Hi everyone,
As many of you know, Google Play Integrity and proprietary hardware attestation mechanisms are increasingly locking alternative operating systems (like GrapheneOS) out of essential services from digital identity and age verification to banking and everyday consumer apps across Europe.
Rather than waiting for proprietary lock-in to worsen, I am preparing a European Citizens Initiative (ECI) to formally propose EU legislation on Device Neutrality and Open Attestation.
The Proposed Core Objectives:
- Mandate Open Attestation Standards: Require hardware and software providers to support vendor-neutral, interoperable cryptographic attestation standards, ending exclusive reliance on proprietary gatekeeper APIs like Google Play Integrity and Apple App Attest.
- Prevent Anti-Competitive App Locking: Ban commercial services, public platforms, and essential apps operating in the EU from arbitrarily discriminating against devices running alternative, user-controlled, or de-Googled operating systems.
- Protect Hardware Ownership & Software Freedom: Ensure consumers have the right to install independent OSs on their devices without losing access to the digital single market.
We Need a 7-Person EU Citizens' Committee
To officially register an initiative with the European Commission, EU law requires a Citizens Committee of 7 EU citizens residing in 7 different EU member states. I live in a EU member country and need 6 more people.
I will be leading the initiative, drafting the proposal, and coordinating with EU legal helpdesks (ECI Forum) and digital rights groups.
What is needed from committee members:
- Be an EU citizen of voting age in your country of residence.
- Provide basic eligibility verification details for the official Commission registration form.
- Formally agree to the submitted proposal text.
- Relevant backgrounds are a big plus: If you are a software developer, legal professional..., your input on fine-tuning technical definitions and legal wording will be especially valuable.
If you are based in an EU member state and want to join the steering committee, please reply below
More information about how european citizens initiative work here