Apple bows to Kremlin pressure to remove leading VPNs from Russian AppStore (novayagazeta.eu)
from dvdnet62@feddit.nl to technology@lemmy.ml on 04 Jul 2024 10:48
https://feddit.nl/post/17568590

#technology

threaded - newest

Zachariah@lemmy.world on 04 Jul 2024 11:04 next collapse

How about not having different app stores for every region?

riddlemeboner@lemdro.id on 04 Jul 2024 11:12 next collapse

How is that supposed to help? Should apple remove these Apps globally then? Not that governments would stop pressuring to censor.

kenkenken@sh.itjust.works on 04 Jul 2024 12:26 next collapse

Better not having different regions at all.

Fades@lemmy.world on 05 Jul 2024 08:17 collapse

Yeah!!! Hold everyone accountable to everyone’s rules! You can only get it if literally nobody has a problem with it.

Yeah that sounds great, you’re a real genius

Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world on 04 Jul 2024 15:50 next collapse

The real answer is to let people load apps from outside of the App Store.

If you’re going to run an AppStore, you’re going to be subject to the laws of every country, and you’ll have to segment it by region.

Zachariah@lemmy.world on 04 Jul 2024 15:52 next collapse

The real answer is to let people load apps from outside of the App Store.

Yes!

Fades@lemmy.world on 05 Jul 2024 08:16 collapse

This has been possible for awhile now

Fades@lemmy.world on 05 Jul 2024 08:18 collapse

So all the shit banned in China, North Korea, etc. we lose it too then? You fucking moron

Zachariah@lemmy.world on 05 Jul 2024 12:00 collapse

I see from your post history, it’s full of great comments. Not sure why your reaction here was so harsh. I hope your day is going okay.

Perhaps I wasn’t clear. I meant have one app store and ignore those governments who want to ban apps.

Also, being able to directly load apps on your devices is way better anyway.

UnpopularCrow@lemmy.world on 04 Jul 2024 12:27 next collapse

Classic stuff, Apple. While I can wrap my head around them sucking off China since that is where all their child labor factories are, playing ball with Russia shows who they are. Glad I switched to an open source OS for my phone.

tb_@lemmy.world on 04 Jul 2024 12:58 next collapse

shows who they are.

A corporation. And when corporations have to make a choice, profit will always come first.

sunzu@kbin.run on 04 Jul 2024 13:16 collapse

Yeah but sometimes it also feels like they wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire either tho lol just because

MotoAsh@lemmy.world on 04 Jul 2024 15:16 collapse

Oh no… They WOULD piss on you. Just not to help put out the fire.

LarkinDePark@lemmygrad.ml on 04 Jul 2024 14:39 collapse

There’s no child labour factories in China, this is just racism. The child labour is in the USA.

Draghetta@lemmy.world on 04 Jul 2024 12:27 next collapse

Wait apple is still operating in Russia? Weren’t we sanctioning them or something?

sunzu@kbin.run on 04 Jul 2024 13:15 next collapse

We are but not like that lol

Eitherway sanctions is just increased cost of doing business, ie they don't stop good business.

technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 04 Jul 2024 15:14 collapse

We are but not like that lol

IE. Not effectively.

andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works on 04 Jul 2024 14:38 next collapse

I’m not an Apple person but IIRC their appstore is functional for already purchased and free apps. New purchases, as well as import of devices, are done via various grey schemes like via currencies and borders of third countries. I can’t recall news about someone getting individually banned for that, but some opportunistic foreign banks closed their doors to rubles fearing sanctions. Official stores are closed, but I guess their repair\replace services are still operated but without a connection to the Apple themselves. There were also services to install non-Appstore banking clients and government’s services via some loopholes. At the same time, except for the app in the OP, some apps can choose not to be availiable in a select country on their own.

I guess Apple did the formal exit and then stopped to care. It’s not operating in Russia per se, but it operates in other countries with entities barely passing as legal consumers and resellers. They still get their profits as usual, and these interlayer smugglers make big bucks enough to be advertised in every second russian youtube video. Is there then a mechanism to make Apple filter them out?

A bit related news piece: russian gamers cried over Sony limiting Helldivers 2 to select countries, while other russian gamers dunked on them for they have PSN linked to the right country.

Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world on 04 Jul 2024 15:37 next collapse

TL;DR: they stopped selling hardware in Russia, but people still find a way to import it.

It also looks like they are still maintaining Russia’s region in the AppStore.

cnbc.com/…/two-years-after-apple-quit-russia-over…

Draghetta@lemmy.world on 04 Jul 2024 16:31 collapse

I can understand smuggled hardware, but it’s not like Russians can buy their localized App Store in India… it would be much more helpful if they weren’t running it there, as the smuggled iPhones would be just bricks

Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world on 04 Jul 2024 18:09 collapse

Thing is, if they kill the App Store entirely, they also fuck over Russians that already have iPhones and are fleeing the country, and or dissenting the government.

Looks like they’re trying to leave as much of the App Store as available as possible. That said, at some point the government censorship will become so bad that they might need to pull the plug entirely.

And that said, if they allowed proper side loading, this wouldn’t be an issue. They could just peace out entirely.

Toribor@corndog.social on 04 Jul 2024 18:42 collapse

Maybe if Apple was giving it away or donating the money from the sales, but as it is they are just profiting off it.

atro_city@fedia.io on 04 Jul 2024 21:52 next collapse

The great mighty Apple does not have to follow sanctions. If it hiccups, the US economy does too. Can't have that!

istanbullu@lemmy.ml on 05 Jul 2024 10:43 collapse

Apologise for the crude description, but sanctions are like masturbation. They make the person doing it feel a little better. That’s about it.

andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works on 04 Jul 2024 14:46 next collapse

Is that a seal of approval?

HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world on 04 Jul 2024 16:00 next collapse

They shouldn’t cater to fascist mass murderers. Let the russian ppl be pissed pooty pants took away their apples

Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world on 04 Jul 2024 18:21 collapse

Apple pulled out of the country after the invasion of Ukraine, but they left the AppStore up for people with existing hardware. Since they have a walled garden, if they kill the AppStore, they would also be killing access to things that Russian dissenters and refugees would need access to.

hornedfiend@sopuli.xyz on 04 Jul 2024 18:34 next collapse

For that they can buy an android for 150$. If they expected protection from Apple,that’s on them.

Buy a cheap android burner and profit from side loading and alternative app stores. Simple,yes?

thisisdee@lemmy.world on 05 Jul 2024 07:47 next collapse

So you want apple to stop its AppStore in Russia but android phones and alternative stores should still be operational there?

Fades@lemmy.world on 05 Jul 2024 08:14 collapse

They can’t keep it straight with the blind “Apple bad” circlejerk

Fades@lemmy.world on 05 Jul 2024 08:12 collapse

You can side load all day on any iOS device

skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de on 04 Jul 2024 18:47 collapse

The walled garden needs to be destroyed. Compute devices should not be bound to the whims and fancies of their manufacturer. I’m honestly surprised it has gone on so long.

Fades@lemmy.world on 05 Jul 2024 08:07 collapse

Excuse me??? If not the manufacturer then who? The government???

The walled garden absolutely should not be destroyed because it’s owned by a private company and they see said walled garden as a way to protect their users from scams that plague many android stores.

The compute devices are not bound the whims and fancies of the manufacturer at all, the software made available on the company’s own servers are what is bound to their whims, and rightly so because it’s THEIRS and they’re a PRIVATE COMPANY.

You cannot simply force a company to do what you want simply because you don’t like what they do not allow on their own private store.

Do you think we should force every other goddamn store in America to sell whatever the gov says they should? Or maybe we should leave that to those that own the store.

You’re not forced to use that store, if you don’t like it fuck off.

“Walled garden needs to be destroyed” you’re advocating for a fascist takeover, Apple can remove literally anything they want because it’s their fucking goddamn store. That fact does not mean the “walled garden” should be destroyed, Jesus fucking Christ. Who upvotes these literal brain dead comments

Taleya@aussie.zone on 05 Jul 2024 13:02 collapse

Who the fuck is affording iphones in Russia