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Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from DOJ

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

#451

Post by imoverclocked »

goku12 wrote: post #334
imoverclocked wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Would you have predicted the current situation two years ago? Yes. There is nothing surprising to me about the current situation. > Apple platform is popular enough to make it a juicy target for tyrannical regimes. Agreed, if for nothing else than its size alone. It is also a target for so many folks to say, "if it was different in this one way, it would be amazing (for me.)"

> Yes. There is nothing surprising to me about the current situation. That would mean that you willfully defended a vulnerability that you could foresee being exploited. > It is also a target for so many folks to say, "if it was different in this one way, it would be amazing (for me.)" Apple has been consistent in their messaging. You have to give up your freedom over your devices to ensure security. Not make it hard…

> That would mean that you willfully defended a vulnerability that you could foresee being exploited.

Nope, I voted against it.

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

#452

Post by bigyabai »

Cabal wrote: post #447
SnuffBox wrote: post #429

I don't see the problem. It was an app specifically developed to help people evade American law and attack people who work for the government, how is it a shock that they took it down?

Same. This app was specifically used to incite violence against law enforcement.

You need to be careful, the word "incite" does not mean what you think it does here.

Maybe the app enabled violence against law enforcement - but Waymo does that too by telling you where traffic cops are. Or Google Maps and Yellow Pages for documenting the location of police stations. Undercover officers, ICE or otherwise, aren't given any special exemptions to the law here.

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

#453

Post by burnerthrow008 »

waltbosz wrote: post #432
jeroenhd wrote: post #417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

I'm unfamiliar with these apps. What is geofencing used for? Automatically alert you if there is ICE activity nearby so that you can drop what you're doing to converge ?

I believe it serves two purposes:

1. Reduce false reports by ensuring that activity reports are reasonably geographically near the reporter's location

2. Send alerts to people who are near a cluster of reports.

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

#454

Post by jeroenhd »

waltbosz wrote: post #432
jeroenhd wrote: post #417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

I'm unfamiliar with these apps. What is geofencing used for? Automatically alert you if there is ICE activity nearby so that you can drop what you're doing to converge ?

There's an alerting feature and an attempt to stop false reports. The map part is trivial (and I think someone is already scraping the locations into a web app), but the geofencing capabilities are more difficult.

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

#455

Post by AlexandrB »

dandanua wrote: post #337
yrro wrote: post #328

Add Apple to the list of collaborators who need to be punished once the regime is overthrown.

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

Not just power, but ~50% of the voting public.

An "overthrow" would be highly undemocratic and it's very curious to hear the same people that claim Trump is literally Hitler talk about "overthrowing" their (democratically elected) political enemies and then "punishing collaborators". Is there no sense of self-awareness at all?

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

#456

Post by xyzzy3000 »

ndkap wrote: post #343
fearless1ron wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, obviously changing "installing software" to "sideloading" worked somehow.

It could be called "liberty-loading". You are at liberty to load/install software from anywhere

"free-loading"

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

#457

Post by CamperBob2 »

saurik wrote: post #243
b_e_n_t_o_n wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The government is a centralization of power, it doesn't matter if our devices are "decentralized" if the government can simply make it illegal to use unlocked devices. Or encryption. Or VPNs. Etc.

But that isn't how this has worked, even in places like China where the regime would seem to have that level of power: while they absolutely require Apple--who went out of their way to create a bottleneck on software and information that is just too juicy not to assert external control over--to remove various apps from their store, it is not actually illegal to own or use unlocked devices.

it is not actually illegal to own or use unlocked devices

See also: "Let a hundred flowers bloom!"

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

#458

Post by yubblegum »

imglorp wrote: post #413
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 mus…

All that you said coupled with (snooping) edge AI is the future.

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

#460

Post by intermerda »

tpmoney wrote: post #375
intermerda wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It remains Apple's policy today. What is that policy? > According to Grok Why did you ask an LLM which is manipulated by a single person when he doesn't like facts? > So, we have precedent where four Democratic senators pressured Apple to remove an app that allowed people to evade law enforcement. Yes, senators sent letters to several companies. Apple listened. What would have happened if it didn't? What would happ…

> Do you sincerely believe that both situations are comparable? How are they not? In both cases US government officials applied pressure and implied legal action to force private companies to act in ways that enabled law enforcement to act with less resistance. It’s why we should always push back against government overreach and bullying. Because the “slippery slope” might be a logical fallacy, but that doesn’t stop…

> In both cases US government officials applied pressure and implied legal action to force private companies to act in ways that enabled law enforcement to act with less resistance.

That's like saying cooking is comparable with stabbing someone because both involve moving a knife back and forth. Give me a break.

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