alt Hacker NewsGovernments want to move away from “platforms over which we have no control,” says Dutch minister.
Sure, that is fair enough. But why is EU not setting up their own servers for whisper or activity pub or whatever OSS protocols and just make that their only official and approved communication channel?
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They do, actually.
For example the French government has its own Matrix platform https://www.tchap.gouv.fr/ and its own Mastodon instance https://social.numerique.gouv.fr/.
The problem isn't setting up the servers, they already exist for the most part. It is getting anyone to use them.
I've seen this play out a few times in Europe. People are extremely resistant to giving up WhatsApp. These rules are so widely flouted that no one takes them seriously, including the people making the rules. It is a bit of theater, meanwhile everyone continues to use WhatsApp. There is no will to actually make this change.
If your boss keeps sending you messages over WhatsApp, why would you do any different?
It is my understanding that a lot of EU governments are setting up their own matrix servers.
I'd really want to see more examples of https://social.bund.de
This is the Mastodon server of the German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI). Embrace decentralization.
The fact that many replies mention Matrix and the Politico article does not is hilarious. Why even bother with major news orgs anymore?
Aren't they about to handle DigiD to the U.S? You know, the tool we use for absolutely any sort of identification when interacting with the government?
They're setting up matrix servers. Nato uses matrix.
Too bad the UX is dogshit and the end users lose their keys every 90 days. Even though they're explicitly warned, loudly and clearly, to not lose the keys.
Matrix software stack isn't idiot proof; Signal is.
Actually European Commission has been on its own Mastodon server for a couple years:
https://ec.social-network.europa.eu/public/local