Platforms want to be utilities, self-govern like empires

Re:Platforms want to be utilities, self-govern like empires by perihelions on Monday August 23, 2021 @10:55AM (#28276717)

[edit: This comment is wrong, see the top reply]

"The big companies pulled the blanket so much that without using their services, you may as well not exist on the internet."

It's an edge case (one small country), but in New Zealand you currently can't exist *in public* without either iOS or Android. They've universally deployed a covid-related tracking app, which has been made mandatory this week, and only supports those two platforms.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/08/coronavir...

https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/...

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Re:Platforms want to be utilities, self-govern like empires by hypersoar on Monday August 23, 2021 @11:05AM (#28276901)

> in New Zealand you currently you can't exist in public without either iOS or Android.

This sounds too insane and stupid to be true. Because it isn't. From your second link:

> If you can’t use the app, download the NZ COVID Tracer booklet, keep a calendar or diary or take photos so you can recall where you’ve been.

Moreover, it looks like this is more about getting businesses etc to get people to log their visits. Like masked mandates in the United States, I would guess that this isn't about making sure that individuals who don't comply are dragged away by the cops.

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