2 ms·

The point is if the most powerful institutions outside the direct government executive branch do not collectively fight back then essentially the executive bran

The point is if the most powerful institutions outside the direct government executive branch do not collectively fight back then essentially the executive branch gets more and more power... this is a slippery slope where we see the erosion of institutions it's a Playbook that has played out in countless countries and it's sad to see it happening here. The most powerful brands have enormous power and if they were to put up a fight they can get allies from the very people you point out ultimately are responsible for this dangerous turn of events

CharlesW 1y ago
> The point is if the most powerful institutions outside the direct government executive branch do not collectively fight back then essentially the executive branch gets more and more power... Apple is not going to save us. https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/apples-iceblock-capitulation-is-business-as-usual/ https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/apples-iceblock-capitulat... …even if the company does “the right thing,” it won’t be a decision taken from a moral standpoint. It will be practical. Mercenary. Because that is what is demanded by this technological/capitalist terror we’ve devised for ourselves. That’s the rules of the game. Them’s the breaks. When Apple made the decision to stand firm in the San Bernardino case, it did so not because it was the right thing to do, but because its business reputation relies on its claims of privacy and security.
Dracophoenix 1y ago
How does a corporation fight back when previous administrations have neutered its ability to do so? The Patriot Act (Bush), mass spying on Americans via gag orders (Bush/Obama), proactive anti-trust litigation as a government cudgel (Biden/Trump), jawboning (all of them). Trump's second term is certainly the most brazen and nakedly transparent attempt at control, but the groundwork had been laid decades earlier. The erosion you speak of happened long before anyone paid attention and the solution people and politicians sought was a further weakening of companies grip on their own assets (more taxes, more regulations, more interference in the market). As an earlier commenter pointed out, the popular political solution to thugs in government has been voting for more thugs in government. In such a circumstance, what does a company owe to those didn't have its interests in mind when it mattered? Even if it can, why should Apple risk becoming a political target against the current administration for the sake of a fickle electorate?
- redwood 1y ago
  Lobbying. They do it left and right focused on their pet issues. Congress can be an ally
bigyabai 1y ago
> The most powerful brands have enormous power and if they were to put up a fight they can get allies Apple already had a chance to align themselves with the "sideloaders" and Free Software nerds, what did they choose instead? They went the power-grab route. Tim Cook (and whoever his successor is) depends on informal US protectionism to stop Apple from being litigated into the dirt both by the DOJ and courts abroad. If they try to amend their greedy mistake, America's government has them blackmailed. They're the perfect, profitable lapdog. From a customer perspective, power is the problem. Apple would have had no incentive to fuck over their users if they didn't desperately desire their App Store revenue to be locked-down and enforced by the state. Now, because America refused to seriously reign-in Apple, they are a fall-guy for the tech industry as a whole. You should not be surprised if Trump tries throwing Cook under the bus as part of the "woke deep state" by the time his admin is up. If you can imagine yourself in Tim's shoes, you're probably just trying to make it a few more years without destroying Silicon Valley in the legal catastrophe that would ensue if you resisted. Emotions like "regret" or "honor" don't even factor into that equation.

CharlesW 1y ago

> The point is if the most powerful institutions outside the direct government executive branch do not collectively fight back then essentially the executive branch gets more and more power... Apple is not going to save us. https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/apples-iceblock-capitulation-is-business-as-usual/ https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/apples-iceblock-capitulat... …even if the company does “the right thing,” it won’t be a decision taken from a moral standpoint. It will be practical. Mercenary. Because that is what is demanded by this technological/capitalist terror we’ve devised for ourselves. That’s the rules of the game. Them’s the breaks. When Apple made the decision to stand firm in the San Bernardino case, it did so not because it was the right thing to do, but because its business reputation relies on its claims of privacy and security.

Dracophoenix 1y ago

How does a corporation fight back when previous administrations have neutered its ability to do so? The Patriot Act (Bush), mass spying on Americans via gag orders (Bush/Obama), proactive anti-trust litigation as a government cudgel (Biden/Trump), jawboning (all of them). Trump's second term is certainly the most brazen and nakedly transparent attempt at control, but the groundwork had been laid decades earlier. The erosion you speak of happened long before anyone paid attention and the solution people and politicians sought was a further weakening of companies grip on their own assets (more taxes, more regulations, more interference in the market). As an earlier commenter pointed out, the popular political solution to thugs in government has been voting for more thugs in government. In such a circumstance, what does a company owe to those didn't have its interests in mind when it mattered? Even if it can, why should Apple risk becoming a political target against the current administration for the sake of a fickle electorate?

redwood 1y ago
Lobbying. They do it left and right focused on their pet issues. Congress can be an ally

bigyabai 1y ago

> The most powerful brands have enormous power and if they were to put up a fight they can get allies Apple already had a chance to align themselves with the "sideloaders" and Free Software nerds, what did they choose instead? They went the power-grab route. Tim Cook (and whoever his successor is) depends on informal US protectionism to stop Apple from being litigated into the dirt both by the DOJ and courts abroad. If they try to amend their greedy mistake, America's government has them blackmailed. They're the perfect, profitable lapdog. From a customer perspective, power is the problem. Apple would have had no incentive to fuck over their users if they didn't desperately desire their App Store revenue to be locked-down and enforced by the state. Now, because America refused to seriously reign-in Apple, they are a fall-guy for the tech industry as a whole. You should not be surprised if Trump tries throwing Cook under the bus as part of the "woke deep state" by the time his admin is up. If you can imagine yourself in Tim's shoes, you're probably just trying to make it a few more years without destroying Silicon Valley in the legal catastrophe that would ensue if you resisted. Emotions like "regret" or "honor" don't even factor into that equation.