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I wonder if this will haunt Google and Apple as proof of their monopoly power. One of the monopoly tests is whether or not it harms competition. This clearly d

I wonder if this will haunt Google and Apple as proof of their monopoly power. One of the monopoly tests is whether or not it harms competition. This clearly did.

ocdtrekkie 4y ago
It wasn't competition, it was more or less piracy. The app store monopoly is bad but this isn't an example of its misuse.
mojzu 4y ago
It seems like they were just a client for Instagram which was stripping out the ads, which would probably be a pretty clear cut violation of Instagram ToS or whatever API they were using, so I'm not surprised Google/Apple would remove it from their stores
- vorpalhex 4y ago
  Google and Apple aren't, or shouldn't be, the ToS enforcers for Meta. It's a ToS violation, not a legal one.
  - dagmx 4y ago
    They are however copyright enforcers and have detailed copyright infringement policies
    - Nextgrid 4y ago
      It is unclear whether a third-party client that accesses content you are otherwise licensed to access is actually infringing, and it's likely to differ in many countries as well.
    - vorpalhex 4y ago
      This is not copyright infringement. The users logging in have the ability and license to view the material.
    - hdjjhhvvhga 4y ago
      The copyright law in many countries contains a specific interoperability exception that explicitly allows such cases to enable "information exchange". "Courts have recognised that reverse-engineering is important for public benefit and to encourage inventors and businesses thereby maintaining healthy competition in the market".[0] [0] https://lexinsight.wordpress.com/2020/06/08/achieving-interoperability-through-reverse-engineering-a-defense-to-copyright-infringement/ https://lexinsight.wordpress.com/2020/06/08/achieving-intero...
      - soco 4y ago
        Yet most technology giants are based in the States thus do what they want - within the permissive laws of their country. It's ironic how the folks here on one side get upset every time Google/Meta does something evil, yet at the same time get upset when the EU does something against Google/Meta.

I wonder if this will haunt Google and Apple as proof of their monopoly power. One of the monopoly tests is whether or not it harms competition. This clearly did.

ocdtrekkie 4y ago

It wasn't competition, it was more or less piracy. The app store monopoly is bad but this isn't an example of its misuse.

mojzu 4y ago

It seems like they were just a client for Instagram which was stripping out the ads, which would probably be a pretty clear cut violation of Instagram ToS or whatever API they were using, so I'm not surprised Google/Apple would remove it from their stores

vorpalhex 4y ago
Google and Apple aren't, or shouldn't be, the ToS enforcers for Meta. It's a ToS violation, not a legal one.
- dagmx 4y ago
  They are however copyright enforcers and have detailed copyright infringement policies
  - Nextgrid 4y ago
    It is unclear whether a third-party client that accesses content you are otherwise licensed to access is actually infringing, and it's likely to differ in many countries as well.
  - vorpalhex 4y ago
    This is not copyright infringement. The users logging in have the ability and license to view the material.
  - hdjjhhvvhga 4y ago
    The copyright law in many countries contains a specific interoperability exception that explicitly allows such cases to enable "information exchange". "Courts have recognised that reverse-engineering is important for public benefit and to encourage inventors and businesses thereby maintaining healthy competition in the market".[0] [0] https://lexinsight.wordpress.com/2020/06/08/achieving-interoperability-through-reverse-engineering-a-defense-to-copyright-infringement/ https://lexinsight.wordpress.com/2020/06/08/achieving-intero...
    - soco 4y ago
      Yet most technology giants are based in the States thus do what they want - within the permissive laws of their country. It's ironic how the folks here on one side get upset every time Google/Meta does something evil, yet at the same time get upset when the EU does something against Google/Meta.