We can split the difference by mandating that whatever storage services are provided via "webapps" must also be provided via a plain API. Users shouldn't have their data locked behind proprietary javascript. This would create zero additional burden, as every webapp needs such an API for the front end to talk to anyway.

IX-103 6y ago
Maintaining a stable API surface is a burden. That said, I would agree with such a mandate, as the costs are probably worth it.
- mindslight 6y ago
  It wouldn't have to be any more stable than what's already required to coordinate with the proprietary front end. A company would actually have an incentive to stabilize the API, to encourage cooperative use rather than migration. (And if a company starts churning their API in bad faith, that's exactly the kind of thing courts are meant to figure out)
- lupire 6y ago
  Stable isn't required. Just let the users use the same API the client software (JS,mobile) uses, with password or key authentication. Free market will build clients. For security against social engineering, add some rigamarole around opting into API access.
dandelo1953 6y ago
I'd like to see cold storage providers split from app providers. Strict enforcement policy on cold storage data warehouses. And sensible policy for the app providers, like not caching PII. Implement and enforce at the fed level using this division in a manner that is something akin to Glass-Steagall. Owning data should not be something providers can ever exploit. [edit]: I also think this could be used as a means to break apart Big Tech
- mindslight 6y ago
  That seems like a stronger mandate, but I think what I proposed would actually reign in their power better than your proposed decoupling. First, different services would still have to agree on data formats to interoperate. The ecosystem would be quite similar to windows file formats, and we've got plenty of experience seeing how that works out. It's better than what we have now, but not a panacea. The bigger issue is that in addition to wielding data lock in, these companies wield network lock in. With storage decoupling, if I load up my own profile in a hypothetical "Facebook competitor" app and make a post, Facebook has no desire to display that post to users of its app that are my friends. However with my API proposal, competitor apps have the ability to publish directly on Facebook's site and be treated exactly the same as every other post. Also, my proposal has a longstanding philosophical grounding that the abilities of computing should be available to all - companies shouldn't be able to insist on specific methods of usage that computationally disenfranchise users.