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You're suggesting that if Apple and Google create an app-loading mechanism that makes it difficult for them to block an app, that Pakistan will simply let them

by jmull 6y ago

You're suggesting that if Apple and Google create an app-loading mechanism that makes it difficult for them to block an app, that Pakistan will simply let them off the hook. I don't think so. Why wouldn't Pakistan simply require them to block it anyway? > ...since the people who run the site, including Zafar, do not live in Pakistan Not relevant. In this case, Apple and Google do business in Pakistan. You can argue they need to leave the market. If so, let's hear it. (Personally, I don't think that would have an impact or be the right way to go even if it did.)

Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago
I'm suggesting that Apple and Google should not be in position to decide what users run on their apps. On Android, it is rather close to it (sans push notifications, which are not available without Google Play services, and without which background apps running is somewhat problematic), but Apple is a completely opposite.
- jmull 6y ago
  Not sure you're understanding what I'm saying. The Pakistani government can require that Apple and Google block certain apps and require that they maintain their ability to do so. I don't dispute that Apple and Google do gatekeeping. They do. We can discuss the pros and cons of it. But that is simply not issue here.
  - stale2002 6y ago
    > The Pakistani government can require that Apple and Google block certain apps and require that they maintain their ability to do so. In general, we do not see governments doing this, no. For example, I am sure that some people in Pakistan own intel/windows computers. But Pakistan is not making laws that require every single intel/windows computer to block certain content, at the hardware level of the PC. That is something that seems pretty difficult to enforce on all PCs. If phones worked more like PCs, then it is likely that they would enjoy similar benefits.
    - jpttsn 6y ago
      It would be fun to watch someone calmly and rationally explain this impossibility to the legislator. Perhaps with slides about Turing’s universal machine and the x86 architecture. And while you have their ear, maybe convince them that end to end encryption can’t be safely backdoored, and that cellphone radios won’t crash planes. Legislators have so much respect and patience for technical arguments that limit their power.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]

by jmull 6y ago

Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago

I'm suggesting that Apple and Google should not be in position to decide what users run on their apps. On Android, it is rather close to it (sans push notifications, which are not available without Google Play services, and without which background apps running is somewhat problematic), but Apple is a completely opposite.

jmull 6y ago
Not sure you're understanding what I'm saying. The Pakistani government can require that Apple and Google block certain apps and require that they maintain their ability to do so. I don't dispute that Apple and Google do gatekeeping. They do. We can discuss the pros and cons of it. But that is simply not issue here.
- stale2002 6y ago
  > The Pakistani government can require that Apple and Google block certain apps and require that they maintain their ability to do so. In general, we do not see governments doing this, no. For example, I am sure that some people in Pakistan own intel/windows computers. But Pakistan is not making laws that require every single intel/windows computer to block certain content, at the hardware level of the PC. That is something that seems pretty difficult to enforce on all PCs. If phones worked more like PCs, then it is likely that they would enjoy similar benefits.
  - jpttsn 6y ago
    It would be fun to watch someone calmly and rationally explain this impossibility to the legislator. Perhaps with slides about Turing’s universal machine and the x86 architecture. And while you have their ear, maybe convince them that end to end encryption can’t be safely backdoored, and that cellphone radios won’t crash planes. Legislators have so much respect and patience for technical arguments that limit their power.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]