this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2025
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Samsung has decided to proceed with the Bootloader blocking also in Europe, a move that has caused a lot of discussion. Behind this choice is a European regulation that will come into force in August 2025 and which risks changing smartphone usage in Europe forever. This is why other manufacturers may soon follow suit.

From 1 August 2025, new provisions will come into force RED Directive (Radio Equipment Directive), which redefines the compliance requirements for all radio devices sold in Europe. This is a significant change, not so much for the amount of regulations introduced, but for the effect they will have on the entire Android ecosystem. The issue revolves around three articles that impose specific protections: against network interference, personal data compromise, and digital fraud. These are, in themselves, sacrosanct rules.

But the crux comes with the interpretation prevailingEach device must ensure full compliance not only with the hardware, but also with the software that controls the radio modules. This is where the bootloader comes in. Unlocking it essentially allows you to replace the original operating system with an alternative one, such as LineageOS or GrapheneOS.

But these systems, if they modify the radio drivers even minimally, invalidate the CE certification. An uncertified device can no longer be legally marketed or used, at least according to the most stringent reading of the law.

This scenario has therefore led Samsung to protect its devices. Not on a whim, but to avoid any software modifications falling under your legal liability. If a user installs a ROM that interferes with radio frequencies or compromises communications security, the manufacturer (and in some cases the importer) may be held directly liable.

RED does not explicitly talk about unlocking the Bootloader or custom ROM, but it opens one regulatory space in which the margins for maneuver are they narrow. And in doing so, it provides a solid argument for those who have been trying for years to close the loop between hardware, software, and services. After all, customizing the operating system also means breaking away from proprietary services and, therefore, from the model that ties the user to the brand.

Samsung is just the first to move, but it's hard to imagine it will be the only one. Starting in August 2025, it's very likely that other manufacturers will follow suit, at least for the European market.

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[–] interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml 36 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

Here is a taste of the future

You CAN'T Jailbreak Your PC

The days of "it’s my hardware, I’ll run what I want" are over.
TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and Microsoft Pluton are forming a closed execution environment.

You can’t replace the bootloader.  
You can’t flash unsigned firmware.  
You can’t disable the vendor-approved certificate store.

Try to run an unsigned OS, and it will simply refuse to boot.
Your motherboard no longer listens to you.
It listens to Microsoft and OEMs.


You Will Own Nothing, and Even That Nothing Is Tied to Your Old PC

TPM stores your encryption keys in a non-exportable way.
Your files, apps, and even your OS activation are now bound to your specific machine.

Want to move them to another system?
Too bad. The TPM won’t let you.
Even if you own both devices.

The machine is yours. The data, software, and identity within it are not.

Installing Linux Will Be Illegal (Functionally, If Not Yet Legally)

Secure Boot + Remote Attestation is the death knell for freedom-focused OSes.

Your distro doesn’t carry the "right" signature?
Blocked.

You modify the kernel for performance or privacy?
No longer attested.

You write your own OS?
You don’t get to boot.

It’s not banned in law.
It’s banned by cryptographic gatekeeping.

Digital preservation will be technically impossible.

Encrypted execution + hardware-tied software =
No way to archive.
No way to emulate.
No way to restore.

Games, apps, creative tools, all gone when the keys expire or the vendor shuts down.

We won’t just lose software.
We’ll lose entire cultural eras.

It's like that Apple ad crushing musical instruments but for your entire digital life

https://adage.com/video/crush-ipad-pro-apple/ (I couldn't find it unedited on youtube sorry)


You Have No Mouth and Can’t Say NO

Vendor lock-in is no longer a commercial strategy.
It’s cryptographic reality.

You can’t deny updates.
You can’t run unsigned code.
You can’t refuse attestation.

Because your software won’t run without it.

The PC has become a compliance terminal.
Saying "no" is no longer supported behavior.

A hardware-enforced, cryptographically sealed cage.

Your freedom to compute is being revoked—quietly, efficiently, irreversibly.
The illusion of ownership is maintained only until enforcement becomes total.
This isn’t theory. It’s shipping now.

If we don’t fight back, there will be no root access left to reclaim.

[–] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 15 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

What a fucking bleak run down. But it is the direction things are barreling towards.

[–] interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml 6 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

Writing this the warning of Cory Doctorow about an upcoming "War on General Computing" was ringing in my head !

And also this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EmstuO0Em8

But he doesn't talk about the TPM and cryptoprocessor threat or the "war on general computing", it was in another video that I can't find right now

I also can't find the Apple Ad where they crush a piano and other instruments of creation under a giant press to make an ipad

[–] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 4 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

I remember seeing that ad. It was super depressing. I hate what the tech world is coming to, why my next phone will be a dumb phone, I'm trying to buy dvds and keeping my circa 2017 vehicle running for as long as possible

[–] interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml 3 points 19 hours ago

The future is here but it's not evenly distributed.
Hopefully we can stay alive in the future's shadow.