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Comment by jkincaid | Hacker News Reader

Funny, because I didn't mention ISPs once. Did you bother reading the post?

I did read the post, and I did notice the words "gatekeeper" and "censorship". Going from there to "ISP" requires a leap, but not a very large one.

Actually, that is a quite large leap. The article refers to being a gatekeeper in the markets controlled by Apple, such as the iPhone/iPad and the iTunes movie service. They are now in the content business big time, and are pushing further with book licensing on the iPad, so the word censorship applies quite well to them denying access to content they don't like.

They are the gatekeeper in the markets tied to their devices. However, there are many other competing devices and content providers. They are not the universal arbiter of all content streaming into your life.

If Apple doesn't carry a movie you want to watch due to whatever policies, you can buy a different phone from a different company or stream it on NetFlix or whatever. On the other hand, if your ISP won't let you download a movie over your connection because of their policies and they are the only ones who provide service in your area, that is a much larger problem. That is the distinction I was trying to make and the one I think this article overlooks.

In some ways the problems with Apple's model go far, far deeper. If devices like the iPad become the norm, then that enables the machinery of censorship at a much tighter level than any ISP could ever dream of. The old standby of using Sneakernet (you know, burning a disk and walking it to the post office) no longer makes any sense in the world with Apple as a gatekeeper. That makes it very scary when Apple starts flirting with this kind of censorship without even defining the terms.

I agree this would be bad if Apple significantly strengthened their position but I think the market would push back if it really got bad. People love their porn.

I think you're right on that, but it worries me that it hasn't happened yet. The iPad is a rather large step towards strengthening their position, and the backlash has been, at best, minimal.

A slightly smaller leap then going from a Apple App Store to Wal-Mart. There are other outlets, smart phones, and the things still has a web browser.

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