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Telegram removed from the App Store for 'inappropriate content'

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Re: Telegram removed from the App Store for 'inappropriate content'

#151

Post by sli »

morganvachon wrote: post #146
Doxin wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as I can tell anyone can create a set of stickers. There's much worse out there than just cleavage or furries.

Yes but don't they have to be submitted to Telegram for acceptance? That's what it says in the "Stickers" section of Settings. Then again, maybe they accept all submissions by default and depend on the community to self-police. Anyway, all I ever see are the "trending" ones in the app's interface. I wouldn't know where to look beyond that (and I don't use them so I don't care to look for them anyway).

You can create arbitrary sticker packs all you want from within the Telegram client using one of Telegram's own bots (Stickers, similar to BotFather for creating bot accounts). I've made a few myself. Unless Telegram promotes them in the stickers section, they have to be shared manually after that. Telegram itself does not prevent you from making any sticker pack you want.

Re: Telegram removed from the App Store for 'inappropriate content'

#152

Post by sli »

morganvachon wrote: post #138
Animats wrote: post #102

Because it allows users to send inappropriate content? What next, automatic voice censorship? That's technically feasible now.

It may have been triggered by one of the sets of "stickers" available as alternatives to emoji. I've browsed through them and while they all seem PG-13 or tamer to me, I can see how someone with sensitivity towards suggestive cartoons would be offended. There are a few with female cartoons showing cleavage, and at least one that is obviously targeted at furries.

Is there something inherently wrong with sticker packs of animal characters or is this the standard internet conflation of furry content and characters (which would include cartoon characters you likely grew up watching) with specifically furry porn? Telegram promotes a lot of sticker packs featuring an animal character or multiple animal characters, and well as fairly risque (to some) packs without animals.

Re: Telegram removed from the App Store for 'inappropriate content'

#153

Post by vxNsr »

jimrandomh wrote: post #143
igloofoo wrote: post #77

There may be political motive to this. Why is Telegram X issued by "Telegram Messenger LLP" while the original Telegram is issued by "Telegram LLC"? Telegram LLC, which issues the original Telegram app on the App Store has been undergoing litigation with regards to its ownership. It is based out of Russia and a company called UCP with Krelim ties who 'bought' VKontakte has been suing Durov for full Telegram ownership…

For an app which demands as much trust as Telegram does, that level of intrigue is pretty scary.

My understanding is that it all comes back to the fact that Durov has upset Putin, so anything that gains traction in Russia must be controlled by someone close to the Kremlin (ie Putin). It's scary but I'd be surprised if any other app didn't suffer a similar fate if it gained a popular following in Russia.

Re: Telegram removed from the App Store for 'inappropriate content'

#154

Post by michaelmrose »

debt wrote: post #115
igloofoo wrote: post #77

There may be political motive to this. Why is Telegram X issued by "Telegram Messenger LLP" while the original Telegram is issued by "Telegram LLC"? Telegram LLC, which issues the original Telegram app on the App Store has been undergoing litigation with regards to its ownership. It is based out of Russia and a company called UCP with Krelim ties who 'bought' VKontakte has been suing Durov for full Telegram ownership…

Apple would be held liable if someone uses Telegram to coordinate a terrorist attack or if it's used for human trafficking or whatever highly illegal activity it could be used for. Potentially both in the court of law and the court of public opinion; the latter Apple has no control over. It's just not worth it financially for Apple to assume that liability.

By your logic sprint could be held liable based on providing a phone network, or google for providing free email which can be used with encryption.

Re: Telegram removed from the App Store for 'inappropriate content'

#155

Post by michaelmrose »

debt wrote: post #149
debt wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple would be held liable if someone uses Telegram to coordinate a terrorist attack or if it's used for human trafficking or whatever highly illegal activity it could be used for. Potentially both in the court of law and the court of public opinion; the latter Apple has no control over. It's just not worth it financially for Apple to assume that liability.

This seems controversial, but my original point stands. If Apple believes they may be liable for providing access to Telegram, then maybe that's why they removed it in the first place. Y'all are right, there a probably very could counterarguments to that, but I don't think that makes Apple potentially any less liable.

Liable based on what law? You really need to support your arguments.

Re: Telegram removed from the App Store for 'inappropriate content'

#156

Post by squarefoot »

m12k wrote: post #93
squarefoot wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"except the websites are mini apps, and a mega corporation gets to control whats on it" There is more to it. Using apps instead of websites we're killing the whole concept of making information and services available using a standard protocol. That's like going back over 30 years, even before gopher. Then there is the cloud->mainframe similarity, with data and services being moved somewhere into the net where the use…

> Using apps instead of websites we're killing the whole concept of making information and services available using a standard protocol I think the interesting thing to note here is that for most end users a standard protocol is not nearly as appealing as a standard user interface. Like how most iOS apps follow common navigation paradigms, so users don't need to spend time learning each new one. And how people tend t…

"I think the interesting thing to note here is that for most end users a standard protocol is not nearly as appealing as a standard user interface."

That is very true too. I often wondered what would have happened had someone created say 10 years ago an email client with strict protocol compatibility but employing an higher abstraction layer where discussions/attaches are managed automatically just like in a Whatsapp chat (chat -> mail list) using a similar UI. Probably most users would have rejected the idea because they had no intention to learn a new thing nobody was using. So, back to square one.

Re: Telegram removed from the App Store for 'inappropriate content'

#157

Post by skinnymuch »

Turing_Machine wrote: post #142
skinnymuch wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many apps are profitable and of those how many are made by independent people?

More than one out of 50 million, you can bet.

Are you saying there’s only like 30 sites with a subscription model that are profitable?

Re: Telegram removed from the App Store for 'inappropriate content'

#158

Post by squarefoot »

floatboth wrote: post #135
m12k wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Using apps instead of websites we're killing the whole concept of making information and services available using a standard protocol I think the interesting thing to note here is that for most end users a standard protocol is not nearly as appealing as a standard user interface. Like how most iOS apps follow common navigation paradigms, so users don't need to spend time learning each new one. And how people tend t…

One of the most appealing things for end users is instant loading. That's why apps are preferred on mobile, but websites on desktop.

And branding. If an user downloads your app he puts an icon with your logo on his phone screen, possibly near other people watching. That doesn't happen when he taps on a browser icon. Not to mention that he also executes your code on his phone, code that almost always will ask for full access to media and contacts to be installed.

Re: Telegram removed from the App Store for 'inappropriate content'

#159

Post by qwerty456127 »

donarb wrote: post #131
qwerty456127 wrote: post #105

Why not remove Chrome, Safari and E-mail clients for inappropriate content too? Why not WhatsApp, Skype or iMessage? Telegram is just a wire, it's up to the users if they want to use it to talk to other users that speak 'inappropriate'. This is why I will never buy an iPhone (though I don't mind a MacBook as long as root access and legal ways to install Linux have not been locked on them yet) - I want to use the devi…

No fascism here, just a buggy program. All the developer has to do is to follow Apple's rules whereby the user is given the opportunity to control inappropriate content. As was mentioned in the article, the developer expects to fix their filters and resubmit the program.

Nice to know the details, thanks. But anyway, how can a messenger app know what content is going to be inappropriate? What if I call somebody when I am drunk and say something inappropriate - can the telephone app tell this in advance? How is a messenger different?

Re: Telegram removed from the App Store for 'inappropriate content'

#160

Post by morganvachon »

sli wrote: post #152
morganvachon wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may have been triggered by one of the sets of "stickers" available as alternatives to emoji. I've browsed through them and while they all seem PG-13 or tamer to me, I can see how someone with sensitivity towards suggestive cartoons would be offended. There are a few with female cartoons showing cleavage, and at least one that is obviously targeted at furries.

Is there something inherently wrong with sticker packs of animal characters or is this the standard internet conflation of furry content and characters (which would include cartoon characters you likely grew up watching) with specifically furry porn? Telegram promotes a lot of sticker packs featuring an animal character or multiple animal characters, and well as fairly risque (to some) packs without animals.

I never said anything was wrong with pictures of animals and I don't think I'm conflating anything. I was referring to the risque pictures of anthropomorphised animals I've seen promoted there, which to me (as a non-furry, so maybe I'm wrong) seems to be targeted at that demographic. Specifically, I've seen two sets in the trending section that have "sexy" cartoon rabbits and foxes with cleavage and other traditionally sexualized human-like features.

Anyway, I don't see anything wrong with it, to each their own. I was just offering a thought about why Apple might censor the app.

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