Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Apple Pulls 25,000 Apps From China Amid a Barrage of State-Media Criticism (wsj.com)

Posted by msmash on from the not-doing-enough dept.

Apple has pulled more than 25,000 illegal apps from its App Store in China after coming under fire from state media for not doing enough to filter out banned material. From a report: "Gambling apps are illegal and not allowed on the App Store in China," Apple said in a statement Monday. "We have already removed many apps and developers for trying to distribute illegal gambling apps on our App Store, and we are vigilant in our efforts to find these and stop them from being on the App Store." The removals were reported earlier by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Sunday, which said 25,000 apps were pulled. Apple didn't confirm that number. It offers more than 1.8 million apps in China, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Removing 25,000 apps would amount to about 1.4% of that total.

74 comments

  1. Good governance. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I wish my country would do more to stop multinationals shitting all over our people and their rights.

    Gambling can be harmful and from what I see of the local casinos, it seems to particularly affect Asians. Well done to the Chinese government for protecting their people.

    1. Re:Good governance. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gambling can be harmful and from what I see of the local casinos, it seems to particularly affect Asians.

      That's not just a stereotype. It's a well-known psychological topic.

  2. It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by SensitiveMale · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Apple, specifically Cook, Google, and other tech companies will protest to the world the tiniest slight of possible discrimination, perceived or real, with the force of their full companies & reach, but they all will immediately drop to their knees and suck China's red cock while ignoring every major and documented human violation and discrimination over there. Along with the Middle East as well.

    "Hey, we have to have a major protest if a man can't go into the female bathroom with little girls, but we don't give a fuck about gays being killed with govt support or actual female discrimination."

    1. Re: It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Apple opposes the US asking for help in decrypting a dead terrorist's iPhone, yet they're happy to help China oppress their citizens.

    2. Re: It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      One hurts their profits, one unlocks a market.

    3. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey it's "sensitive male" protesting transgenders again, that's perfectly normal.

    4. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Heres some other unrelated things to compare angrily: Tim cook has been known to prefer using an iphone over an android, and yet nobody has seen him wear a hat. Furthermore Google offer almost unlimited storage in their email product, but new programmers have to take a test.

      Seriously though, wtf has "Grrrr apple isnt mean to transgender people" got to do with China and apps?

    5. Re: It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not that it hurt their profits, it's that they saw a marketing opportunity to brand themselves as the most Fuck-Da-Police corporation out there (while simultaneously relieving themselves of the minor burden of responding to government unlock requests).

      Ginning up paranoia and making a few extra billion by convincing people that they need end-to-end encryption for their fucking text messages to Mom was simple; stopping the resulting inevitable legal crackdown on encryption by governments all over the world who find themselves unable to perform basic law enforcement tasks anymore won't be.

    6. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If they ignored doing business with any country that has human rights violations then I can't think of a single country on earth they could do business in, maybe some of the smaller Scandinavian countries. Certainly US/Russia/UK/AUS/All Asian and middle eastern countries, all communist and dictator driven countries etc would be out and most European countries too. really companies should stay the fuck out of politics, obey the local laws, if you object refuse to do business there, end of story.

    7. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As an American faithful to your country, its history, and the historical record of the despicable things your government has done to other countries, you are in no position to complain about what China does. They are a peaceful super-power, you are not.

    8. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      China could easily kick Apple out of Asia. The influence China retains on emigrants is something few (compared to the number), in the west fully understand. It's quite easy to control... say developers working in the US while still having family in Asia. And yes, it does get to the point of industrial espionage .

      Simple example is using technology you know to be weak, say shared password databases stored online. If you can access it from your desktop, so can anyone else. Companies the size of Apple and Google have so many levels of management it's easy to hide a mole too. Good luck as a smaller one.

      Unless they've given up on user level interception knowing carrier is much easier what I'm more surprised is why countries like China, India, etc aren't going after Apple and Google for the number of "VPN "applications (many of which aren't anything even remotely secure).

    9. Re: It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 0

      It's not that it hurt their profits, it's that they saw a marketing opportunity to brand themselves as the most Fuck-Da-Police corporation out there (while simultaneously relieving themselves of the minor burden of responding to government unlock requests).

      Ginning up paranoia and making a few extra billion by convincing people that they need end-to-end encryption for their fucking text messages to Mom wias simple; stopping the resulting inevitable legal crackdown on encryption by governments all over the world who find themselves unable to perform basic law enforcement tasks anymore won't be.

      So your solution would be complete cooperation with LEOs and voluntary backdoors?

    10. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      Heres some other unrelated things to compare angrily: Tim cook has been known to prefer using an iphone over an android, and yet nobody has seen him wear a hat. Furthermore Google offer almost unlimited storage in their email product, but new programmers have to take a test.

      Seriously though, wtf has "Grrrr apple isnt mean to transgender people" got to do with China and apps?

      Because Apple.

      Seriously, that's all the justification Apple-Hating Slashtards seem to require.

      Not trolling; just stating undeniable fact.

    11. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 2

      If they ignored doing business with any country that has human rights violations then I can't think of a single country on earth they could do business in, maybe some of the smaller Scandinavian countries. Certainly US/Russia/UK/AUS/All Asian and middle eastern countries, all communist and dictator driven countries etc would be out and most European countries too. really companies should stay the fuck out of politics, obey the local laws, if you object refuse to do business there, end of story.

      Perfectly stated!

    12. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Heres some other unrelated things to compare angrily: Tim cook has been known to prefer using an iphone over an android, and yet nobody has seen him wear a hat. Furthermore Google offer almost unlimited storage in their email product, but new programmers have to take a test.

      Seriously though, wtf has "Grrrr apple isnt mean to transgender people" got to do with China and apps?

      Nice strawman, shit-for-brains.

      The point is Apple and Google virtue-signal by posturing over political fluff in the US but immediately turn around and kowtow to dictatorship in China and the Middle East where REAL human rights are at stake.

    13. Re: It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      complete cooperation with LEOs

      Complete cooperation with warrants/court orders/etc like any other company that doesn't consider itself too big to care about such things would be enough. Going to open war with law enforcement might sell a lot of phones, but long term it's not going to be a positive thing for society one way or another. Either it forces governments' hands and they slap down Apple et. al. the only way they can, or tech corporations really are *that* powerful that they can intentionally and seriously hamper law enforcement in order to boost phone sales and get away with it.

      and voluntary backdoors?

      Just saying, governments seem to be taking the idea a lot more serious nowadays than it did before tech companies decided to lock all electronic human communication behind encryption, beyond the reach of law enforcement. And the push to encrypt every-damn-thing for no pressing reason shows no signs of slowing down.

    14. Re: It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly ; that was the first time apple really jumped on their security bandwagon.
      Which was very convenient since all their other bandwagons where running out of steam.
      Well all except for "moar profits" while is hard for a greedy evil company like apple to boast about.

    15. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No you are totally a TROLL

    16. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Great idea. apple should stay the fuck out of all those countries.
      The would be a much better place with less apple in it.

    17. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      China? Peaceful? Please.

    18. Re: It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by mi · · Score: 0

      So your solution would be complete cooperation with LEOs and voluntary backdoors?

      The backdoor of automatic upgrades is already there. They just had to use it: put the phone on an isolated network with a fake upgrade-server and place the compromised "upgrade" on it signed by Apple's private key. There may be other methods too.

      And they should have used it, when the government requested with the properly-obtained warrant issued in full adherence to the Constitution.

      This is very important — usually such requests are fought on the basis that they are somehow illegitimate. That the cops have failed to dot some i or cross a t somewhere. What Apple — and its fan-bois — proved back then is that it is all about "fuck-da-phleace".

      But not Chinese police...

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    19. Re: It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's a difference between "the technology is so secure, it can be used by LEO's and Military" and "the technology is so insecure, that LEO's and Military can crack it"

      There is no balance. Under ideal situations, everything would be public, and people wouldn't be shitty. But people are inherently shitty about other people's privacy, so I'd rather have the 100% privacy with the possibility of data being lost forever if I forget my password, than data being used to impersonate me and routinely rob me of my dignity, finances and career.

    20. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Companies should stay the fuck out of politics, then most of the right-wing policies would be driven by moral-ethics dilemmas rather than trying to pilfer the public purse by corporations.

    21. Re: It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The US won't ban Apple completely from their market. China will, and will take the iPhone IP and have one of their domestic companies make an exact clone. Plus, company officials in the US don't have to worry about being arrested if their firm falls out of favor. In China, they can wind up waking up in pieces on the organ market.

    22. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Killall+-9+Bash · · Score: 0

      Apple is not an innovator. They are a technology parasite. They won't bring manufacturing back to America, because it would increase manufacturing costs by $50 per unit. On phones that cost $100 to manufacture..... and are sold for $700-$1000.

      But hey, they revolutionized the industry with the gen 1 IPOD, remember? Remember how it was vastly inferior to the Creative Nomad, at twice the price? Smaller HDD, no video play, tiny B&W screen, etc.....? Apple's contribution to tech has been rounded corners (they used a time machine to retroactively invent non-sharp corners) and white plastic.

      --
      "Prediction: within 10 years, Windows will be a Linux distribution." Me, 7-6-2016
    23. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      Apple is not an innovator. They are a technology parasite. They won't bring manufacturing back to America, because it would increase manufacturing costs by $50 per unit. On phones that cost $100 to manufacture..... and are sold for $700-$1000.

      But hey, they revolutionized the industry with the gen 1 IPOD, remember? Remember how it was vastly inferior to the Creative Nomad, at twice the price? Smaller HDD, no video play, tiny B&W screen, etc.....? Apple's contribution to tech has been rounded corners (they used a time machine to retroactively invent non-sharp corners) and white plastic.

      Prove it. ALL of it.

      And the Nomad comparison is so ridiculous, it is even a well-known /. meme...

    24. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Killall+-9+Bash · · Score: 0

      The Nomad comparison *is* pretty ridiculous. It had much better capabilities, more storage... but no white plastic. Can you believe ANYONE bought one of those for $200 when iPods were $400?

      I haven't seen the Nomad meme, but if there is one, it exists for a reason.

      Apple is a fucking parasite, and the most egregious of their crimes is subsuming the concept of online video (which had already existed for a decade) with the term "pod-cast".

      --
      "Prediction: within 10 years, Windows will be a Linux distribution." Me, 7-6-2016
    25. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by larryjoe · · Score: 1

      If they ignored doing business with any country that has human rights violations then I can't think of a single country on earth they could do business in, maybe some of the smaller Scandinavian countries. Certainly US/Russia/UK/AUS/All Asian and middle eastern countries, all communist and dictator driven countries etc would be out and most European countries too. really companies should stay the fuck out of politics, obey the local laws, if you object refuse to do business there, end of story.

      Perfectly stated!

      I think it's nonsensical to consider a government's human rights violations as a binary variable. There is certainly a wide range of severity of human rights abuse. A binary variable would be essentially equate totalitarian regimes that kill tens of millions to states that are guilty of privacy or property violations. A similar viewpoint for parents would equate sex abusers with parents who yell at their kids.

      More importantly, in the specific case of China, the government-mandated censorship of apps has a direct relationship to human rights abuses by that government.

    26. Re:It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How would keeping GAMBLING apps in their store be virtue signalling?
      The evils of gambling is one of the older things the allegedly virtuous like to complain about.

    27. Re: It's funny. Apple & Google will protest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      China doesn't own South Asia.

  3. You are high. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thanks Ivan-san.

    1. Re:You are high. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For the sake of my own faith in humanity I'm going to start assuming you morons are all just being ironic from now on.

    2. Re:You are high. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sadly, they are just your average run-of-the-mill morons. They don't even know what irony is.

  4. Unbalanced equation by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately Profit/Ethics is still much larger than 1.

    --
    Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    1. Re:Unbalanced equation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Vladimir Putin lets out a belly laugh. You are stunned for 2 rounds.

    2. Re:Unbalanced equation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unfortunately Profit/Ethics is still much larger than 1.

      Error: Divide by Zero.

    3. Re:Unbalanced equation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      HA apple has absolutely no Ethics.

  5. Xi trying to scare Tim Cook? by myid · · Score: 2

    So Apple is supposed to ban "prohibited content including pornography, gambling and counterfeit goods." That sounds ok, but I wonder what the other prohibited content is. Does it include private free speech, without the Chinese government able to listen in?

    The same WSJ article says,

    Apple depends on China for about one-fifth of its revenue. When sales in the market fell 26% in the three months ended in March 2016, Apple’s stock tumbled to a low of $90.34 within months.

    I wonder if Xi is trying to scare Tim Cook, hoping Cook will pressure the US government into backing down on tariffs against China.

    1. Re:Xi trying to scare Tim Cook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If that's their plan, he should try threatening a company that's in a swing state, not fucking California.

      Other than that, it's not like the full weight of corporate propaganda hasn't already been (futily) deployed against Trump for 3 years and counting. They pegged that needle at 11 all the way back in 2015.

    2. Re:Xi trying to scare Tim Cook? by myid · · Score: 1

      Good point about threatening companies in a swing state. But I was thinking about Tim Cook paying lobbyists to lobby Congress.

    3. Re:Xi trying to scare Tim Cook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good thing we bought the ones that go to 12 from this guy.

  6. Re: You are low. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It sounds like you might have depression.

  7. Allow me to explain... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...with a simple photo.

    https://brilliantmaps.com/population-circle/

  8. Apple is dead but the corpse is wiggling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Tim Cook and pals still think they have a future and they need their investors to believe it and keep investing, but the truth is that they killed the company years ago and it's just taking time for the various bits of the corpse to stop wiggling.

    They put very high profit margins over everything and thus moved all production to China for the cheap labor and lack of environmental controls. They pretended they simply could not be profitable employing middle class Americans, even though [a] Apple originally rose to greatness while employing Americans in America and [b] far smaller and less-wealthy companies were doing fine and were profitable making stuff in America with Americans.

    In order to manufacture in China, Apple management made the same short-sighted moron moves many other American businesses made: they "partnered" with Chinese "businesses" (arms of the Chinese govt/party/military) and they had to teach the Chinese everything important about the product, its tech, and manufacturing it. After that point, it's only a matter of time before a Chinese entity replaces Apple. It's already impossible to buy a cell phone made in America, where cell phones were invented. No amount of Apple software or services can stop the inevitable end and the only thing uncertain is the date the company is de-listed at the stock exchange. This move is part of the proof that China is already in the driver's seat re Apple.

    1. Re:Apple is dead but the corpse is wiggling by johnsie · · Score: 2

      Still very much alive, but in an increasingly saturated market with no original ideas. Their biggest problem is that they tried to appear as the "fashionable" hardware brand. Things eventually go out of fashion. People already have all the tech hardware that they want. That's why companies like MS, Google and Amazon have moved into cloud. Apple is being left behind.

    2. Re:Apple is dead but the corpse is wiggling by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      Tim Cook and pals still think they have a future and they need their investors to believe it and keep investing, but the truth is that they killed the company years ago and it's just taking time for the various bits of the corpse to stop wiggling.

      They put very high profit margins over everything and thus moved all production to China for the cheap labor and lack of environmental controls. They pretended they simply could not be profitable employing middle class Americans, even though [a] Apple originally rose to greatness while employing Americans in America and [b] far smaller and less-wealthy companies were doing fine and were profitable making stuff in America with Americans.

      In order to manufacture in China, Apple management made the same short-sighted moron moves many other American businesses made: they "partnered" with Chinese "businesses" (arms of the Chinese govt/party/military) and they had to teach the Chinese everything important about the product, its tech, and manufacturing it. After that point, it's only a matter of time before a Chinese entity replaces Apple. It's already impossible to buy a cell phone made in America, where cell phones were invented. No amount of Apple software or services can stop the inevitable end and the only thing uncertain is the date the company is de-listed at the stock exchange. This move is part of the proof that China is already in the driver's seat re Apple.

      So, if that is the case, almost every single tech (and most non-tech) American company that sources from China should be following them down the drain...

      But it simply doesn't work that way.

      Plus, Apple: Proudly going out of business for over forty years!

    3. Re:Apple is dead but the corpse is wiggling by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 2

      Still very much alive, but in an increasingly saturated market with no original ideas. Their biggest problem is that they tried to appear as the "fashionable" hardware brand. Things eventually go out of fashion. People already have all the tech hardware that they want. That's why companies like MS, Google and Amazon have moved into cloud. Apple is being left behind.

      Big difference!

      MS, Google and Amazon are almost exclusively software-based companies.

      Apple cannot move a Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch or Apple TV "into the cloud". They are HARDWARE. And the manufacture and sale of that HARDWARE happens to be Apple's main business model.

    4. Re:Apple is dead but the corpse is wiggling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What a load of BULLSHIT.
      Lying, cheating and stealing is apple business model.

  9. Re:The real truth about APK Hosts File Engine by infolation · · Score: 1

    Truth isn't truth.

    Haven't you heard?

  10. Re: You are low. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You are not even trying in your trolling.

  11. Surprised? Apple is a capitalist business. by Mr.+Dollar+Ton · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Their primary concern is increasing profits, which happens by increasing the revenue (getting as close to a monopolist as possible) and lowering the costs (a.k.a. optimizing the workforce and lowering the tax burden).

    In established oligarchies, where "the law" is drafted between lobbyists and legislators over expensive lunches paid by the former, Apple is in compliance because they write the laws.

    In places like China, where the ruling elite is more aligned to an ideology, they listen and obey.

    The job of Apple isn't to ask for more "democracy" in China. That's the job of the US government.

    1. Re:Surprised? Apple is a capitalist business. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The job of Apple isn't to ask for more "democracy" in China. That's the job of the US government.

      It's everyone's job to ask for more democracy everywhere, and the fruits of capitalism are supposed to be a reward for the operation of a Free Market. China is getting the reward without the responsibility.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Surprised? Apple is a capitalist business. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The fruits of capitalism are a reward for investing your capital in a smart way. If the smart way is to short democracy, capitalism will do it.

      Capitalism and democracy are orthogonal to a large degree.

      But if you think it is your responsibility to ask for more democracy in China, why aren't you there?

    3. Re:Surprised? Apple is a capitalist business. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      But if you think it is your responsibility to ask for more democracy in China, why aren't you there?

      It would be easier to silence me if I lived in China, so that doesn't even make a small amount of sense. Guess we know why you didn't log in.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Surprised? Apple is a capitalist business. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's everyone's job to ask for more democracy everywhere, and the fruits of capitalism are supposed to be a reward for the operation of a Free Market.

      Democracy and capitalism are two different things: one is political, the other economic.

      Democracy isn't even democracy in the original, Greek sense—if you are electing representatives to vote for you on issues rather than directly voting on them yourself, you have an elected oligarchy according to the Greek and Roman categories. China now has centralized power in the hands of one ruler, so Xi Jinping would be a monarch according to the old categories, no matter what "Socialist" title he gives himself.

      There is no free market; all legal markets are regulated to some extent, and state intervention in the forms of explicit or hidden subsidies, tariffs, and barriers is rampant. China and the US are not that different in this regard. Both allow for capitalist forms of investment including partial ownership through equity stakes. Why shouldn't China reap the rewards of its hard work?

      Your conjunction of the oligarchic system that since the eighteenth century goes by the name "democracy" and capitalism, in suggesting that democracy is somehow the responsibility of those enjoying the benefits of capitalism, combines wholly disparate spheres of activity, the political and the economic. It is perfectly possible for a monarchy like China or Saudi Arabia or Oman to enjoy a (regulated) capitalist economy, and the monarchs of those states have no responsibility to depose themselves in favor of some oligarchic scheme of government.

      Finally, it certainly is not "everyone's job" to advocate for any system of government, let alone the particular type of oligarchy that relies on elections and, just as it did in the time of Herodotus, necessarily leads to factionalism. There is no universal moral imperative to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign nations or to "correct" their citizens' opinions about what the best form of government might be. Let other people decide how to live their own lives and mind your own business.

    5. Re:Surprised? Apple is a capitalist business. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It would be easier to silence you in China, but you'd have at least a minimal impact. Bitching on Slashdot, you have none.

      Also, who's the "we", are you schizophrenic or does it come from drinking too much poo?

    6. Re:Surprised? Apple is a capitalist business. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please go somewhere and suck a dick. You're floundering fathers were clueless old toadies that pirated everything they could from the Old World. Democracy is not a religion, nor is it likely to be the single best way for 7+ billion people to survive on limited resources.

    7. Re:Surprised? Apple is a capitalist business. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      It would be easier to silence you in China, but you'd have at least a minimal impact. Bitching on Slashdot, you have none.

      The only impact I'd have in China is on their corrections^Wprison labor system, into which they would rapidly throw me. Or on their organlegging operation, same. But people in the USA bringing attention to how the USA fuels China's inequity may achieve some small amount of good, however trivial. That still helps the world more than becoming a source of spare parts for Chinese oligarchs.

      Also, who's the "we", are you schizophrenic or does it come from drinking too much poo?

      Slashdotters. None of them will consider you credible.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    8. Re:Surprised? Apple is a capitalist business. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Democracy isn't even democracy in the original, Greek sense

      Point to where I brought up ancient Greece. Their system of choosing voters is what ours was originally based on — you had to be a racially privileged male landowner in order to have a vote. It's not relevant today.

      There is no free market; all legal markets are regulated to some extent,

      Free markets and regulation are not mutually exclusive. In fact, you can only have a free market when you have enough regulation to prevent fraud.

      Finally, it certainly is not "everyone's job" to advocate for any system of government, let alone the particular type of oligarchy that relies on elections

      I said democracy, not oligarchy. You got literally everything wrong.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  12. Communist RED Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Make Ameruca Enslaved Again, apple official sides with communists instead of pushing free speech and destruction of the great firewall of china.

  13. Tim Cook is a cuck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Steve Jobs wouldn't have allowed this to happen.

  14. China is not a friendly country by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    China is a severely repressed communist country. How these tech companies never understood this is beyond me? The US and Europe is a far cry from the controlling nature of a socialist or communist country. I would have to say Apple is losing out in places like China, India and elsewhere because Apple is not the Golden child like it is in the US and EU.

  15. China's Consumers of Apple Appliances Non Trivial by buravirgil · · Score: 0

    I'll just leave this here

    MamaHuhu (YouTubeHome)
    When Chinese Can't Afford The Latest Apple Product

    Old news, really, but what the American people don't know about Chinese culture is why moronic posts about organ harvesting, and "human rights abuses" are as perennial as the grass on /.

    China's firewall prevents western corporations from denying the government vital and private information of its citizens. Soon, a generation will have passed since Yahoo first agreed to grant this access to its servers residing on Chinese soil. It is a simple proposition: Want to Do Business in China? Agree to oversight.

    The western default is Why Would Any Country Deny Google/FaceBook/Amazon? And most of the world has acquiesced to this seemingly innocent proposition of dominance. Yet, everyday westerners learn of some new way their private data is used without their permission or comprehension.

    About Permission: Imagine a TOS agreement written in Chinese or Russian on every website you see that's accompanied by pervasive multimedia advertising insisting you massacre your indigenous peoples, force minorities to live in ghettos, bankrupt a middle class when hospitalized, require three times more food and eight times the energy, recklessly endanger another with commodity-based weapons and force your daughters to choose between 4/5th pay, domesticity, or sex work.

    Just an exercise.

    --
    Would were! Should is! Could be! And live a hundred times three.
  16. Central by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    So.... do we see the problem with centrally controlled app stores that don't allow easily adding other sources yet?

  17. Gambling is rampant in China by LazarusQLong · · Score: 1

    but apparently not via Apple Store apps.

    --
    "Governments have been dominated by the corporate entities and citizens have ceased to matter in public policy" true in
  18. apple themed garden of approved ideas by LtUoNXizqxawTj4ofx7t · · Score: 1

    walled garden of green indirectly controlled by the communist government! could you imagine hitler and stalin working with apple? beautiful cooperation, would make things truly great! i am sure the communists will try to make it great too!

  19. Locked app store by LtUoNXizqxawTj4ofx7t · · Score: 1

    Locking people in with no way of installing unapproved apps makes Apple even more evil than Google!

  20. Hey Apple by Rick+Zeman · · Score: 1

    "Touch the devil and you can't let go."

  21. FACTS vs. your LIES #1/2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1.) Users disagree w/ you by DOZENS https://tech.slashdot.org/comm...

    2.) ObjectPascal is #12/20 on the TIOBE index (& has never left top 20 since 2001) - FAR from "arcane" (like C++, it's a classic here to stay).

    3.) I've used Linux & *NIX before you were BORN most likely (*NIX thru the 80's & Linux on/off since 1994)

    4.) Windows version doesn't need anymore work (see #1 reviews of it above).

    5.) see #1 above for EXACT QUOTES registered /.ers stated

    6.) BSD version IS done in latest Linux model (BSD keeps binary compatiblity w/ Linux afaik).

    7.) My source was audited by Steven Burn of Malwarebytes (not some amateur) who hosts it & recommends it also

    APK

    P.S.=> Part #2/2 coming & it's obvious you FEAR me resorting to lies & hiding by unidentifiable anonymous... apk

  22. FACTS vs. your LIES #2/2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    8.) Part of my PERSONAL hosts file's created by me. I give users the method to do the same via my program.

    9.) SHOW ME where I said "ALL" adservers: Like vs. malware it's an ongoing process.

    10.) Whitelists = maintenance & false positive nightmare (so are wildcards) - hosts specifics aren't.

    11.) Resolution's FASTER via hosts (blocks don't matter: you don't intend to get to 'em) via fav. sites you spend most time @ online @ TOP of hosts CACHED IN RAM locally (faster vs. dns & no chance of redirect poisoning).

    12.) Hosts do MORE for LESS, natively, vs. other so-called 'solutions' w/ less bugs & complexity for exploit.

    13.) You're a psychiatric pro who did a formal exam of my alleged mental condition while in a professional psychiatric environs? No. You're a libelous troll HIDING from me via UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous STALKING me!

    APK

    P.S.=> ENJOY YOUR DOWNMOD, in addition to PART #1/2 here dusting you https://apple.slashdot.org/com... ... apk