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Comment by rambambram | Hacker News Reader

The title alone makes me shiver. Apple "okays" what a government orders them to do. What!??

You and I look right through this power language, but this kind of wording makes people believe Apple is mightier than it is. It's disgusting from Reuters.

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The alternative is to leave EU market. They do have a choice in the matter.

They are refusing to leave Russian market and are actively cooperating with Russian government - see blocking VPNs few days ago. Russian market is much poorer and smaller. If they are refusing to leave this market, leaving EU market is ludicrous to even think about.

That does not change the fact that they have a choice.

If you willingly take no profit (Leaving market) over less profit (Losing control over AppStore in the market) then you can be almost sure that shareholders are going to sue you and I would bet shareholders would win such lawsuit. So no Apple doesn't have this choice.

Companies, including Apple, are sociopathic profit-maximizers. There is no choice when one of the choices is "make less money".

Both are good choices TBH. Maybe Apple is utterly incompatible with the way we Europeans (at least western part for sure) treat freedom and moral behavior and expect companies adhere to those principles. Not empty phrases or half-assed gestures all over the place, but real, concrete, measurable, long term at least good enough behavior.

I'd say fine every transgression progressively so much it hurts their finances so badly they actually make that choice, once and for good (for Apple this would be tens of billions each time depending on the case). But cca 450 million potential customers and rich market ain't something to ignore, shares would take 50% or more cut easily.

Out of curiosity, do you think that Apple's customers in Europe would be appreciative of their entire platform being strongarmed into stopping service?

Just like with russia, they would service current customers just like usually, just not be able to get new ones. Slow, for Apple painful, exit. Of course as mentioned the effect on shares would be catastrophic so they would actually start respecting the law way before that would happen, Cook and shareholders ain't stupid and know very well what games they play.

It would just stop these PR charades where they try to act like they care and have some actual morals, but act differently.

Could they even do that without giving up their Irish tax shelter?

Probably not. Which is why they are begrudgingly applying, slowly. Last thing they want to do is pay their domestic country taxes that goes back (kinda) to the people.

> title alone makes me shiver. Apple "okays" what a government orders them to do. What!??

If I’m fined by my city for a code violation, and then I sign off on a contractor to apply the remedies, I’m okaying work I’ve been ordered to do. Nothing in that framing challenges the city’s authority.

It’s not disgusting from Reuters, it’s disgusting from the EU allowing Apple to still gate keep the distribution process. The hoops you still have to jump through are insane and prohibitive for most people.

I STILL can’t install my smartwatches discontinued app because the notarization will most likely be rejected (as I’m not the creator).

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