abc-xyz

> ByteDance has had a party committee since 2017 and is headed by CCP secretary and company editor-in-chief Zhang Fuping (張輔評), reported Human Rights Watch. Members of the committee hold regular gatherings at which they study speeches by Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) and "pledge to follow the party in technological innovation."

> In addition, ByteDance on April 25, 2019, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Public Security's Press and Publicity Bureau (公安部新聞宣傳局) in Beijing. The agreement was billed as "aiming to give full play to the professional technology and platform advantages of Toutiao and Tiktok in big data analysis," strengthen the creation and production of "public security new media works," boost "network influence and online discourse power," and enhance "public security propaganda, guidance, influence, and credibility," among other aspects.

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3982027

> All well and good, but this is not due to sideloading.

It is. iPhones don’t suffer from these malware issues precisely because everything is locked down and you can’t get apps to the iPhone without Apple’s manual approval. If Android was locked down and only allowed apps to be installed through F-Droid then they wouldn’t have any malware issues either.

The reason F-Droid is safe is because they’re also locked down and their approval process is even more strict than Apple’s.

> I don't think anyone is arguing no store can be locked down if you have multiple choices.

What I’m saying is that once you allow third-party app installations then malware will follow. And as we can see with Macs, not even Apple will be able to prevent it no matter how much they try to discourage people from downloading apps outside the App Store. The malware you see on Macs are a result of users downloading apps outside the App Store, and the same thing would happen to iPhones if they allowed third-party app installations.

Actually they do, and the reason for that is precisely because they allow third-party installations on Macs, and the exact same thing would happen to iPhones if they allowed third-party installations there as well.

> Adware has become much more aggressive in 2019, heavily targeting consumer and business endpoints on Windows, Mac, and Android devices. A new team of the most active adware families have replaced the top adware family detections of 2018. In total, we saw approximately 24 million Windows adware detections and 30 million Mac detections. The top three consumer threat detections belonged to adware families and the number one business detection was also adware. The number one Mac detection, an adware family called NewTab, brought in 28 million detections itself.

https://resources.malwarebytes.com/files/2020/02/2020_State-...

Because 99% of the user base isn’t tech savvy and will install all sorts of crap without realizing the consequences of doing so.

I may be capable of sticking to the App Store and not side-loading apps, but many of my friends, family and non-developer coworkers are not. They’ll click on random links in their mailbox, ads from apps and when browsing the web.. the end result is that they end up accidentally having their homepage, search engine and browser hijacked, they get redirected to spam websites, links on websites gets replaced with affiliate links, their sensitive information gets stolen, etc.

I’ve never had to help fix an iPhone and I don’t know anyone who’s been infected with malware (besides e.g. TikTok secretly copying clipboard and such), however for Windows and Android then I have people reach out to me on a monthly basis because they accidentally installed something that fucked up their computer/phone and they need help fixing it.

As for F-Droid, I hope you realize that their store is even more locked down than the App Store, and it’s as far as I’m aware the only secure third-party store on Android.

> All the comments saying "just buy an Android" ignore the simple fact that you buying an Android does not change the fact that a significant portion of the market is elsewhere.

All the comments saying “just allow side-loading apps/third-party stores and let people decide themselves” ignore the fact that by doing so then iOS will end up with the same virus/malware issues that you see on Windows and Android. Suddenly we’ll need to help friends and family factory reset their iPhone because their search engine got hijacked, or because they get spammed with sex notifications, etc.

And as Windows has shown, doing so greatly increase the chance that your device will be infected with viruses and all sorts of malware. A problem that Android is increasingly facing as well.

TikTok is able to spy on users that download and use their app. On Android you have all sorts of malware that will be impossible to get rid off without doing a factory reset. Apple would risk the same malware issues that Windows/Android face today if they were forced to allow third-party app installations.

I’ve personally had to help fix malware infected Android phones, but I’ve never had to do the same with iPhones.

They might if Apple is forced to ban WeChat and other Chinese apps from the App Store worldwide (which is why Tencent/CCP is having all these proxy wars targeting Apple, with the sole purpose of making it possible to side-load apps so that Trump’s executive orders will hurt Tencent/Bytedance (and future Chinese companies) a lot less). The timing of 40% Tencent-owned Epic Games’ PR lawsuit is no coincidence.

Epic might be painted in a bad light because they’re 40% Tencent owned, and they happen to purposely get banned and sue Apple (in a PR campaign style) shortly after Trump sign an executive order targeting Tencent’s WeChat.

Or people might enjoy being able to use a device without having to worry about viruses and whatnot.. a problem plaguing Windows and slowly starting to affect many Android users as well. And while they might feel comfortable being able to avoid such viruses themselves, then they likely have friends and family that will suffer from it (you might think it’s easy not to install a different App Store, just like you might think it’s easy not to click on phishing links in your mailbox.. but it unfortunately isn’t easy for the average user).

Or people might worry about losing all sorts of privacy as a result of the Apple being forced to open up various parts of their system.

Perhaps because targeting Linux users isn’t worth the trouble? It would be trivial to implement malware on Linux (e.g. here’s Valve accidentally deleting people’s home directory https://github.com/valvesoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/3671).

Windows, and increasingly Android, suffers from viruses because they’re valuable targets. If Apple made it possible to install apps from third-party stores or websites then they’d similarly suffer.

Because most people are not tech-savvy and will accidentally end up installing malware and whatnot?

I’ve had to help factory reset quite a few Android phones because they were being spammed with sex ads notifications and the search engine was being hijacked (wouldn’t be surprised if they had also been infected with keyloggers and secretly uploading photos and such).

CCP’s atrocities are nothing new.. the only thing that’s new is that we finally have a couple of leaders that are beginning to stand up to China (such as USA and India), and Trump’s actions are forcing other nations hands.. for instance, Canada got dragged into it when Meng Wanzhou was rightfully arrested, to which the CCP responded with arbitrary arrests of Canadians in China.

Biden went on record saying he would end Trump’s China tariffs, and we can also see how little the EU and other western countries are doing to stand up to China (and how little Biden did during his 8 years’ vice presidency)..

His trade war is hurting China a lot - companies are being forced to leave due to the high tariffs, Chinese companies are suffering (for instance, Huawei not being allowed to use Android, banned from using chips with US tech, etc.), TAIPEI Act and Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act was also signed under his administration. He’s the first US President to speak directly with Taiwan’s President since 1979, he made the largest arms sale to Taiwan in the past few decades, China Mobile were blocked from offering services in US, Huawei is being blocked from building 5G networks (even paying other nations to block them as well), TikTok and WeChat likely to be banned from the App Stores as well (hopefully worldwide), he keep reminding people that the Wuhan Virus originated in China and that they’re responsible for the pandemic, China about to lose the developing country WTO status, HK special status revoked, etc.

There’s really not a single person who’s done more to stand up to China than Trump has. Just look at China’s reputation today compared to 4 years ago.. the world is finally starting to wake up to the dangers of the CCP. And I really don’t care what his motives are.. I know he probably couldn’t care less about the Uyghurs, but his actions towards China are helping the hundreds of millions of people currently and about to suffer from the CCP.

Yeah, I’m afraid so. I wish liberal politicians were willing to stand up to China, and I try to encourage them to do so. But at the moment I’m unfortunately stuck supporting people like Trump.

At the end of the day it boils down to how much damage is Trump and other conservatives able to inflict compared to the CCP. I’m pro immigration, privacy, eu, choice, police-reforms, etc. my views are very much aligned with what you see in Scandinavia.. but at the end of the day, I see CCP as the greatest threat that the world is facing, and I feel voting against all my beliefs to help stop them is a necessary sacrifice.

I’m voting and campaigning for politicians that I might disagree with on 99% of all issues for the sole reason that they’re willing and capable of standing up to China.

For reference, my views are aligned with Sanders but I’d vote for Trump solely based on his actions towards China.

I’d also say boycotting Made in China and companies kowtowing to China isn’t as difficult as people say. You might not be able to boycott it 100%, but it’s not that hard to find alternatives to 90+% of the products.

> ByteDance has had a party committee since 2017 and is headed by CCP secretary and company editor-in-chief Zhang Fuping (張輔評), reported Human Rights Watch. Members of the committee hold regular gatherings at which they study speeches by Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) and "pledge to follow the party in technological innovation."

> In addition, ByteDance on April 25, 2019, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Public Security's Press and Publicity Bureau (公安部新聞宣傳局) in Beijing. The agreement was billed as "aiming to give full play to the professional technology and platform advantages of Toutiao and Tiktok in big data analysis," strengthen the creation and production of "public security new media works," boost "network influence and online discourse power," and enhance "public security propaganda, guidance, influence, and credibility," among other aspects.

Not to mention said company have previously been caught installing malware on people’s computer[1], lied about encryption[2], censored US citizens on behalf of Beijing[3] just to name a few incidents.

And to make matters worse, 99+% of the Zoom meetings could easily take place on Jitsi Meet, Teams, etc.

[1]: https://mobile.twitter.com/c1truz_/status/124473767293082419...

[2]: https://theintercept.com/2020/03/31/zoom-meeting-encryption/

[3]: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/06/zoom-cites-chine...

How’s this relevant when we’re talking about countries banning foreign (internet) companies from their market?

Besides, open markets are not exclusive to America, and plenty of open and democratic countries have done a far better job than China (who’re 100% responsible for the pandemic) with regard to the Wuhan Virus.

I think most people would agree that the American way is superior, but that doesn’t mean that it will work with parties unwilling to participate.

Luckily it’s only China that refuse to play by the rules, which means that you can easily remove them from the game without changing the game or adopting their policies.

Very interesting, thanks :)

How do websites get the “Add Search Engine” button? For instance, I noticed I can do it with Gandi but not with Name or Namecheap.

Because Tencent (along with all Chinese companies) risk getting banned from all Apple devices worldwide, so they use whichever proxies they can (such as 40% Tencent-owned Epic Games) to try to force Apple to allow third-party app installations.

> ByteDance has had a party committee since 2017 and is headed by CCP secretary and company editor-in-chief Zhang Fuping (張輔評), reported Human Rights Watch. Members of the committee hold regular gatherings at which they study speeches by Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) and "pledge to follow the party in technological innovation."

> In addition, ByteDance on April 25, 2019, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Public Security's Press and Publicity Bureau (公安部新聞宣傳局) in Beijing. The agreement was billed as "aiming to give full play to the professional technology and platform advantages of Toutiao and Tiktok in big data analysis," strengthen the creation and production of "public security new media works," boost "network influence and online discourse power," and enhance "public security propaganda, guidance, influence, and credibility," among other aspects.

I’m not so sure the end result would be fees dropping considering Android allows third-party stores and they still charge 30% like Apple.

You can see how much harder it is to ban an app on Android compared to iOS since anyone can install an apk they download from a random website (or from a third-party App Store).

Whereas now, if the government tell Apple to remove an app from their App Store worldwide then it’s pretty much impossible for anyone to download it. In the past I don’t think the CCP minded - in fact, they were probably happy about it since it made it much easier to censor apps they didn’t like. Whereas now they’re freaking out since they risk having all their apps blocked from all Apple devices worldwide.

The degree to which Blizzard kowtowed was absurd. I don’t think we should exonerate a company for choosing not to ban players that voice support for democracy in Hong Kong.

It would be interesting if Fortnite allowed people to make/sell custom skins and see how they would react to a Winnie the Pooh/Xitler skin.

I’m guessing you haven’t seen Trump’s executive order targeting WeChat ‘transactions’?

Tencent and Chinese companies would benefit from being allowed to operate their own app stores or side load apps, which would allow them to significantly reduce the impact of Trump’s current and future actions.

Is it Fortnite’s battle or Tencent/CCP’s battle? The timing certainly seem to indicate the latter considering Tencent owns 40% of Epic and Epic went out of their way to get themselves banned on purpose.

Having everything locked behind a single App Store is the perfect way for the government to enforce bans without building a “great firewall”. It’s no coincidence that a few days after Trump signed an executive order to ban TikTok/WeChat then Epic (heavily backed by Tencent) engaged in a PR-focused lawsuit that would encourage Apple to allow side-loading apps, which, if implemented, would allow Chinese companies to easily bypass the ban. It’s also worth noting that apps are already violating people’s privacy in so many ways (the latest example is copying clipboard text while running in the background) - without the App Store then there’s no doubt that the privacy violations would become even worse.

I think the timing is very unfortunate. Shortly after Trump’s executive order targeting Tencent and ByteDance (hopefully with more to come) then Epic (heavily backed by Tencent) launch an attack against Apple.

Tinfoil hat on: Apple is probably worried that if Trump gets re-elected then they would be forced out of the Chinese market unless they allow third-party app stores where people can download the Chinese apps that Trump would force them to remove. Apple will therefore opt to allow third-party app installations (which would hurt them a lot if we ignored the Chinese market) rather than lowering their fees or allowing third-party payment providers.