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Google bans Podcast Addict app over non-approved Covid-19 content

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Re: Google bans Podcast Addict app over non-approved Covid-19 content

#341

Post by tzs »

lgleason wrote: post #307
xphilter wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s impossible. Congress exempted the entire internet from court on something like this. Look at the communications decency act.

only if they stay neutral. This goes beyond that.

That's a common myth, and is completely wrong. In fact, it is almost 180 degrees wrong.

Before section 230, there had been a couple of court cases. One held that a particular provider was not liable for anything posted on it, because it did not do any filtering or blocking at all. Another held that a different provider was liable for what users posted, because it did do some filtering and blocking.

Congress felt these outcomes were wrong, and section 230 was specifically meant to make providers not liable for user provided content, regardless of whether or not they did any filtering or blocking.

Re: Google bans Podcast Addict app over non-approved Covid-19 content

#342

Post by scarface74 »

lmm wrote: post #332
scarface74 wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but should Apple be forced to sell it? You can buy a DVD player and a TV from Walmart that allows you to view pornographic and racist content but aren’t forced to sell it.

There's a common standard for DVDs and a competitive market in them; if one maker won't sell what you want, another will. Apple should be either nationalised or broken up like Ma Bell, and the threat of the same should hang over any market where a handful of players capture enough marketshare to become a de facto cartel.

And since in this case we are talking about Google - you can already side load apps...

Apple has less than 50% of the market in the US and 15% of the market worldwide. People chose to use Apple without any coercion from the government.

But back to this case, people can choose to sideload apps on Android. So what’s the problem?

Re: Google bans Podcast Addict app over non-approved Covid-19 content

#343

Post by akimball »

Tepix wrote: post #81
weiming wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except in this case it's not the government, but private corporations taking some kind of political stance. Google in particular has been very "active," not to forget also: https://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-will-ban-anything-ag... ("video that 'goes against' WHO guidance on the pandemic will be blocked")

There is a lot of pressure on the large tech companies to stop spreading misinformation. This is one of their measures.

If only they would suppress disinformation issued by governmental sources, I wouldn't be so troubled by this.

Re: Google bans Podcast Addict app over non-approved Covid-19 content

#344

Post by tzs »

kanox wrote: post #253
tomohawk wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Telcos are private. They are not allowed to disconnect calls when people are talking about things they don't like. They are not allowed to drop accounts for organizations saying things they don't like. Electric companies are mostly private. They are not allowed to cut off electricity to people/orgs that say things they don't like.

People claim that internet platforms present a novel problem but telcos are a very good model for regulation. Governments should ban large platforms (>10M users) from editorial discretion.

Telephone communications are one to one, not one to many, which makes their regulations largely irrelevant as a model for regulating one to many systems.

Re: Google bans Podcast Addict app over non-approved Covid-19 content

#345

Post by JeremyNT »

If you are an end user who would like to avoid getting caught in this situation, you might want to switch to using F-Droid [0] as your primary source of Android software. The selection is more limited, but because everything is open source and distributed outside of Google's walled garden, you can be sure that it won't be arbitrarily removed because of the whims of corporate bureaucracy.

I write this not as a dogmatic free software proponent, either; I have bought apps on the Play Store in the past and would consider doing so if the experience weren't so poor. Dealing with the Play Store has gotten so frustrating (not just due to this issue, but also due to the difficulty of filtering out shovelware and spyware) that I only reach for it as a last resort now.

[0] https://f-droid.org/

Re: Google bans Podcast Addict app over non-approved Covid-19 content

#346

Post by lbeltrame »

ripdog wrote: post #221
katktv wrote: post #130

I just noticed that this is the same shit right wing organization that conveniently protects alt-right stuff when it gets banned from somewhere. Can we please not promote this kind of stuff here? Edit: to back myself up. Here is this website standing behind authoritarian right-wing government doing antisemitic dogwhistles: https://reclaimthenet.org/hungarian-government-facebook-over... Here it is protecting conspirac…

Really disturbing that I had to scroll right to the bottom of the page to find someone questioning the source of this. While obviously Podcast Addict does not deserve a ban, the sheer number of people in this thread advocating unrestricted speech around COVID-19 is thoroughly disturbing. This despite the carnage that the disease is wreaking in the US and UK right now, and the fact that conspiracy theories spread on G…

> While obviously Podcast Addict does not deserve a ban, the sheer number of people in this thread advocating unrestricted speech around COVID-19 is thoroughly disturbing.

Are you sure that advocating a "stamp down" won't throw away the baby with the bathwater? In my country, a lot of now very legitimate theories (thrombosis and treatment with heparin, convalescent plasma therapy) were slammed by certain very prominent experts at first ("baloney", "colossal idiocy"). What would've happened if Twitter or Google decided to remove the "controversial" theories?

Also, Twitter now is blocking an URL of a legitimate university promoting a trial with hydroxychloroquine. As you can see, to remove the "batshit conspiracy theories" we are also removing good science.

Re: Google bans Podcast Addict app over non-approved Covid-19 content

#347

Post by ymck »

carapace wrote: post #330
heinrichhartman wrote: post #211

This is the result of out-sourcing juristic work to private companies: If we treat Android, Window, Twitter, Facebook, as public spaces/goods, then private companies should not have a say in what is allowed/not-allowed on their platforms. This is work for the courts and police to decide and enforce. If we treat those platforms as private. Then we are playing in s/o's backyard. You are totally at their mercy. They hav…

Nationalize FAANG?

This is my knee jerk reaction, but then I ask myself if I really want Trump (or Pelosi depending on your political persuasion) deciding how my search engine and social networks work.

Feeling a big "NOPE" on that one.

Customers need to make it unacceptable for FAANG to act this way... Good luck on that tho.

Unfortunately, they have been very good at slowly raising the temperature so the frog (read:us) doesn't jump out of the pot.

Re: Google bans Podcast Addict app over non-approved Covid-19 content

#348

Post by ravenstine »

scarface74 wrote: post #290
chroem- wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're approaching levels of hyperpartisanship not seen since the civil war. I don't think this is a healthy state of being for our country.

You think we all got together and sung Kum Bah Yah after the Civil War? Are you forgetting about the segregation? The Civil Rights Movement? Vietnam?

Are you arguing that there haven't been varying levels of unity and partisanship within American history?

Re: Google bans Podcast Addict app over non-approved Covid-19 content

#349

Post by rjmunro »

JeremyNT wrote: post #345

If you are an end user who would like to avoid getting caught in this situation, you might want to switch to using F-Droid [0] as your primary source of Android software. The selection is more limited, but because everything is open source and distributed outside of Google's walled garden, you can be sure that it won't be arbitrarily removed because of the whims of corporate bureaucracy. I write this not as a dogmati…

How does f-droid police "shovelware and spyware"? Or just outright malware? Surely they will remove it? In which case your favourite app might be "arbitrarily removed"?

Re: Google bans Podcast Addict app over non-approved Covid-19 content

#350

Post by ngngngng »

fjcp wrote: post #266

I use Podcast Addict every day, I would even say that is my most used app on android. I work listening to podcasts and PA is the best app for those who like highly customizable software. You can change almost everything. Its sad that we are in a situation where a company can dictate what we can install on our computers/smartphones. I know we can sideload apps on android, but the majority of users doesn't care about t…

> dictate what we can install on our computers/smartphones

Can they though? Android does not make it difficult at all to install apps through stores other than their own Play Store. A quick internet search reveals that there are at least a dozen other options for users to download apps to Android phones.

I agree that a devices OS should allow alternative means to install apps, but Android has clearly done this.

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