Earlier quoted context omitted.
How this helps Russians? What Apple gets from it?
Integrity? That just show what their priorities are.
Integrity of what exactly?
Google, Apple remove Navalny app from stores as Russian elections begin
61–70 of 673 posts
Re: Google, Apple remove Navalny app from stores as Russian elections begin
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
Freedom from oppression is not an American value, and Americans need to stop thinking that. It is a universal value, cherished by people all over the world, including in Russia. The russian people is being taken advantage of by a small oligarchy that steals their resources, and the app that Google and Apple removed was supposed to help them transition to more democracy during the upcoming elections. The outrage is pe…
If there's something that Russians don't like, they need to fix it themselves. You should Google Afghanistan, or pretty much any Middle-Eastern country that was liberated by the Americans. See how well it ended.
Why the fuck americans think it's all about them? This news is about an app, no one is asking USA to bomb putin for fuck sake.
Re: Google, Apple remove Navalny app from stores as Russian elections begin
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
So, same for Apple then, which would be under a threat from a government if they do not submit to whatever CSAM requirements, regardless of “pinky swear” promises?
People should start realisizing that they don’t have much control over for their iPhones, never hard. User interfaces are just an illusion. Reversing their black box code is too much work in real time. We have always had to trust Apple and their word on what they do. There isn’t evidence that they have broken the trust yet, so what gives reason for even more speculation than before?
I’m saying that Apple is going to do what is required by law, there is no speculation.
This is true for booting an app from App Store, because it was required by a government, or looking through your data on your iPhone, due to a requirement from a government.
Re: Google, Apple remove Navalny app from stores as Russian elections begin
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sorry, are you asking a clarifying question or trying to suggest that makes it OK?
Asking. Perhaps it was a clever move from Google to formally satisfy government demand, without actually blocking the app for motivates users.
See my response above: timing is crucial in this instance. A clever workaround that takes more than three days to propagate is useless.
As another matter of timing, note that Apple (for which no such easy workarounds are possible) and Google did this simultaneously at about 8:00 UTC+3 today. I’ve heard speculation that they couldn’t cave in before even if they wanted because then the other wouldn’t and the bad press would hit only the one who did. Now the coordination problem is apparently solved. I’m not expecting good things.
Re: Google, Apple remove Navalny app from stores as Russian elections begin
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
So, same for Apple then, which would be under a threat from a government if they do not submit to whatever CSAM requirements, regardless of “pinky swear” promises?
People should start realisizing that they don’t have much control over for their iPhones, never hard. User interfaces are just an illusion. Reversing their black box code is too much work in real time. We have always had to trust Apple and their word on what they do. There isn’t evidence that they have broken the trust yet, so what gives reason for even more speculation than before?
This article is evidence that Apple has and is continuously willing to bend to demands in dictatorships... That's why people are talking about it here.
Heck, even in democracies it's willing to bend. It's been widely reported that the reason iCloud backups aren't encrypted is to make it easier for the FBI to surveil them, despite there being no American laws forbidding Apple from encrypting the backups.
Re: Google, Apple remove Navalny app from stores as Russian elections begin
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/03/16/apple-to-offer-governme... Is this a removal of a feature?
> Apple struck a deal with the government that will show users a prompt when first configuring a device in Russia to pre-install apps from a list of government-approved software. Users will have the ability to decline the installation of certain apps. Apps you can decline? And uninstall? We are talking about quite different things here. Not to mention every Android with pre-installed bloatware.
I mean, there's some big questions left out there. It says 'certain' apps. Is it all? Or just some?
If you do opt-out, does anybody get notified? Is it reasonable users are concerned somebody might get notified?
There's a lot going on there. And just to point out, this has moved on from saying Apple only removing features, to debating how bad the features they've added are.
Re: Google, Apple remove Navalny app from stores as Russian elections begin
#67Can you rely on businesses to be ethical or to not succumb to political pressure? The answer is no.
Re: Google, Apple remove Navalny app from stores as Russian elections begin
#68Some of my friends from ex-USSR countries (not Russia) are telling me it's available there on Google Play.
Why wouldn't it?
Re: Google, Apple remove Navalny app from stores as Russian elections begin
#69The thing is, that it's all very time-sensitive. And I expect pressure was unreasonably high.
We have elections in Russia this weekend and Navalny app was used as a tool to coordinate protest voting. It is called "Smart Voting" by Navalny team and it is getting a lot of attention for upcomping elections.
If Apple and Google would just be a little bit slower and complied next Monday :)
Still there are more ways to coordinate Smart Voting. Google Docs with recommendations are published. There are youtube videos where Navalny team reads whole list aloud. There's a Telegram bot.
So I hope this action would just bring more attention to the matter.
Re: Google, Apple remove Navalny app from stores as Russian elections begin
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
I guess because Russian authorities did not make a proper requests for doing so.
It is a totally different thing. App store apps are localized, Youtube is currently global.
Not all videos are available everywhere, probably for copyright reasons. It does mean that their system is capable of region blocking though.