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Russia restricts opposition election voting app

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Re: Russia restricts opposition election voting app

#21

Post by hkai »

tandav wrote: post #10

- Google removes Navalny's team google document with "Smart Vote" instructions. - YouTube blocks videos with Smart Vote instructions. - Telegram blocks a bot with Smart Vote the instructions

If Americans can ban their own opposition from their internet (Parler, Gab, and countless people blocked on mainstream platforms), then it's very hard to argue that the authoritarian Russian government shouldn't ban their opposition from the internet.

Perhaps some on-chain solutions will help circumvent the American and Russian restrictions in a few years. Solana sounds like a good candidate for this sort of platform.

Re: Russia restricts opposition election voting app

#22

Post by jsn »

leppr wrote: post #17

In this case there's not many reasons for it to be a native app instead of a Progressive Web App. This would simplify distribution. If the app is open source, it could also be hosted on F-droid (or just as an .apk on some website). These kind of situations are exactly why we fight against walled gardens and centralizatiom. It's not a problem until it is.

> In this case there's not many reasons for it to be a native app instead of a Progressive Web App. This would simplify distribution.

The opposite of this is true. Blocking a web application is very easy for Russian authorities, there are well-established legal and technical protocols for that, it's a routine, it happens every day. The opposition uses apps precisely because they are more difficult to censor.

Re: Russia restricts opposition election voting app

#23

Post by p49k »

sneak wrote: post #5

Apple is in no position whatsoever to fight governments. The amount of money and power they wield in the market and society is huge, but it doesn't even rank in competition to the power of the state. (For scale, the US, just a single country, has spent, only on the military, 4.3x the entire market cap of Apple ($2410B) since the iPhone was introduced.) They have to do whatever the CCP tells them to do, as they are co…

Apple is most certainly in a position to influence government. They have a device in the hands of more than a billion people who spend hours per day staring at it.

They absolutely have a responsibility to fight for human rights and freedom. By your logic, no one would ever engage in any kind of civil obedience and no one would be able to effect change: the government, after all, is also more powerful than any individual protestor and many of them are risking their livelihoods or even their lives by protesting.

Re: Russia restricts opposition election voting app

#24

Post by gnull »

akho wrote: post #8
codesnik wrote: post #4

telegram also removed bots from Navalny team which you could ask what non-ruling-party candidate has most chances to win, to facilitate "protest", tactical vote, much the same as the app would do. Telegram CEO cited some nonsense about "silent days" (why would he had obey them?) which are not even a thing with current 3-day voting in Russia. Many people agree Durov just got threaten that telegram app would be yanked…

“Silent days” are still a thing. The new bit is that the day before the election is not included, only the election days themselves. This prohibition makes sense to me. My personal opinion is that telegram’s actions are reasonable in this context. Navalny’s team fucked up by publishing their recommendations only on the 15th, two days before voting. I don’t understand that decision at all.

This ensures Putin's government won't have enough time to subvert the recommended candidates in some way.

Re: Russia restricts opposition election voting app

#25

Post by jakobdabo »

akho wrote: post #8
codesnik wrote: post #4

telegram also removed bots from Navalny team which you could ask what non-ruling-party candidate has most chances to win, to facilitate "protest", tactical vote, much the same as the app would do. Telegram CEO cited some nonsense about "silent days" (why would he had obey them?) which are not even a thing with current 3-day voting in Russia. Many people agree Durov just got threaten that telegram app would be yanked…

“Silent days” are still a thing. The new bit is that the day before the election is not included, only the election days themselves. This prohibition makes sense to me. My personal opinion is that telegram’s actions are reasonable in this context. Navalny’s team fucked up by publishing their recommendations only on the 15th, two days before voting. I don’t understand that decision at all.

After that day candidates can not withdraw from the elections (that's the law), so the government can't threaten the recommended candidates.

Re: Russia restricts opposition election voting app

#26

Post by akho »

gnull wrote: post #24
akho wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Silent days” are still a thing. The new bit is that the day before the election is not included, only the election days themselves. This prohibition makes sense to me. My personal opinion is that telegram’s actions are reasonable in this context. Navalny’s team fucked up by publishing their recommendations only on the 15th, two days before voting. I don’t understand that decision at all.

This ensures Putin's government won't have enough time to subvert the recommended candidates in some way.

The government will have plenty of time to do that after the election.

Re: Russia restricts opposition election voting app

#27

Post by hkai »

baybal2 wrote: post #9
codesnik wrote: post #4

telegram also removed bots from Navalny team which you could ask what non-ruling-party candidate has most chances to win, to facilitate "protest", tactical vote, much the same as the app would do. Telegram CEO cited some nonsense about "silent days" (why would he had obey them?) which are not even a thing with current 3-day voting in Russia. Many people agree Durov just got threaten that telegram app would be yanked…

There is a theory that Telegram is a Russian op, given that they still having office in Russia, which they are very secretive about, despite the claims of Durov being nearly chased by KGB on every corner.

You are correct that there is this theory, yet I haven't seen any evidence of that.

Deleting Navalny's bot seems like a response to a threat from Apple and Google. To fight this, it would be great to abandon Apple and distribute all apps via Android APKs, circumventing the app stores. (Not gonna happen, I know)

First they came for the American opposition, then they came for the Russian opposition, then there was no opposition at all.

Re: Russia restricts opposition election voting app

#28

Post by gnull »

akho wrote: post #26
gnull wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This ensures Putin's government won't have enough time to subvert the recommended candidates in some way.

The government will have plenty of time to do that after the election.

But that won't prevent the person from being elected. Doing it after comes with many drawbacks.

Re: Russia restricts opposition election voting app

#29

Post by nabla9 »

hkai wrote: post #21
tandav wrote: post #10

- Google removes Navalny's team google document with "Smart Vote" instructions. - YouTube blocks videos with Smart Vote instructions. - Telegram blocks a bot with Smart Vote the instructions

If Americans can ban their own opposition from their internet (Parler, Gab, and countless people blocked on mainstream platforms), then it's very hard to argue that the authoritarian Russian government shouldn't ban their opposition from the internet. Perhaps some on-chain solutions will help circumvent the American and Russian restrictions in a few years. Solana sounds like a good candidate for this sort of platform…

Difference is that in the US it was not a government. Private enterprise reacted to public pressure. People made them do it.

In Russia it is the government.

Re: Russia restricts opposition election voting app

#30

Post by vadfa »

nabla9 wrote: post #29
hkai wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Americans can ban their own opposition from their internet (Parler, Gab, and countless people blocked on mainstream platforms), then it's very hard to argue that the authoritarian Russian government shouldn't ban their opposition from the internet. Perhaps some on-chain solutions will help circumvent the American and Russian restrictions in a few years. Solana sounds like a good candidate for this sort of platform…

Difference is that in the US it was not a government. Private enterprise reacted to public pressure. People made them do it. In Russia it is the government.

People? What people? Was there a vote held?
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