Apple and Google essentially have a duopoly over the smartphone market and use their dominance to their own benefit, stifling competition and milking money out of creators for the privilege of operating within their restrictive platforms. This is a very real and legitimate issue that hurts all kinds of people, from activists worried about government surveillance to app-makers who have their ideas copied and stolen. It is a problem that deserves legitimate regulatory scrutiny, intervention, and real competition.
Instead, we got the Freedom Phone — an unserious solution brought to you by grifters who pretend to care about the problems with Big Tech, but really only care about making a buck off their gullible audience. The creation of supposed Bitcoin billionaire Erik Finman, Freedom Phone is marketed as an "uncensorable" smartphone, serving as a home for apps that have been banned from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. In a video announcing the phone, Finman calls the device "the best phone in the world," capable of doing "everything your current phone does, except censor you and spy on you." He also promises that the phone won't track your activity or data.
