Apps to boycott US goods over Greenland | Latest Tech News
COPENHAGEN — The makers of cell apps designed to help customers establish and boycott American goods say they noticed a surge of curiosity in Denmark and past after the current flare-up in tensions over U.S. President Donald Trump’s designs on Greenland.
The creator of the “Made O’Meter” app, Ian Rosenfeldt, said he noticed around 30,000 downloads of the free app in just three days at the peak of the trans-Atlantic diplomatic disaster in late January out of more than 100,000 since it was launched in March.
Creators of apps just like the “Made O’Meter,” designed to help establish and boycott American goods say there was a surge of curiosity in Denmark after the tensions stemming from President Donald Trump’s need to purchase Greenland. Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images
Apps offer sensible help
Rosenfeldt, who lives in Copenhagen and works in digital advertising and marketing, determined to create the app a 12 months in the past after becoming a member of a Facebook group of like-minded Danes hoping to boycott U.S. goods.
“Many people were frustrated and thinking, ‘How do we actually do this in practical terms,’” the 53-year-old recalled. “If you use a bar code scanner, it’s difficult to see if a product is actually American or not, if it’s Danish or not. And if you don’t know that, you can’t really make a conscious choice.”
The latest model of “Made O’Meter” makes use of artificial intelligence to establish and analyze a number of merchandise at a time, then suggest related European-made alternate options. Users can set preferences, like “No USA-owned brands” or “Only EU-based brands.” The app claims over 95% accuracy.
“By using artificial intelligence, you can take an image of a product … and it can make a deep dive to go out and find the correct information about the product in many levels,” Rosenfeldt told The Associated Press during a demonstration at a Copenhagen grocery store. “This way, you have information that you can use to take decisions on what you think is right.”
‘Losing an ally’
After an initial surge of downloads when the app was launched, usage tailed off. Until last month, when Trump stepped up his rhetoric about the need for the U.S. to purchase Greenland, a strategically important and mineral-rich Arctic island that is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.
Usage peaked Jan. 23, when there have been virtually 40,000 scans in at some point, in contrast with 500 or so daily last summer time. It has dropped back since but there have been still around 5,000 a day this week, said Rosenfeldt, who famous “Made O’Meter” is used by over 20,000 people in Denmark but also by people in Germany, Spain, Italy, even Venezuela.
Close up on a mobile phone with the app called “UdenUSA”, which interprets to withoutUSA in Danish and filters out American merchandise in supermarkets, in Copenhagen on Jan. 21. AP
“It’s become much more personal,” said Rosenfeldt, who spoke of “losing an ally and a friend.”
Trump announced in January he would slap new tariffs on Denmark and seven other European nations that opposed his takeover calls, only to abruptly drop his threats after he said a “framework” for a deal over access to mineral-rich Greenland was reached with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s help. Few particulars of that settlement have emerged.
The U.S. started technical talks in late January to put together an Arctic security deal with Denmark and Greenland, which say sovereignty is not negotiable.
Rosenfeldt is aware of such boycotts gained’t harm the U.S. economic system, but hopes to ship a message to supermarkets and encourage larger reliance on European producers.
“Maybe we can send a signal and people will listen and we can make a change,” he added.
The protest could also be largely symbolic
Another Danish app, “NonUSA,” topped 100,000 downloads at the start of February. One of its creators, 21-year-old Jonas Pipper, said there have been over 25,000 downloads Jan. 21, when 526 product scans had been carried out in a minute at one level. Of the customers, some 46,000 are in Denmark and around 10,000 in Germany.
“We noticed some users saying they felt like a little bit of the pressure was lifted off them,” Pipper said. “They feel like they kind of gained the power back in this situation.”
It’s questionable whether or not such apps can have a lot sensible impact.
Christina Gravert, an affiliate professor of economics at the University of Copenhagen, said there are literally few U.S. merchandise on Danish grocery store cabinets, “around 1 to 3%”. Nuts, wines and sweet, for instance. But there’s widespread use of American technology in Denmark, from Apple iPhones to Microsoft Office instruments.
“If you really want to have an impact, that’s where you should start,” she said.
Even “Made O’Meter” and “NonUSA” are downloaded from Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store.
Gravert, who specializes in behavioral economics, said such boycott campaigns are often short-lived and real change often requires an organized effort slightly than particular person customers.
“It can be interesting for big supermarket brands to say, OK, we’re not going to carry these products anymore because consumers don’t want to buy them,” she said. “If you think about large companies, this might have some type of impact on the import (they) do.”
On a current morning, customers leaving one Copenhagen grocery store had been divided.
“We do boycott, but we don’t know all the American goods. So, it’s mostly the well-known trademarks,” said Morten Nielsen, 68, a retired navy officer. “It’s a personal feeling … we feel we do something, I know we are not doing very much.”
“I love America, I love traveling in America,” said 63-year-old retiree Charlotte Fuglsang. “I don’t think we should protest that way.”
Stay informed with the latest in tech! Our web site is your trusted source for breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, gadget launches, software program updates, cybersecurity, and digital innovation.
For contemporary insights, professional coverage, and trending tech updates, go to us repeatedly by clicking right here.
