8 ms·

Methinks this won’t be the last politically-motivated removal from Apple’s App Store; the more apps they remove then the more they weaken their own arguments ab

Methinks this won’t be the last politically-motivated removal from Apple’s App Store; the more apps they remove then the more they weaken their own arguments about how a locked-in walled garden is in consumer interests.

JKCalhoun 1y ago
Oh absolutely. Bondi demanded (!) they remove the app. Why would anyone think she won't demand they remove others?
- VladVladikoff 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - decremental 1y ago
    [dead]
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- myvoiceismypass 1y ago
  Yep, anything DNC-labeled or affiliated will be next on the ban list. Truly scary stuff, that tens of millions of fellow Americans are actively cheering on.
  - EchoReflection 1y ago
    [flagged]
sandworm101 1y ago
And it is certainly also not the first.
- eviks 1y ago
  What was the first?
  - sandworm101 1y ago
    No idea, but i know that apple regularly responds to government takedown requests. This was from last year: https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-removes-whatsapp-threads-from-china-app-store-on-government-orders-a0c02100 https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-removes-whatsapp-threads-from... Apple even has a website about it: (there dozens of such takedowns each year.) https://www.apple.com/legal/transparency/app-removal-requests-legal-violation.html https://www.apple.com/legal/transparency/app-removal-request...
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
    - worik 1y ago
      Apple's "transparency" website is a website, but adds very little transparency
x1unix 1y ago
Apple removed a lot of apps from the store in order to stay present in Russia. Just business
- tempodox 1y ago
  Only goes to show how the U.S. are becoming more like Russia by the day.
  - dovemoney 1y ago
    Yes
- Cthulhu_ 1y ago
  The big tech companies bent the knee (or, complied with local policies and laws) to Russia, China, Europe, etc already to do business over there, it's nothing particularly new but we are fully aware that Russia and China are not free countries, and Europe has stricter consumer / data protection laws (so it's less free for companies than the US).
  - wizzwizz4 1y ago
    > Europe has stricter consumer / data protection laws (so it's less free for companies than the US) More free for the general populace, though (at least in this regard: I'm not making a holistic assessment in this sentence).
  - worik 1y ago
    > we are fully aware that Russia and China are not free countries Pot to kettle....
- dspillett 1y ago
  Just business under an authoritarian regime. Things happening the way they happen in Russia is not exactly something I'd aspire to, or readily accept…
- buellerbueller 1y ago
JuniperMesos 1y ago
This wasn't the first one either.
Nervhq 1y ago
Yep they reap what they sow
diego_moita 1y ago
And it won't affect their branding in any relevant way. As "Amusing Ourselves to Death"[1] would explain, what almost all Apple consumers want is just FaceBook, WhatsApp, memes and games. Anything else is "boooring!". We live in an Idiocracy[2]. Deal with it. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy
- codyb 1y ago
  I've started buying refurb, and will be heavily considering my upcoming electronics purchases. I encourage others to reduce consumption from companies which kowtow to this dangerous administration's demands and rhetoric. I've been boycotting Amazon as best I can for nearly a decade though since they had ambulances outside their warehouses and delivery workers pissing in gatorade bottles but reducing consumption of toxic brands can be done and is effective at sending messages when done en masse. I also boycott all the social media companies, Disney, Google as much as possible. Sadly, there's not a ton of options in this space (computer electronics). I've also e-mailed tim.cook@apple.com and expressed my opinions in a polite manner. Maybe someone read it. Who knows. Stand up, fight back!
  - pcf 1y ago
    I like the thought, but AFAIK it doesn't really change the bottom line much, as long as you buy a used older product from a brand. Probably because the person selling it is buying a newer model, so you're still helping the company out. I might be wrong, though. But this was the initial conclusion I arrived at when I was researching whether to buy an iPhone 17, iPhone 15 Pro (used) or Android phone. Only the last option would probably hurt Apple directly. And only a liiiiiittle.
    - idiotsecant 1y ago
      That's nonsense. The choice is between you purchasing a new phone or you not purchasing a new phone. It's post hoc justification to assume that your dollars from buying a used unit will be used for something in particular. You made the decision you wanted and then built the logic to support it.
slackfan 1y ago
It's by no means the first if you've been outside of the US. Glad to see we're moving in the direction of China, Russia, Europe, etc.
imglorp 1y ago
Who thinks it will stop at app removals? Remember CSAM and how it got withdrawn? https://www.apple.com/child-safety/pdf/CSAM_Detection_Technical_Summary.pdf https://www.apple.com/child-safety/pdf/CSAM_Detection_Techni... What if the government asks for sentiment analysis? Thoughtcrime detection? Always-on audio collection? Always-on location logging? All the things we were afraid of are simple technically and the only thing stopping it is a few executives of a trillion dollar company who must report earnings to shareholders.
- yubblegum 1y ago
  All that you said coupled with (snooping) edge AI is the future.
  - imglorp 1y ago
    Sure, yes. The question is, will the corporations provide open access to the government for warrantless mass surveillance?
    - yubblegum 1y ago
      Well, we're talking not just about "corporations", we are talking about entities with more gross earnings than most countries' GDP, e.g. Apple is sitting on billions of dollars in cash. These guys have the tech, the data, and oceans of money. Heck, some of them even have space forces :) Maybe in our (very near?) cyber punk future, it's not only goverments that we should be concerned about. After all, we have some measure of input regarding the goverment.
      - nobody9999 1y ago
        >Maybe in our (very near?) cyber punk future, it's not only goverments that we should be concerned about. After all, we have some measure of input regarding the goverment. Why shouldn't we already be concerned about the corporations? They've been slurping our data and selling it for a profit for my whole life[0]. Sure, that sort of behavior started with banks and other financial institutions, but has extended, over the decades, to consumer products companies (P&G, General Mills, etc.) and to retailers (Walmart, Target, etc.), then into internet search (Google, Bing), "social" media (the Meta conglomerate, etc.), hardware and software companies (Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc.), communication devices (Apple, Google, Samsung, etc.), consumer electronics (LG, Samsung, GE, Maytag), Automobiles (GM, Chrysler, Nissan, Toyota, etc., etc., etc.) and "IoT" devices (Amazon, Google and a host of others) are all hoovering up as much information as they can to both sell (and governments as well as other corporations are buying and paying through the nose) and use for "targeted" ads. Isn't your refrigerator showing you ads, your TV recording what you're doing while you use it, your phone reporting pretty much everywhere you go, everything you do and everyone with whom you communicate, social media apps recording every key stroke, even if it doesn't end up in a post, your car tracking both your movements and your driving behavior, your internet searches used to create detailed shadow profiles of your interests and purchasing habits. I could go on and on and on. Corporations are collecting levels of private data on people that would have been beyond the Stasi's[1] wildest dreams. And so I'll ask again, when, exactly, should we "start" to be concerned about corporate surveillance? [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Credit_Reporting_Act#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Credit_Reporting_Act#Hist... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stasi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stasi
snvzz 1y ago
It was an illegal app designed to aid in illegal interference with law enforcement. It is unsurprising for it to get removed, as companies must follow the law.
- dragonwriter 1y ago
  It is not illegal to notice actions of government agents in public or to report them to others; it was a legal app designed to facility activity protected by the First Amendemnt.
- cooperq 1y ago
  it is actually not illegal at all to report on the locations of law enforcement. This is, in fact, protected speech.
- idiotsecant 1y ago
  A) it's not illegal, as evidenced by the fact that not a single person has been prosecuted. There is no law being broken, just the feel-feels of the surveillance state getting hurt. B) Even if there was a law, its the duty of every American to disobey unjust laws. The government serves at the pleasure of the people, not the other way around. There are a lot of people getting awfully comfortable with weak men ordering other jack booted weak men to systematically tear down what actually makes America great. I thought we settled this last time, but maybe we need to revisit the issue.
  - trimethylpurine 1y ago
    >"it's the duty of every American to disobey unjust laws..." Is this what universities are teaching? Where did you get this from, honestly? This is a terrible assertion. The subjectivity of what is just or unjust would lead to overwhelming violent lawlessness if this were true. Thankfully, we have no such duty. Please, stand up for what you believe is right within the legal framework. This is a largely just society, by comparison. Maybe travel a bit to see what an unjust society looks like. Weigh your options, at least, before resorting to criminality as a lifestyle choice.
Dig1t 1y ago
The left did this in the previous admin with Parler. This has been going on for a long time and Apple will not face any repercussions because it is abused by both sides of the political aisle.

JKCalhoun 1y ago

Oh absolutely. Bondi demanded (!) they remove the app. Why would anyone think she won't demand they remove others?

VladVladikoff 1y ago
[flagged]
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- decremental 1y ago
  [dead]
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
myvoiceismypass 1y ago
Yep, anything DNC-labeled or affiliated will be next on the ban list. Truly scary stuff, that tens of millions of fellow Americans are actively cheering on.
- EchoReflection 1y ago
  [flagged]

sandworm101 1y ago

And it is certainly also not the first.

eviks 1y ago
What was the first?
- sandworm101 1y ago
  No idea, but i know that apple regularly responds to government takedown requests. This was from last year: https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-removes-whatsapp-threads-from-china-app-store-on-government-orders-a0c02100 https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-removes-whatsapp-threads-from... Apple even has a website about it: (there dozens of such takedowns each year.) https://www.apple.com/legal/transparency/app-removal-requests-legal-violation.html https://www.apple.com/legal/transparency/app-removal-request...
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - worik 1y ago
    Apple's "transparency" website is a website, but adds very little transparency

x1unix 1y ago

Apple removed a lot of apps from the store in order to stay present in Russia. Just business

tempodox 1y ago
Only goes to show how the U.S. are becoming more like Russia by the day.
- dovemoney 1y ago
  Yes
Cthulhu_ 1y ago
The big tech companies bent the knee (or, complied with local policies and laws) to Russia, China, Europe, etc already to do business over there, it's nothing particularly new but we are fully aware that Russia and China are not free countries, and Europe has stricter consumer / data protection laws (so it's less free for companies than the US).
- wizzwizz4 1y ago
  > Europe has stricter consumer / data protection laws (so it's less free for companies than the US) More free for the general populace, though (at least in this regard: I'm not making a holistic assessment in this sentence).
- worik 1y ago
  > we are fully aware that Russia and China are not free countries Pot to kettle....
dspillett 1y ago
Just business under an authoritarian regime. Things happening the way they happen in Russia is not exactly something I'd aspire to, or readily accept…
buellerbueller 1y ago

JuniperMesos 1y ago

This wasn't the first one either.

Nervhq 1y ago

Yep they reap what they sow

diego_moita 1y ago

And it won't affect their branding in any relevant way. As "Amusing Ourselves to Death"[1] would explain, what almost all Apple consumers want is just FaceBook, WhatsApp, memes and games. Anything else is "boooring!". We live in an Idiocracy[2]. Deal with it. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy

codyb 1y ago
I've started buying refurb, and will be heavily considering my upcoming electronics purchases. I encourage others to reduce consumption from companies which kowtow to this dangerous administration's demands and rhetoric. I've been boycotting Amazon as best I can for nearly a decade though since they had ambulances outside their warehouses and delivery workers pissing in gatorade bottles but reducing consumption of toxic brands can be done and is effective at sending messages when done en masse. I also boycott all the social media companies, Disney, Google as much as possible. Sadly, there's not a ton of options in this space (computer electronics). I've also e-mailed tim.cook@apple.com and expressed my opinions in a polite manner. Maybe someone read it. Who knows. Stand up, fight back!
- pcf 1y ago
  I like the thought, but AFAIK it doesn't really change the bottom line much, as long as you buy a used older product from a brand. Probably because the person selling it is buying a newer model, so you're still helping the company out. I might be wrong, though. But this was the initial conclusion I arrived at when I was researching whether to buy an iPhone 17, iPhone 15 Pro (used) or Android phone. Only the last option would probably hurt Apple directly. And only a liiiiiittle.
  - idiotsecant 1y ago
    That's nonsense. The choice is between you purchasing a new phone or you not purchasing a new phone. It's post hoc justification to assume that your dollars from buying a used unit will be used for something in particular. You made the decision you wanted and then built the logic to support it.

slackfan 1y ago

It's by no means the first if you've been outside of the US. Glad to see we're moving in the direction of China, Russia, Europe, etc.

imglorp 1y ago

Who thinks it will stop at app removals? Remember CSAM and how it got withdrawn? https://www.apple.com/child-safety/pdf/CSAM_Detection_Technical_Summary.pdf https://www.apple.com/child-safety/pdf/CSAM_Detection_Techni... What if the government asks for sentiment analysis? Thoughtcrime detection? Always-on audio collection? Always-on location logging? All the things we were afraid of are simple technically and the only thing stopping it is a few executives of a trillion dollar company who must report earnings to shareholders.

yubblegum 1y ago
All that you said coupled with (snooping) edge AI is the future.
- imglorp 1y ago
  Sure, yes. The question is, will the corporations provide open access to the government for warrantless mass surveillance?
  - yubblegum 1y ago
    Well, we're talking not just about "corporations", we are talking about entities with more gross earnings than most countries' GDP, e.g. Apple is sitting on billions of dollars in cash. These guys have the tech, the data, and oceans of money. Heck, some of them even have space forces :) Maybe in our (very near?) cyber punk future, it's not only goverments that we should be concerned about. After all, we have some measure of input regarding the goverment.
    - nobody9999 1y ago
      >Maybe in our (very near?) cyber punk future, it's not only goverments that we should be concerned about. After all, we have some measure of input regarding the goverment. Why shouldn't we already be concerned about the corporations? They've been slurping our data and selling it for a profit for my whole life[0]. Sure, that sort of behavior started with banks and other financial institutions, but has extended, over the decades, to consumer products companies (P&G, General Mills, etc.) and to retailers (Walmart, Target, etc.), then into internet search (Google, Bing), "social" media (the Meta conglomerate, etc.), hardware and software companies (Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc.), communication devices (Apple, Google, Samsung, etc.), consumer electronics (LG, Samsung, GE, Maytag), Automobiles (GM, Chrysler, Nissan, Toyota, etc., etc., etc.) and "IoT" devices (Amazon, Google and a host of others) are all hoovering up as much information as they can to both sell (and governments as well as other corporations are buying and paying through the nose) and use for "targeted" ads. Isn't your refrigerator showing you ads, your TV recording what you're doing while you use it, your phone reporting pretty much everywhere you go, everything you do and everyone with whom you communicate, social media apps recording every key stroke, even if it doesn't end up in a post, your car tracking both your movements and your driving behavior, your internet searches used to create detailed shadow profiles of your interests and purchasing habits. I could go on and on and on. Corporations are collecting levels of private data on people that would have been beyond the Stasi's[1] wildest dreams. And so I'll ask again, when, exactly, should we "start" to be concerned about corporate surveillance? [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Credit_Reporting_Act#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Credit_Reporting_Act#Hist... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stasi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stasi

snvzz 1y ago

It was an illegal app designed to aid in illegal interference with law enforcement. It is unsurprising for it to get removed, as companies must follow the law.

dragonwriter 1y ago
It is not illegal to notice actions of government agents in public or to report them to others; it was a legal app designed to facility activity protected by the First Amendemnt.
cooperq 1y ago
it is actually not illegal at all to report on the locations of law enforcement. This is, in fact, protected speech.
idiotsecant 1y ago
A) it's not illegal, as evidenced by the fact that not a single person has been prosecuted. There is no law being broken, just the feel-feels of the surveillance state getting hurt. B) Even if there was a law, its the duty of every American to disobey unjust laws. The government serves at the pleasure of the people, not the other way around. There are a lot of people getting awfully comfortable with weak men ordering other jack booted weak men to systematically tear down what actually makes America great. I thought we settled this last time, but maybe we need to revisit the issue.
- trimethylpurine 1y ago
  >"it's the duty of every American to disobey unjust laws..." Is this what universities are teaching? Where did you get this from, honestly? This is a terrible assertion. The subjectivity of what is just or unjust would lead to overwhelming violent lawlessness if this were true. Thankfully, we have no such duty. Please, stand up for what you believe is right within the legal framework. This is a largely just society, by comparison. Maybe travel a bit to see what an unjust society looks like. Weigh your options, at least, before resorting to criminality as a lifestyle choice.

Dig1t 1y ago

The left did this in the previous admin with Parler. This has been going on for a long time and Apple will not face any repercussions because it is abused by both sides of the political aisle.