Hacker News Reader

Comment by stavros | Hacker News Reader

I hate Apple's app store policies as much as the next guy, but does this mean I can make malware that plays music and Apple has to allow it in the app store?

View on HN

No because Malware breaks the law.

Is filtering for malware forbidden by any law?

And btw, those apps that the app store is full of that trick you into a $80/month subscription aren't malware?

Yes, the law in question, which forbids Apple banning apps that share functionality with Apple's apps.

So Apple's apps are malware? :p

To clarify the original premise:

I release an app that BOTH plays music AND is malware. Under this law, Apple can't ban the app (because it's malware) because the law prevents it to (because the app plays music, competing with one of Apple's apps).

The app is already illegal because of whatever other laws apply to it. You don't even have to have digital specific laws, any law dealing with fraud or theft will apply.

Bonus: you haven't read the Japanese law in the original Japanese legalese*, just an english summary.

* And since it's in legalese, you probably couldn't even if you spoke some Japanese.

Presumably Apple could still legally restrict malware because they are not distributing their own versions of malware, yes?

But then they can restrict anything, on the basis that the software they're restricting does more than their software.

I was being a little tongue-in-cheek, but I find your premise very fun when thinking about how quickly it can be taken to extremes with criminal or civil damages.

Thankfully, our legal systems are much better equipped to deal with ambiguity like this than I think you are proposing.

I guess I was more saying that ambiguous laws can cause more harm than good, but then I was basing that on the title of the article of a summary of a translation of a summary of a law, so I'm probably wrong :P

Reply on news.ycombinator.com