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US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

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Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#281

Post by irwt »

Aperocky wrote: post #230
pantalaimon wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Germany just offered to invest $1.2 billion in LNG terminals if US allows them to continue with Nordstream 2. https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Germany-O...

Thanks for the link, that's an interesting read. The media is trying its darnedest to paint China as the biggest bully, except it doesn't even compare to US in real world.

So we’re ignoring the fact that Germany basically backstabbed Ukraine with that deal on purpose? Germany did not want to get involved into the Russia / Ukraine conflict because of Russia’s gas dependence, but they knew that Ukraine could force them to take a stance because of their pipeline. So Germany screwed them over and started a pipeline directly with Russia. Germany here is just as much of a scumbag as the US.

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#282

Post by mmwelt »

Aperocky wrote: post #219
2bitencryption wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hadn't even thought of this. What if WeChat was a traditional installer (.msi, .app, .exe, .run) that you download from some sever and which is mirrored all over the place? Does the same authority apply? Can the government say "it's illegal to have this binary executable?" Or is this only possible because there's one central repository for these platforms, and the government can simply compel the platform (legal an…

You actually can, there's a desktop version.

Yes, there is, but it requires you to scan a code with your mobile phone before you can use it!

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#283

Post by Ir0nMan »

kunai wrote: post #114
gameswithgo wrote: post #105

We see another side effect of app stores: gives governments easy leverage to tell you what you can do with your computer.

Bingo. Wonder how all the Apple defenders like John Gruber are gonna spin this one. App Stores were always a mistake. Walled gardens were always a mistake. The people arguing that they were good because of security or whatever were arguing on behalf of a red herring. It's security theater. iOS has had, what, like 6 critical vulnerabilities in the past 5 years? What was the point? Quite literally only to limit what yo…

App Stores were not a mistake, having only one App store allowed like Apple does is a mistake.

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#284

Post by ThomPete »

hirundo wrote: post #17

Banning a speech app should trigger strict judicial scrutiny for first amendment infringement in the same way that banning a newspaper would: 1. Is it necessary to a "compelling state interest"? Maybe they are CCP surveillance apps, but that needs be shown in court, not merely asserted. 2. Is it "narrowly tailored" to achieving this compelling purpose? This seems narrowly tailored to two apps. 3. Does it use the "lea…

I dont think you have to show that in court if its national interest then all you need is congressional approval no? You cant have a court hearing on intelligence information or am i missing sonething?

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#285

Post by thaumasiotes »

matthewdgreen wrote: post #277
thaumasiotes wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In this case, this order prevents millions of Americans from using their primary (and oftentimes only) method to communicate with family in China. Didn't look that way to me? The order prohibits services from providing the application or updates to it via an "online mobile application store in the US", it prohibits services from doing any payment processing for WeChat, and it prohibits services from providing hosti…

Translated to a more familiar medium, the analogy would be: “bookstores can no longer sell that title, but that’s ok because people who already own a copy can still read it.” I’m not a constitutional scholar, but this seems like a pretty weak counterargument to me.

I agree with your analogy, and I agree that this is a terrible move.

But for the demographic mentioned ("this order prevents millions of Americans from using their primary (and oftentimes only) method to communicate with family in China"), I find it vanishingly unlikely that any of them doesn't already have wechat. The order has essentially zero immediate effects on them.

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#286

Post by fakedang »

xnx wrote: post #112
didibus wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that the US shouldn't justify acting like an autocratic state because China does so, but on the side of punishing an autocratic state there is precedent all over the place. The question we should ask is more how the US ever allowed China such exception in the first place, when Cuba for example has a full on total sanction against it, and so do many other autocratic states. So how did China get away without th…

> So how did China get away without that for so long? Cheap labor for US manufacturing

Unfortunately, Cuba values its citizens' lives more than China does, hence it turned out to be more profitable to keep manufacturing at America's biggest rival, all while Cuba gets stuck in middle income gap. Just an addendum.

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#287

Post by stevespang »

. . . the Chinese government strictly limits what U.S. tech companies can do in China.

. . and India has already banned and restricted dozens of Chinese apps, as punishment over the conflict in the Himalayas. No lawsuit against India in that country, would be a waste of time.

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#288

Post by stevespang »

SoylentYellow wrote: post #173
hirundo wrote: post #17

Banning a speech app should trigger strict judicial scrutiny for first amendment infringement in the same way that banning a newspaper would: 1. Is it necessary to a "compelling state interest"? Maybe they are CCP surveillance apps, but that needs be shown in court, not merely asserted. 2. Is it "narrowly tailored" to achieving this compelling purpose? This seems narrowly tailored to two apps. 3. Does it use the "lea…

I am focusing on WeChat only with this comment. It is not narrowly tailored or least restrictive. Narrowly tailored means the law must be precisely written to minimize the 1st Amendment impact. In this case, this order prevents millions of Americans from using their primary (and oftentimes only) method to communicate with family in China. There is no practical alternative to WeChat as all other similar apps are banne…

. . . as all other similar apps are banned in China.

That's the point. Why should China be allowed to ban multiple US apps, but they get free reign for WeChat in US ? No, I don't think so . . . .

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#289

Post by JCharante »

bmitc wrote: post #164

China bans WhatsApp. The U.S. bans WeChat. Great, no I have no official app besides good old text and phone to communicate with my fiancée who is still banned from reentering the U.S. despite still having a job here. The U.S. has simply become an authoritarian state of a different color. My fiancée is prevented from returning and we are prevented from using our primary communication method simply because the so-calle…

> China bans WhatsApp. The U.S. bans WeChat. Great, no I have no official app besides good old text and phone to communicate with my fiancée who is still banned from reentering the U.S. despite still having a job here.

FYIW you can use HelloTalk to talk / call each other, as they need to censor their users so that the ones interested in learning Chinese can talk to the much larger mainlander population that's learning English.

Also I'm pretty sure that LinkedIn operates in China. The messaging system is decent with even support for group chats. I'm just not sure if DMs are allowed if one party is a foreigner and one isn't.

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#290

Post by jjcon »

netsharc wrote: post #198
jjcon wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can side load on iOS - quit spreading misinformation

Care to provide a URL? Or well, I looked it up and this is 1 way: https://jilaxzone.com/2020/04/20/complete-guide-how-to-sidel... It's a hacky workaround that needs "maintenance" every 7 days, but I guess you can call it "You can side load on iOS"

Use altstore - it doesn't require jailbreak or maintenance. It autorenews your certs for you and you can even add alternate store sources to increase the apps available in the store.

I have a bunch of apps sideloaded and they work great.

Regardless, the point is you can sideload.

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