The rise of Mastodon has made me so much more aware of government services requiring us to use private companies’ systems to communicate with them and access services.

Sitting on a Dutch train just now I was shown on a screen “feeling unsafe in the train? Contact us via WhatsApp”.

What if I don’t use WhatsApp? (I do, but I wish I didn’t have to) I’m forced to share my data with Meta to use it.

Public systems should not require use of private services.

if I know anyone who is currently stranded at Schiphol, @ me and I can give you advice on where to go to get your needs met outside the airport, or I can even make an emergency trip over there, as it's literally one train station away from me. (Just checked the train app, the trains don't seem to be down.)