SFP#46: Policy and EU: Can the DMA help Free Software developers working with Android?

In this 46th episode of the Software Freedom Podcast, Lucas Lasota and Bonnie Mehring go into interoperability compliance under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and mobile phones. The podcast dives deeper in the compliance changes in Android Open Source Project (AOSP).

Recorded at FOSDEM, this episode with Bonnie and Lucas dives into why phone interoperability under the EU’s Digital Markets Act still feels like unfinished business. Article 6(7) is supposed to force big platform “gatekeepers” to open up the same hardware and software features they use themselves, making it easier for alternative apps and services to compete. But the reality for developers is far messier.

In this episode, we unpack how Android developers have been facing hurdles to get interoperability information within AOSP and why a developer-friendly enforcement is crucial for the future of digital markets in Europe.

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Show notes

• Support our work for Free Software
• Interoperability regulation in the EU: Opening iOS and Android for Free Software
• FOSDEM 26 - Interoperability regulation in the EU: Opening iOS and Android for Free Software (video)
• Is Interoperability Cool Again? PLAMADISO Talk (video)
• FOSDEM 2026 - An Introduction to Law and Free Software
• Making the Digital Markets Act Developer-Friendly - TechPolicyPress
• Free Software & Platform Regvulation (video)
• SFP#15: All about Upcycling Android
• Free Your Android!
• Stay up-to-date and join our Newsletter

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