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Signal Chief Explains Why the Encrypted Messenger Relies on AWS

1 week 1 day ago
An anonymous reader shares a report: After last week's major AWS outage took Signal along with it, Elon Musk was quick to criticize the encrypted messaging app's reliance on big tech. But Signal president Meredith Whittaker argues that the company didn't have any other choice but to use AWS or another major cloud provider. "The problem here is not that Signal 'chose' to run on AWS," Whittaker writes in a series of posts on Bluesky. "The problem is the concentration of power in the infrastructure space that means there isn't really another choice: the entire stack, practically speaking, is owned by 3-4 players." In the thread, Whittaker says the number of people who didn't realize Signal uses AWS is "concerning," as it indicates they aren't aware of just how concentrated the cloud infrastructure industry is. "The question isn't 'why does Signal use AWS?'" Whittaker writes. "It's to look at the infrastructural requirements of any global, real-time, mass comms platform and ask how it is that we got to a place where there's no realistic alternative to AWS and the other hyperscalers."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Euro cloud alliance urges action on Broadcom as Microsoft mends fences

1 week 1 day ago
CISPE says post-VMware conduct raises fresh antitrust concerns

Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE) has issued its third European Cloud Competition Observatory (ECCO) report, praising Microsoft's licensing concessions while accusing Broadcom of worsening anti-competitive practices.…

Richard Speed