Yash Ghelani
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yashghelani.com
Yash Ghelani
@yashghelani.com
www.yashghelani.com
Perplexity? Nope. Nope. Nope.
Perplexity just offered $34.5B to buy Chrome!

🚨The big question: without a legal obligation, will they fund the web platform that the world relies on at anywhere near Google’s ~$1B/year level?

Our answer: probably not.

New OWA Article: open-web-advocacy.org/blog/can-per...

🧵 Let's break it down
Can Perplexity Afford to Fund the Web? The $34.5 Billion-Dollar Question - Open Web Advocacy
open-web-advocacy.org
August 13, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
India withdraws draft Digital Competition Bill after opposition from Big Tech & domestic platforms. Govt to launch a market study before redrafting, likely dropping ex-ante rules, revising gatekeeper thresholds to balance regulation with innovation. www.financialexpress.com/business/ind...
Govt to withdraw draft Digital Competition Bill
India withdraws the draft Digital Competition Bill after opposition from global tech majors and domestic platforms. Govt to launch a market study before redrafting, likely dropping ex-ante rules and r...
www.financialexpress.com
August 11, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
For a detailed breakdown of the MSCA and what it means for browser competition:

/5
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/japan-a...
Japan: Apple Must Lift Engine Ban by December - Open Web Advocacy
open-web-advocacy.org
August 6, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
The act also forces Apple (and Google) to offer equivalent API access to third-party browser vendors, similar to Article 6(7) of the EU DMA.

/4
August 6, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
This matters as Apple is still blocking rival browser engines in the 🇪🇺 EU, despite the DMA:

/3
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/apples-...
Apple's Browser Engine Ban Persists, Even Under the DMA - Open Web Advocacy
open-web-advocacy.org
August 6, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
Apple will no longer be allowed to impose technical or financial barriers that effectively block third-party browser engines on iOS.

/2
August 6, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
Japan 🇯🇵 has officially banned Apple’s iOS browser engine restrictions.

Starting Dec 2025, iPhones must allow real Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Brave, Vivaldi and others to run their own engines, just like on desktop.

/1
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/japan-a...
Japan: Apple Must Lift Engine Ban by December - Open Web Advocacy
open-web-advocacy.org
August 6, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
Pressure to let the web fairly compete on iOS is growing around the world:

brucelawson.co.uk/2025/cma-des...

...but Apple is not on the level. Will be a slog against obfuscation and lies, and we are all lucky to have @open-web-advocacy.org in the fight:

open-web-advocacy.org/blog/apples-...
Apple's Browser Engine Ban Persists, Even Under the DMA - Open Web Advocacy
open-web-advocacy.org
July 25, 2025 at 6:11 AM
Super interesting. Still a long way to go, but looking forward to CSS masonry becoming Baseline.
CSS masonry is going into developer trial (behind a flag) in Chromium. Learn how to test the implementation and give your feedback in this post from the Microsoft Edge team developer.chrome.com/blog/masonry... #css
Brick by brick: Help us build CSS Masonry  |  Blog  |  Chrome for Developers
Help test the proposed masonry syntax in Chromium.
developer.chrome.com
July 25, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
Update: We're launching a monthly newsletter!

Why? To share how the browser market is evolving, keep tabs on Microsoft’s deceptive behavior, and translate what it means for users, developers, and the digital ecosystem as a whole.

Subscribe to stay in the know: bit.ly/46gImAU
July 23, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
👉If the UK government is serious about supporting business, it must back the CMA in enforcing pro-competition rules decisively, especially when those rules are essential to giving startups and smaller companies a fair shot at innovation and growth.
July 23, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
Functionality limitations in web apps stem from Apple’s own restrictions on web browsers, undermining their ability to compete with native apps.
July 23, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
No Browser Engine Competition on iOS
July 23, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
The 🇬🇧 UK regulator has provisionally found that Apple and Google meet the threshold for Strategic Market Status (SMS) under the DMCC. In Apple’s case, the decision highlights its ban on competing browser engines and its actions to suppress competition from web apps.
UK Regulator Flags Apple’s iOS Browser Engine Ban in Draft SMS Designation - Open Web Advocacy
open-web-advocacy.org
July 23, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
iOS automatically placing the selected choice screen browser on the dock doubled Firefox' daily active users & further increased DuckDuckGo's app retention by a factor 9.

Why isn't Android required to do the same in the EU?

Agree with @open-web-advocacy.org open-web-advocacy.org/blog/googles...
Google's Hotseat Hypocrisy - Open Web Advocacy
open-web-advocacy.org
July 8, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
🚀 OWA volunteer James Heppell shares his experience representing us at the Apple & Google DMA workshop.

His personal take, now #1 on Hacker News, offers sharp insight into gatekeepers' approach to the law.

Check it out:
formularsumo.co.uk/blog/2025/ap...
Apple Vs The Law
Apple & Google at the DMA compliance workshops, June 2025
formularsumo.co.uk
July 11, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
👉 Read all the details here:
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/apples-...

📺 Watch the video
open-web-advocacy.org
July 14, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
“And for whatever reason, they have chosen not to do so.”

This is simply false.
July 14, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
We asked Apple:

💬The DMA has been in force for 15 months. No browser vendor has ported their engine to iOS. Not because they can’t, but because Apple’s rules make it nearly impossible. Why is Apple insisting vendors lose their existing EU users? (abbreviated)

Apple’s reply?
July 14, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
The DMA has been in force for over 15 months. Not one browser with its own engine has made it to iOS.

Not because they can’t. Because Apple won’t let them.
July 14, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
Apple could solve this today.

They could let browser vendors ship two versions of the same app, one for the EU, one for the rest of the world, under the same bundle ID.

Apple just refuses.
July 14, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
One barrier stands out most of all, Apple won’t let browsers update their current app to use their own engine in the EU.

Instead, they must publish a brand new app and rebuild their user base from scratch
July 14, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
So what’s standing in the way?

🚫 Apple forces browsers to abandon all current EU user
🧪 No way to test EU browser features for global devs
✈️ No clarity on updates for EU users who travel
📄 One-sided legal terms and contracts
July 14, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Reposted by Yash Ghelani
This lets Apple control what web apps can do, and stops them from threatening the App Store. No other gatekeeper does this. Only Apple bans competing browser engines.

⚠️Vendors want to ship their REAL browser to iOS, not be forced to produce a separate one with Safari's engine.
July 14, 2025 at 6:46 AM