It doesn’t actually matter if there’s an everything app or not - even markets with competition, like the US news media, or even our current social media landscape - are subject to the same concerns of cohesive and authoritarian-like control over a population, for which the author expresses concern.
Forcing apps and services to adopt open standards is also potentially problematic. If a government body chooses the standard, then they can also exert control over the limitations and features that must be implemented.
I do think we need legislation to promote openness and interoperability, but that does not have to mean that every thing anyone builds must adopt the same set of standards - only that they allow for and accommodate certain user actions and accessibility.
Forcing every company by law to adopt a single open standard will have positive implications more so than not having any open standards, but it will also very much lead to the same concerns of centralization that the author expresses.
In any case, the “foundation of the internet and all it has bred” and the standards driving it are an excellent example of why competing OPEN standards are good, and why forced adoption of just one standard would be harmful.
So, I’m honestly not sure if you’re agreeing with me or if I’m missing something.
Forcing apps and services to adopt open standards is also potentially problematic. If a government body chooses the standard, then they can also exert control over the limitations and features that must be implemented.
I do think we need legislation to promote openness and interoperability, but that does not have to mean that every thing anyone builds must adopt the same set of standards - only that they allow for and accommodate certain user actions and accessibility.