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Comment by Bilal_io | Hacker News Reader

> Never in my life I felt like I have experienced censorship in default app stores.

You're thinking of censorship as a consumer that I presume lives in a developed country. Consumers elsewhere can face censorship [0][1]. I hope this can change your perspective a little bit.

0. Apple takes down Quran app in China https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58921230.amp

1. Apple Removes New York Times Apps From Its Store in China https://nyti.ms/2hTHtWd

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Any app store would have to comply with government regulation in the markets they serve.

A) just calling it government regulation doesn’t mean it isn’t my censorship.

B) lots of content online that doesn’t my comply with government censorship. The app store model simply presents an easy choke point.

Any local alternative app store is a far easier target for government censorship. Look at Chinese and Russian Android app stores. They comply immediately, often without even publicizing that. Apple at least takes longer to force to comply.

I’ll repeat my comment:

> The app store model simply presents an easy choke point.

I mean… yes, censorship exists in many countries, including the US. If China forced _Apple_ to abide by their rules I struggle to imagine how an alternative store would avoid that. Biggest Chinese app stores are tightly managed by the state, same as the entirety of their tech market.

With free software and decentralized repositories, users in each country can decide which software they want to distribute and how. If someone thinks a local ban is unjust, they know they have the right and the tools to redistribute any app that is in f-droid.org, or other free software repositories. Free software is central to an effective decentralized ecosystem.

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