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The problem is these companies are too big and powerful now. If a small business refuses someone its no big deal, go to another business. But when these titans

The problem is these companies are too big and powerful now. If a small business refuses someone its no big deal, go to another business. But when these titans join together to make an action that affects you and there are no alternatives left, thats a different case. If both Apple and Google ban your app when the app is legal and useful, is it good for society that there is no way around this?

tantalor 6y ago
"Legal and useful" are but two criteria Apple uses to approve or refuse apps. They also care about safety, performance, and design. https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/ https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/
- SulfurHexaFluri 6y ago
  They also care about squashing competition which prevents many apps like real web browsers, game streaming and alternative stores which can not pay the 30% fee. IMO its fair for the app store to remove whatever it wants but there needs to be an escape hatch where apps blocked by apple can be manually installed. Since the API apps have access to is secure, this should not be a significant issue. Apps like Parlor may be full of ToS violating content but users should still be able to sideload the app and the government should be the one to shut them down if the content is illegal.
  - tantalor 6y ago
    They have that, it's the web browser.
    - NorwegianDude 6y ago
      No. iOS doesn't have a decent browser. iOS Safari is a seriously buggy and feature lacking browser. Coincidence? Probably not.
    - SulfurHexaFluri 6y ago
      If the web browser was actually a replacement for apps there would be no apps in the app store because it would be easier and far cheaper to run a website.
    - agiroth 6y ago
      And what do you do when your webhost becomes your moderator and deplatforms your site, on the exact same day? We can take this all the way to fabricating wires to build computers to make our own servers; at some point we have to discuss the actual issue: where to private and public rights intersect and what is the role of government in resolving the conflict.

tantalor 6y ago

"Legal and useful" are but two criteria Apple uses to approve or refuse apps. They also care about safety, performance, and design. https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/ https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/

SulfurHexaFluri 6y ago
They also care about squashing competition which prevents many apps like real web browsers, game streaming and alternative stores which can not pay the 30% fee. IMO its fair for the app store to remove whatever it wants but there needs to be an escape hatch where apps blocked by apple can be manually installed. Since the API apps have access to is secure, this should not be a significant issue. Apps like Parlor may be full of ToS violating content but users should still be able to sideload the app and the government should be the one to shut them down if the content is illegal.
- tantalor 6y ago
  They have that, it's the web browser.
  - NorwegianDude 6y ago
    No. iOS doesn't have a decent browser. iOS Safari is a seriously buggy and feature lacking browser. Coincidence? Probably not.
  - SulfurHexaFluri 6y ago
    If the web browser was actually a replacement for apps there would be no apps in the app store because it would be easier and far cheaper to run a website.
  - agiroth 6y ago
    And what do you do when your webhost becomes your moderator and deplatforms your site, on the exact same day? We can take this all the way to fabricating wires to build computers to make our own servers; at some point we have to discuss the actual issue: where to private and public rights intersect and what is the role of government in resolving the conflict.