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Comment by aNoob7000 | Hacker News Reader

I'm worried about the future of computing devices. With Apple and Google going with the walled garden approach, What's to stop any government from telling Apple and Google that an app is illegal?

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> What's to stop any government from telling Apple and Google that an app is illegal?

Nothing; that's most of the idea of a government.

It would seem to me that in the case of apps they’re telling us what information is legal. That isn’t most of the idea of government for people.

That’s why we need good government.

By definition, in most places, govts have a monopoly on physical violence (i.e. : they have the most guns).

So, to answer your question that starts with "What's to stop any government", the answer is : nothing.

Governments have mostly failed to stop websites. Moving from websites to appstore apps gives governments more power. It also gives giant corporations more power. So it is a bad development if you fear giant corporations or governments.

Governments have successfully stopped websites. The CCP has practically created their own internet, and it's obvious that the total absence of the Play Store in China hasn't changed this at all. Australia has enacted national bans on a number of piracy-related websites that their ISPs enforce. If anything, it's easier to circumvent a store ban by sideloading an APK than it is to find/setup reliable VPNs and various traffic obfuscation tools.

Nothing to stop any government. This has already happened in a few countries, especially with banning apps of a certain kind or apps from certain countries.

The government is the sole decider of what's "illegal".

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