Apple lists all apps it removed alongside TikTok in the U.S. | Hacker News Reader

Apple lists all apps it removed alongside TikTok in the U.S.

techcrunch.com

4 pointsgrajaganDev9 comments

“Apple is obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates. Pursuant to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, apps developed by ByteDance Ltd. and its subsidiaries — including TikTok, CapCut, Lemon8, and others — will no longer be available for download or updates on the App Store for users in the United States starting January 19, 2025,” the company said.

Google and Apple face a $5000 fine for each user downloading the app.

This could mean multiple hundred billion dollar fines.

However, Apple is not obligated to lock users out of their own phones, and prevent them from installing apps outside the app store. They've placed themselves in the role of jailer, and this is not the first time a government has forced them to use that role against their users [1,2], yet they continue to recklessly deny their users' autonomy.

[1] Apple drops Hong Kong police-tracking app used by protesters - https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49995688

[2] Banned Apps in China are Apps at Risk in Hong Kong - https://applecensorship.com/news/banned-apps-in-china-are-ap...

>installing apps outside the app store

How does this work? Any TikToc apk files from outside the app store must been considered compromised at this point.

The same way it works in Android phones, that enable side-loading and alternative app stores. The same way it works on Windows PCs, that let you install apps not through the MS store. The same way it works on linux, that lets you install anything not in the official repositories. There are countless examples, the Apple case is the exception (for now), not the norm, so your confusion baffles me.

My concern is non-technical users sideloading backdoored versions from hackers.

How is a supply chain attack mitigated by the mechanisms you suggest?

By choosing not to sideload (where unlocking sideloading is buried so non-technical users don't do it by accident, or even password protected and they can choose to entrust that password to someone else for safe keeping, including the phone manufacturer), or using a reputable alternative repository.

This is not new territory. Nearly all other computers work this way.

The Speaker of the House has made it clear, along with a number of other legislators, that they're not about to give up their role in the constitution just because Donald Trump said so on Truth Social. TikTok can afford to play these games, but as you point out, Google and Apple cannot. I doubt that TikTok's US payment processors or advertisers will either.

The result is the usual Trump soup: a lot of noise, a lot of "debate" and then nothing at the end of the day. Personally I suspect that once his inauguration is over, he'll lose even the pretense of interest in this. "Oh I tried to help, but my hands were tied." Then off to the races with the new drama that goes nowhere.

Three things you can count on with Trump's presidency:

It will be loud and distracting.

Very little will get done that can't be undone just as easily.

The Republicans will pass a giant tax cut in before the midterms, and Trump will sign off on it.

Lark is interesting... so just assuming for a second ByteDance was working for CCP...

Lark is potentially corporate espionage spyware?

Why CapCut? Is it Chinese owned?

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