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Comment by geor9e | Hacker News Reader

Apple and Google control exactly what data apps can possibly harvest, via their OS permissions. There are millions of apps on their app stores. If apps are acting like spyware then the government should pressure Apple and Google to fix the issue at the OS level. Otherwise it's just whack-a-mole.

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Apple and Google can only control the data shared via the operating system. They can’t control what user behaviors that applications record on the server.

Yeah, it doesn't matter that much if people are voluntarily giving away as many data as possible to an adversarial authoritarian regime. Still, it is disingenuous of Apple to justify its iron grip on iOS apps as a privacy protection measure when it leaves open widely abused API's for years that its users have no way of opting out.

Apps are not acting like spyware on iOS or else you're as clueless as the Reuters "journalist" who wrote this propaganda piece and never probably seen Swift code or looked into how incredibly well app sandboxing works.

To be clear, I am not a US legislator. I actually think app stores do a good job. Read the word "if" in my prior comment the socratic question way, like "if space aliens keep abducting your cat, maybe just keep the cat inside". Although, perhaps I should have read the "you're" in your comment the same way. Ha.

> If apps are acting like spyware then the government should pressure Apple and Google to fix the issue at the OS level.

If you think that's the issue, you're mistaken or confused.

Most people are confused by this legislation. It's specifically going to keep allowing tiktok via mobile browser, which is essentially the same experience and tracking of user interactions, therefore the legislation is specifically about the extra data the apps are able to record.

It has never been about that. This is about Facebook, Google and Twitter not wanting competition for for their ad markets.

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