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Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from DOJ

foxbusiness.com

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Re: Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from DOJ

#411

Post by criddell »

patcon wrote: post #388

This creeping authoritarianism is why Google's play to force developer registration (before allowing a developers apps to be installed on android) is so irresponsible of Google: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45017028 It's like they don't understand what's possible to be coerced into from there. They cite "danger to users" as the rationale, but their imagination of danger is so damn limited

> their imagination of danger is so damn limited

I wouldn't pretend to understand the Android app ecosystem better than Google.

A charitable guess would be that Google understands that forcing developer registration will introduce more risk for some people, but overall the total risk over the entire population is reduced. It's a net benefit.

Re: Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from DOJ

#412

Post by [deleted] »

patcon wrote: post #388

This creeping authoritarianism is why Google's play to force developer registration (before allowing a developers apps to be installed on android) is so irresponsible of Google: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45017028 It's like they don't understand what's possible to be coerced into from there. They cite "danger to users" as the rationale, but their imagination of danger is so damn limited

[deleted]

Re: Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from DOJ

#413

Post by imglorp »

DaiPlusPlus wrote: post #3

Methinks this won’t be the last politically-motivated removal from Apple’s App Store; the more apps they remove then the more they weaken their own arguments about how a locked-in walled garden is in consumer interests.

Who thinks it will stop at app removals?

Remember CSAM and how it got withdrawn? https://www.apple.com/child-safety/pdf/CSAM_Detection_Techni...

What if the government asks for sentiment analysis? Thoughtcrime detection? Always-on audio collection? Always-on location logging?

All the things we were afraid of are simple technically and the only thing stopping it is a few executives of a trillion dollar company who must report earnings to shareholders.

Re: Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from DOJ

#414

Post by Vegenoid »

yrro wrote: post #347
dandanua wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Overthrown by whom? Aliens? Power supports power, there is no way out of this black hole.

The neat thing about the US is that governments are overthrown regularly by automatic operation of law: 12pm on the 20th of January 2028, in the case of the 47th president. I'm sure you know this but I feel everyone needs to remind themselves of this immutable fact regularly until then.

> immutable

Do not make the mistake of believing laws are as concrete as code. There are many, many instances throughout history of the powerful people who are responsible for enforcing the laws, deciding to suddenly change or ignore them.

Re: Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from DOJ

#415

Post by jeroenhd »

bitpush wrote: post #41

Ah, yes. Apple - the "standing up to the government" company Apple did the whole show with FBI because it was convenient for them. They bend the knee faster than anyone when things get a little uncomfortable.

Apple has always stood up to the government when there was money to be made. Claiming privacy protections sells iPhones.

The people in China see nothing of the "standing up to the government" reputation and never really have. At least Google decided to pull out when the government started demanding they hand over data and apply censorship, Apple just complied and started storing data where the CCP can get to it.

Re: Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from DOJ

#416

Post by Vegenoid »

ksec wrote: post #193
saurik wrote: post #8

FWIW, everyone who claims that Apple fundamentally needs the centralized ability to control apps on their platforms "for everyone's safety" -- despite how that obviously and repeatedly makes them become patsies for governments all over the world to enforce their censorship regimes -- are complicit in this stuff (in addition, of course, to the people who build it at Apple...).

May be not complicit, but I think people need to be reminded that the context that Apple claims privacy is a fundamental human right and they are the defender of it. Both PR and in court. And this centralised censorship regimes isn't new. It is exactly the same during Hong Kong protest in 2019.

> Apple claims privacy is a fundamental human right

And what is “privacy”? An iPhone user is not entitled to keep the apps that they run on their phone private.

Re: Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from DOJ

#417

Post by jeroenhd »

mdhb wrote: post #307
waltbosz wrote: post #176

Are people using non app work arounds ? Could the app be replaced with a SMS tree https://notbau.com/how-to-create-and-manage-a-manual-call-tr...

It could be replaced with a fucking web app if they built it properly the first time around.

Do you know a good way to do geofencing on PWAs? I'm not saying you can't, but I don't know of any API that can accomplish that (without constantly running GPS location updates in the browser, which no standard phone will allow).

Re: Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from DOJ

#418

Post by 15155 »

atemerev wrote: post #397
ThrowawayTestr wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Why is Waze allowed since it let's you report speed traps? Because the right to share police locations is protected by the 1st amendment

While I am all for ICEBlock, I am not sure about this one. Is doxxing protected by the first amendment?

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/119

Re: Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from DOJ

#419

Post by dghlsakjg »

unethical_ban wrote: post #322
mariodiana wrote: post #46

Back in 2011, Apple removed apps that crowdsourced warnings about DUI checkpoints. It remains Apple's policy today. According to Grok, "In March 2011, four Democratic senators—Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), and Tom Udall (D-N.M.)—sent letters to Apple, Google, and Research in Motion (BlackBerry's parent company) urging the removal of such apps […]" So, we have precedent wher…

Why is Waze allowed since it let's you report speed traps? Probably because it doesn't technically advertise it as such, just "hey something requiring police presence is around". ICEBlock should rebrand as a generic "police activity" app and have a category "other" that everyone understands is ICE but isn't labelled as such.

The exact verbiage is this: "Apps may only display DUI checkpoints that are published by law enforcement agencies, and should never encourage drunk driving or other reckless behavior such as excessive speed."

Re: Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from DOJ

#420

Post by jeroenhd »

CharlesW wrote: post #125
moelf wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what if you want a push notification when ICE agents appear in your work area?

https://web.dev/articles/push-notifications-web-push-protoco...

Without a VAPID key identifiable by Apple, those notifications won't arrive.
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