4 ms·

Apple censors app store to comply with authoritarian regime censorship laws

craftyguy 8y ago
gambling apps are not exactly allowed here in the US either, are you insinuating that the US has authoritarian regime censorship laws too?
- JohnTHaller 8y ago
  Not sure that outlawing gambling, which wrecks lives through addiction and has no measurable benefit, could be equated to outlawing letting you talk about the fact that your government slaughtered students in Tienanmen Square or simply that your ruler resembles Winnie the Pooh.
  - craftyguy 8y ago
    the article is about them removing gambling apps, not about them removing apps that help citizens speak out about their government...
    - JohnTHaller 8y ago
      Sorry, conflated this with the recent purge of VPN apps that China insisted on to prevent citizens from talking of Pooh and Tienanmen.
  - jdietrich 8y ago
    Most people in my country think that gambling is basically fine and handguns are a menace to society, so our laws reflect that. It seems bizarre to us that most Americans can legally own a handgun, but can't legally place a $5 bet on a football game. Our attitudes to guns and gambling aren't right or wrong, they're just different. There are things I could say in this comment that would be a federal felony. No country has absolute freedom of speech. All countries draw a line somewhere. China draws that line in a different place to the US. It's not right or wrong, it's just different.
    - JohnTHaller 8y ago
      Being jailed for saying someone looks a bit like a cartoon character or stating simple facts about a government slaughtering students is definitively wrong. The only folks who might disagree are those brought up in brain-washy/authoritarian regimes.
- zeveb 8y ago
  Authoritarian gambling laws, at least.
- reaperducer 8y ago
  Actually, Apple does allow gambling apps in its U.S. app store. But the use is geolocated to places where gambling is legal. Example: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/playmgm/id1083947754?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/playmgm/id1083947754?mt=8
gutnor 8y ago
or Apple complies with local laws. Of course it is bad for censorship in autoritarian countries, but I'm glad for the extra customer protections in the EU vs the US. edit: And I'm also glad that foreign companies need to comply with local laws in my country. Since about everything comes from China directly or indirectly, I would be living in a de-facto Chinese province right now.

gambling apps are not exactly allowed here in the US either, are you insinuating that the US has authoritarian regime censorship laws too?

JohnTHaller 8y ago
Not sure that outlawing gambling, which wrecks lives through addiction and has no measurable benefit, could be equated to outlawing letting you talk about the fact that your government slaughtered students in Tienanmen Square or simply that your ruler resembles Winnie the Pooh.
- craftyguy 8y ago
  the article is about them removing gambling apps, not about them removing apps that help citizens speak out about their government...
  - JohnTHaller 8y ago
    Sorry, conflated this with the recent purge of VPN apps that China insisted on to prevent citizens from talking of Pooh and Tienanmen.
- jdietrich 8y ago
  Most people in my country think that gambling is basically fine and handguns are a menace to society, so our laws reflect that. It seems bizarre to us that most Americans can legally own a handgun, but can't legally place a $5 bet on a football game. Our attitudes to guns and gambling aren't right or wrong, they're just different. There are things I could say in this comment that would be a federal felony. No country has absolute freedom of speech. All countries draw a line somewhere. China draws that line in a different place to the US. It's not right or wrong, it's just different.
  - JohnTHaller 8y ago
    Being jailed for saying someone looks a bit like a cartoon character or stating simple facts about a government slaughtering students is definitively wrong. The only folks who might disagree are those brought up in brain-washy/authoritarian regimes.
zeveb 8y ago
Authoritarian gambling laws, at least.
reaperducer 8y ago
Actually, Apple does allow gambling apps in its U.S. app store. But the use is geolocated to places where gambling is legal. Example: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/playmgm/id1083947754?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/playmgm/id1083947754?mt=8

gutnor 8y ago

or Apple complies with local laws. Of course it is bad for censorship in autoritarian countries, but I'm glad for the extra customer protections in the EU vs the US. edit: And I'm also glad that foreign companies need to comply with local laws in my country. Since about everything comes from China directly or indirectly, I would be living in a de-facto Chinese province right now.