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Comment by indymike | Hacker News Reader

App stores need competition, not regulation.

To avoid unhealthy competition that endangers competition itself, regulation is required. Humans have tendency to monopolise.

Regulations makes competition important for benefit maximization. Apple would have long bought and closed by Microsoft if not for Regulation. AMD would have had suffered end.

In this case the economic conditions are a monopoly so competition is impossible. That's why regulations exist, they fix market failures.

Breaking the monopoly is the solution. Pouring regulatory cement on just makes the monopoly legitimate and sanctioned forever.

Breaking monopolies is a form of regulation

In situations where competition is not possible, we need to resort to regulation.

I don't necessarily disagree but that's a tall order when lots of users believe the app store default on their respective device is the only option.

A positive aspect of Apple’s model is that it’s impossible for a malicious ad to trick an unsuspecting user into sideloading malware on their device.

A positive aspect of prison is that you won't crash your car

If you want to spend $700 to go to prison for a while so you don't crash your car, I don't think there should be a law against it.

Sure, but people aren't paying to go to prison. They are paying for a nice bed. Apple just happens to keep the bed in prison, which is where you must go if you want to use the bed.

The vast majority of apps are malware. In both Apple's and Google's app stores. It's gotten to the point that apps are assumed to harvest all information they have access to, store it permanently and sell it to anyone who asks.

If you define malware so broad that every app meets your definition then the term kinda loses its punch.

It's the software ecosystem that has changed, not the definition. Spyware was always included. You can check the history of wikipedia article on malware if you don't believe me.

You really think there is nothing in the app store that can be called malware?

So in response to a tightly controlled store where it’s hard but not impossible to publish malware you want the way forward to make it easier?

I just asked the parent if they thought it was really impossible.

But personally, yes. I think controlling your own device is more important, so there should be a way to sideload apps.

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