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Apple's pretentious stance on privacy is baffling. Threatened with a blackout in China, they rolled over like an obedient lap-dog and quietly transitioned ALL i

Apple's pretentious stance on privacy is baffling. Threatened with a blackout in China, they rolled over like an obedient lap-dog and quietly transitioned ALL iCloud-China related compute and storage to a government controlled cloud. And, wait for it, the EFF didn't so much as make a peep

bitmapbrother 8y ago
>Threatened with a blackout in China, they rolled over like an obedient lap-dog and quietly transitioned ALL iCloud-China related compute and storage to a government controlled cloud. The Chinese App Store generates 6-8 billion annually in revenue and that's not even including the revenue from their other services. China is also one of their largest phone markets, if not the largest, and the source of their growth so of course Apple rolled over like a lap dog and handed over the data of their Chinese users to the Chinese government. The fact that the EFF has been so silent on the the hypocrisy of Apple's privacy policy says a lot.
duxup 8y ago
Call me what you want, but I kinda get it. The world has a lot of places... nations, they all expect you to cooperate, is that Apple's problem to solve by sitting out? Does that really do anything?
- mankash666 8y ago
  It certainly isn't Apple's problem. But their marketing screams "We care about your privacy", while their actions show otherwise. It's completely OK for Apple to pursue their business interests, but the false moral high-ground is deceptive.
  - duxup 8y ago
    I don't think anyone in China is confused. Are they advertising privacy in China, is that even a thing? I wonder if it is, if it is understood but the public.
  - LamaOfRuin 8y ago
    Apple provides the Chinese government with the same powers they provide the US government (and don't delude yourself into thinking US laws don't also censor, even if we have different standards). At the same time, as a local device with iCloud disabled, they provide the most usably private device that is widely available, in a place where there are a large number of technically sophisticated dissidents that can benefit from it. We may wish Apple would use their vast economic resources to attempt more nudging towards liberal western values, but from the public information I'm aware of, they seem far less hypocritical than most companies (or governments, especially the US).
    - mankash666 8y ago
      > as a local device with iCloud disabled, they provide the most usably private device that is widely available This! The very fact that you perceive Apple to be more private than the competition is the exact point I'm harping on. That's a perception, not the truth. A Google pixel, or Samsung Galaxy (with encrypted storeage enabled) offers as much, or as little in the way of "usable privacy" that protects dissidents as Apple. Not to mention, dissidents are a lot more common in politically turbulent developing countries where an iPhone X costs as much as 6 months in wages. So, let's not pretend like the iPhone is a gift to dissidents
      - LamaOfRuin 8y ago
        I hate Apple's software design, so I'm not a user, but this is a perception based on security researchers and actual activists being targeted by their (or other) governments, not Apple's assertions. Google has made positive moves, and there is hope with Treble that they can match Apple (they absolutely have the security personnel to do it) but as yet they are not there. Apple provides this with affordable several year old devices that are cheaper than any remotely secure android device. Those devices will generally continue to get software updates as long as brand new flagship Android devices.

bitmapbrother 8y ago

>Threatened with a blackout in China, they rolled over like an obedient lap-dog and quietly transitioned ALL iCloud-China related compute and storage to a government controlled cloud. The Chinese App Store generates 6-8 billion annually in revenue and that's not even including the revenue from their other services. China is also one of their largest phone markets, if not the largest, and the source of their growth so of course Apple rolled over like a lap dog and handed over the data of their Chinese users to the Chinese government. The fact that the EFF has been so silent on the the hypocrisy of Apple's privacy policy says a lot.

duxup 8y ago

Call me what you want, but I kinda get it. The world has a lot of places... nations, they all expect you to cooperate, is that Apple's problem to solve by sitting out? Does that really do anything?

mankash666 8y ago
It certainly isn't Apple's problem. But their marketing screams "We care about your privacy", while their actions show otherwise. It's completely OK for Apple to pursue their business interests, but the false moral high-ground is deceptive.
- duxup 8y ago
  I don't think anyone in China is confused. Are they advertising privacy in China, is that even a thing? I wonder if it is, if it is understood but the public.
- LamaOfRuin 8y ago
  Apple provides the Chinese government with the same powers they provide the US government (and don't delude yourself into thinking US laws don't also censor, even if we have different standards). At the same time, as a local device with iCloud disabled, they provide the most usably private device that is widely available, in a place where there are a large number of technically sophisticated dissidents that can benefit from it. We may wish Apple would use their vast economic resources to attempt more nudging towards liberal western values, but from the public information I'm aware of, they seem far less hypocritical than most companies (or governments, especially the US).
  - mankash666 8y ago
    > as a local device with iCloud disabled, they provide the most usably private device that is widely available This! The very fact that you perceive Apple to be more private than the competition is the exact point I'm harping on. That's a perception, not the truth. A Google pixel, or Samsung Galaxy (with encrypted storeage enabled) offers as much, or as little in the way of "usable privacy" that protects dissidents as Apple. Not to mention, dissidents are a lot more common in politically turbulent developing countries where an iPhone X costs as much as 6 months in wages. So, let's not pretend like the iPhone is a gift to dissidents
    - LamaOfRuin 8y ago
      I hate Apple's software design, so I'm not a user, but this is a perception based on security researchers and actual activists being targeted by their (or other) governments, not Apple's assertions. Google has made positive moves, and there is hope with Treble that they can match Apple (they absolutely have the security personnel to do it) but as yet they are not there. Apple provides this with affordable several year old devices that are cheaper than any remotely secure android device. Those devices will generally continue to get software updates as long as brand new flagship Android devices.