What can we, as consumers, do to convince Apple and Google to reinstate Navalny's Russian voting app

[wackadoo wabbit]

Tbh, I have no hope of convincing Google to do anything. I've been saying for literally decades that I consider Google to be a force for evil.

Apple, on the other hand, I have a faint amount of hope for. So what can we, as consumers, do? Any suggestions?

I definitely will never buy another iPhone again if Apple doesn't reinstate the app; but since I don't buy phones that often, this action really won't impact them at all. I'll be ceasing purchasing their products for my own sense of morality, nothing more.

I literally teared up when I listened to Rachel talking about this tonight. I am so, so fucking tired of corporate control of people's lives!

[elleng]

1. Not a damn thing.

[wackadoo wabbit]

3. As Gandhi said, "Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it"

I know that you're right though.

[BigmanPigman]

2. I heard about this on Rachel Maddow tonight and got really, really

pissed off.

Nothing can or will be done at this time since the elections are tomorrow. Fuck the tech monopolies!!!!!!

However, that doesn't mean we shouldn't boycott these companies or call and write to our reps to break them up like they did with Ma Bell. We must not allow the tech companies to dominate and legislate. Are Katie Porter and Elizabeth Warren working on this?

[wackadoo wabbit]

4. Actually, the election takes place over 3 days; today is just the first day

If there were an outpouring of complaints or [something, I don't know what], could the app be reinstated for at least the third day?

I absolutely, completely agree with you about breaking up the tech companies! I'll be calling Warren and Porter early next week to urge them to look into this. Thanks for the suggestion! That's a great idea!

[BigmanPigman]

6. I doubt anything significant could/would happen

Last edited Sat Sep 18, 2021, 01:48 AM - Edit history (1)

in the time frame of the elections but we can start with a real effort on the voters' parts to make our voices heard and possibly prevent this from happening in the future. It is WAY past time to control these tech giants. They are NOT our friends.

[wackadoo wabbit]

12. You're so right about that!

I only wish more people could see it.

[elleng]

5. Dunno.

'Only a supervisory agency tasked with overseeing the mobile app infrastructure, which would include the similar system operated by Google, can protect the public and app developers from abuse by these dominant companies.

The problem is finding an adequate remedy under existing antitrust law. As commentators have observed, Epic Games was consistently vague about the remedy it wanted. But several remedies are possible.'

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/06/02/the-epic-apple-app-case-reveals-monopoly-power-and-the-need-for-new-regulatory-oversight/

[BigmanPigman]

7. Good info, thanks!

"But the remedies to this problem are beyond the resources of antitrust law. Congress needs to step in with a regulatory solution."

[elleng]

8. 'Should.' Antitrust is very difficult, to define, implement, and enforce.

[BigmanPigman]

9. Where's Teddy Roosevelt when we need him?

[elleng]

10. He started the ball rolling. It remains difficult to address, and

especially in these times, since greed has taken over,

[multigraincracker]

17. Time to revive this slogan

Bust the Trust.

[wackadoo wabbit]

11. Yes, I believe the author is correct. There needs to be a Congressional remedy for this

There's really nothing the courts can do to fix the problem.

That was an interesting read. Thanks so much for the link! It gave me context, which I always appreciate.

[elleng]

14. You're welcome.

Suggestion that Senator Warren and Congresswoman Porter look into this is good; there surely are others who could help.

It's POSSIBLE this russia thing will light a few fires (BUT might be too difficult to handle.)

[tirebiter]

13. My MacBook is 11 years old.

Got it used and I repair it myself. They could advertise their product on my experience but they have yet to get any of my money.

[TreasonousBastard]

15. I am thoroughly confused. I have no idea what Rachel was talking about, but...

the Navalny app is, or was, something to help out with the Russian election. It was apparently ordered, persuaded, or threatened to be removed by the current commissars and monopoly or corporate power had nothing to do with it. This was, in fact, a demonstration of the lack of corporate power in the face of total state power.

[Hortensis]

18. Thanks for that little detail. I was sleepy and wondered if I'd missed

Rachel explaining more about that.

According to AP, the app was reportedly available for weeks while the Kremlin pressured the companies to remove it, which they finally did on election day itself. Google reportedly faced threats of criminal prosecution, though what I was reading didn't say who they'd go after, and police arrived Monday to enforce a court order.

AP also reported that long lines at the polls in various cities suggested forced voting. Putin can fudge the counts in private, but low turnout, and thus lack of enthusiasm for his consolidation of power, would be visible.

[Steven Maurer]

16. They won't because Russia only has the the veneer of democracy...

If they defied the Russian government on this, they would be shut out of the country entirely.
Russia is a dictatorship.

Don't worry though. The Streisand effect should make this backfire on Putin, just like COVID denialism already has.

[Klaralven]

19. Apple and Google Go Further Than Ever to Appease Russia

Representatives from the two tech companies met with Russian Federation Council officials on Thursday, according to the Associated Press, after which the Council said in a statement that Apple would comply with the takedown demand. A person with knowledge of Google's decision to remove the app said that Russian authorities threatened specific Google employees with serious criminal charges and prosecution, forcing the company's hand.

...

Apple also reportedly disabled its new iCloud Private Relay feature today in Russia, which masks users' IP addresses and browsing activity to counter mass surveillance. The service is currently available in beta, but Apple never offered it in countries like China, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, and Belarus for "regulatory reasons." It had, however, launched it in Russia.

The action Russia took against the voting app is part of a larger trend. In April, iPhones and other iOS devices sold in Russia started coming with an extra step in the setup process that prompts users to install a list of apps from Russian developers. The apps aren't pre-installed, and users can choose not to download them, but Apple made the change as a concession to Russian law.

And it's not just Russia that's making increasingly restrictive demands. Along with its Great Firewall, the Chinese government has long exercised significant control over how international tech companies operate in the country, including a requirement that all foreign services run on servers that are both owned by Chinese cloud companies and located in China. India has also increasingly forced international tech companies, including Twitter and Facebook, to make privacy-eroding compromises. But something so baldly political as the takedown of a voting guide app is an alarming and dangerous new frontier.

https://www.wired.com/story/russia-apple-google-voting-app-navalny/

Basically, if you want to do business in country X, you obey country X's regulations.