January 6, 2026
EU vs Apple: Dongles, drama, and Trump
The Post-American Internet
EU vs Apple, jailbreak dongles, and a chorus yelling: ditch US rules
TLDR: Cory Doctorow’s 39C3 speech says a “post‑American internet” is possible after U.S. politics cracked the door. Comments split: some dream of EU jailbreak dongles and ditching U.S. copyright, others slam the Trump focus; everyone agrees Europe’s tech exit plans are real, making this a fight over who controls our phones.
Cory Doctorow took Hamburg by storm with a speech claiming Donald Trump accidentally cracked open the door to a post‑American internet — and the comments went nuclear. Supporters cheered the idea of a web less controlled by U.S. giants and enshittification (their word for platforms getting worse), pointing to real shifts in Europe. One veteran, [Quothling], said public agencies now have contingency plans to leave Microsoft and iOS. The wildest thread came from [pu_pe], imagining Finnish geeks reverse‑engineering iPhones and selling a jailbreak dongle if the EU scraps anti‑tampering rules — with people gleefully asking whether Apple would rage‑quit Europe.
Not everyone was clapping. [ulamel] blasted the talk as “terrible” for name‑dropping Trump, while others argued politics is the point. Then came the anarchist energy: [ryandrake] wondered why any country still honors U.S. copyright and anti‑hack rules, joking a fortune awaits the first to say, “we’re going to copy your stuff, do something.” Meanwhile [zwnow] plugged Doctorow’s new book charting how Big Tech soured. The meme reel: “iDongle” ferries from Finland, “EU phone gray‑market speedrun,” and a “Post‑American starter pack” (Linux, Mastodon, EU flag). Mood check: half revolution cosplay, half serious exit plan — and all eyes on Europe now.
Key Points
- •Cory Doctorow delivered a speech titled “A post-American, enshittification-resistant internet” at the 39C3 in Hamburg and published its transcript.
- •He highlights his nearly 25 years of activism with the Electronic Frontier Foundation focused on defending general-purpose computing.
- •Doctorow recounts the industry-backed “Broadcast Flag” effort advanced by the FCC to mandate technical backdoors in digital computers.
- •EFF sued the FCC and successfully overturned the Broadcast Flag rule in federal court.
- •Doctorow argues recent geopolitical developments tied to Donald Trump have opened the door to a potential “Post-American Internet.”