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Matrix is great but when is the tech industry going to deal with the fact that many, if not all, bridges are against the respective services' ToS and subsequent

Matrix is great but when is the tech industry going to deal with the fact that many, if not all, bridges are against the respective services' ToS and subsequently put the developers of those bridges under legal risk? Whatsapp has already sent legal threats to multiple bridge-component level project maintainers without any recourse.

amstan 3y ago
My Facebook bridge constantly locks up my account. [1] [1] https://github.com/mautrix/facebook/issues/236 https://github.com/mautrix/facebook/issues/236
- smashah 3y ago
  I strongly believe users should be able to automate and interact with their accounts through whatever clients they wish however I think blocks/bans/technical countermeasures is fair game. Count yourself lucky for not having an undeterminable, unfightable legal threat over your head from a $800bn mega corp.
- derin 3y ago
  You should use your bridge off of a residential IP in the same city as your other devices, or else Facebook finds the activity suspicious.
progval 3y ago
The EU just designated Whatsapp as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_4328 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_... following the "full list of do's and don'ts" link on that page: > Gatekeeper platforms will have to: > - allow third parties to inter-operate with the gatekeeper’s own services in certain specific situations > - allow their business users to access the data that they generate in their use of the gatekeeper’s platform
- unicornporn 3y ago
  This is likely also the sole reason[1] that Meta is considering connecting Threads to the fediverse. [1] https://yiffit.net/comment/498225 https://yiffit.net/comment/498225
- stavros 3y ago
  There's a fair amount of silly legislation that gets passed in the EU, but forward-thinking (or maybe just here-thinking?) laws like these (and the GDPR!) make me glad I live here.
  - unicornporn 3y ago
    A double edged sword[1] for sure. [1] https://edri.org/our-work/why-chat-control-is-so-dangerous/ https://edri.org/our-work/why-chat-control-is-so-dangerous/
    - stavros 3y ago
      Yes, those are the silly bits, sadly.
  - klabb3 3y ago
    Yeah this is exactly what’s needed. At least in EU the driver is awake at the wheel. As the politicians slowly get more technically competent we’re seeing more effective regulation. As long as EU has influence, everyone else will also benefit since companies often stop doing the shitty thing globally, not just in the EU. Lack of interop has been a huge problem that’s also gotten worse over time. To address such a broad and complex issue with general legislation is not easy, we still have to wait and see if it works as intended.
- smashah 3y ago
  I'm aware of DMAs regs but it forces Whatsapp within 6 months to start enabling interoperability. However it doesn't provide protection for these existing bridge projects. open-wa, Baileys, invidious devs are all in the dark as to whether or not they're Scott free from their respective C&Ds due to this legislation.
robert_foss 3y ago
The EU interoperability mandate for messaging services will surely improve this situation.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

amstan 3y ago

My Facebook bridge constantly locks up my account. [1] [1] https://github.com/mautrix/facebook/issues/236 https://github.com/mautrix/facebook/issues/236

smashah 3y ago
I strongly believe users should be able to automate and interact with their accounts through whatever clients they wish however I think blocks/bans/technical countermeasures is fair game. Count yourself lucky for not having an undeterminable, unfightable legal threat over your head from a $800bn mega corp.
derin 3y ago
You should use your bridge off of a residential IP in the same city as your other devices, or else Facebook finds the activity suspicious.

progval 3y ago

The EU just designated Whatsapp as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_4328 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_... following the "full list of do's and don'ts" link on that page: > Gatekeeper platforms will have to: > - allow third parties to inter-operate with the gatekeeper’s own services in certain specific situations > - allow their business users to access the data that they generate in their use of the gatekeeper’s platform

unicornporn 3y ago
This is likely also the sole reason[1] that Meta is considering connecting Threads to the fediverse. [1] https://yiffit.net/comment/498225 https://yiffit.net/comment/498225
stavros 3y ago
There's a fair amount of silly legislation that gets passed in the EU, but forward-thinking (or maybe just here-thinking?) laws like these (and the GDPR!) make me glad I live here.
- unicornporn 3y ago
  A double edged sword[1] for sure. [1] https://edri.org/our-work/why-chat-control-is-so-dangerous/ https://edri.org/our-work/why-chat-control-is-so-dangerous/
  - stavros 3y ago
    Yes, those are the silly bits, sadly.
- klabb3 3y ago
  Yeah this is exactly what’s needed. At least in EU the driver is awake at the wheel. As the politicians slowly get more technically competent we’re seeing more effective regulation. As long as EU has influence, everyone else will also benefit since companies often stop doing the shitty thing globally, not just in the EU. Lack of interop has been a huge problem that’s also gotten worse over time. To address such a broad and complex issue with general legislation is not easy, we still have to wait and see if it works as intended.
smashah 3y ago
I'm aware of DMAs regs but it forces Whatsapp within 6 months to start enabling interoperability. However it doesn't provide protection for these existing bridge projects. open-wa, Baileys, invidious devs are all in the dark as to whether or not they're Scott free from their respective C&Ds due to this legislation.

robert_foss 3y ago

The EU interoperability mandate for messaging services will surely improve this situation.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]