“A Brazilian judge on Tuesday ordered Apple and Google to not only remove anonymous social networking app Secret from their app stores, but also remotely wipe the software from devices in the country,” Mikey Campbell reports for AppleInsider.
“Judge Paulo Cesar de Carvalho of the Fifth Civil Court of Victoria names Apple, Google and Microsoft in the order, calling for the removal and deletion of Secret and the Windows Phone analogue Cryptic within ten days, reports local publication Link,” Campbell reports. “After the probationary period, all three companies face a fine of 20,000 Brazilian Real (about US$8,860) for each day the apps remain in service.”
“Judge de Carvalho’s decision is in response to a proposed action from public prosecutor Marcelo Zenkner, who called for a ban on the apps, saying Brazil’s constitution prohibits anonymous freedom of expression,” Campbell reports. “The meaning of the constitution’s Article 5 is debated in Brazil, though some believe anonymity should not be allowed when it infringes on fundamental human rights, the publication says.”
Campbell reports, “The ruling shines a light on Apple’s so-called app ‘blacklist,’ which can remotely disable an installed app by revoking its certificate.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: So, if a visitor to Brazil from another country arrives, does his or her iPhone delete the Secret app once they hit the tarmac? What if you’re just flying over Brazil, but in the country’s airspace? How will Microsoft ever be able to track down all three Windows Phones in Brazil? Before issuing his order, did this judge really think things all the way through? The whole idea seems rather goofy, not to mention quite invasive.