Re:Google, Apple cave to Pakistan pressure to take down apps...
by stale2002 on Friday February 05, 2021 @03:55PM
(#26041065)
> The Pakistani government can require that Apple and Google block certain apps and require that they maintain their ability to do so.
In general, we do not see governments doing this, no.
For example, I am sure that some people in Pakistan own intel/windows computers.
But Pakistan is not making laws that require every single intel/windows computer to block certain content, at the hardware level of the PC.
That is something that seems pretty difficult to enforce on all PCs.
If phones worked more like PCs, then it is likely that they would enjoy similar benefits.
Re:Google, Apple cave to Pakistan pressure to take down apps...
by jpttsn on Friday February 05, 2021 @06:35PM
(#26042556)
It would be fun to watch someone calmly and rationally explain this impossibility to the legislator. Perhaps with slides about Turing’s universal machine and the x86 architecture. And while you have their ear, maybe convince them that end to end encryption can’t be safely backdoored, and that cellphone radios won’t crash planes. Legislators have so much respect and patience for technical arguments that limit their power.
The Pakistani government can require that Apple and Google block certain apps and require that they maintain their ability to do so.
I don't dispute that Apple and Google do gatekeeping. They do. We can discuss the pros and cons of it. But that is simply not issue here.