To mitigate the harms of censorship, internet freedom organizations Fight for the Future (U.S.) and GreatFire (China) have issued a press release “calling on Apple to end the many abusive practices of its App Store, none of which pass scrutiny.”
Of course, Fight for the Future has also argued that Apple should abolish the App Store. Good luck with that, as it ain’t’ gonna happen.
Here are the key points from the press release:
° Apple’s willingness to censor apps on behalf of authoritarian governments has been well-documented, and enables human rights abuses around the world.
° A significant number of people who would like the freedom of choice that comes with other vendors are trapped in their costly iOS investment.
° The choice to leave the App Store is fiscally impossible for developers as well—for many, leaving the App Store means renouncing their main source of revenue.
° Despite their massively profitable monopoly, Apple is unable to keep up with even the most basic review of apps submitted for their store. App Store reviewers are not required to have substantive technical skill, and yet are the only safeguard between malicious apps and over a billion people. Apple’s 500-person review team must process 100,000 apps per week—an astronomical amount that truly demonstrates the fallacy of their walled garden approach.
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