Apple said on Friday moves in Germany to force it to open up its Apple Pay mobile payments system to rivals could hurt data protection and the security of financial information.
A German parliamentary committee unexpectedly voted in a late-night session on Wednesday to force the tech giant to open up Apple Pay to rival providers in Germany… The legislation, which did not name Apple specifically, will force operators of electronic money infrastructure to offer access to rivals for a reasonable fee.
“We are surprised at how suddenly this legislation was introduced,” Apple said on Friday. “We fear that the draft law could be harmful to user friendliness, data protection and the security of financial information.”
MacDailyNews Take: Hope you enjoyed Apple Pay while it lasted, Germany.
The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help. — Ronald Reagan
Ditto for German.
MDN has posted that “I’m here to help” Reagan quote quite a few times and, yes, it is funny and has a seed of truth in it. But the fact is that every U.S citizen depends heavily on government functions every day, and most of them work pretty well. I am not saying that they can’t be improved, but the people who love to tear down the government when times are good are the same people who are screaming for government assistance as soon as a natural disaster hits.
It is easy to take shots at government organizations and employees. But I suspect that few people understand how diligently most of those people are working to fulfill their duties to the public. I find it interesting how people are quick to praise any member of the U.S. military, but are equally eager to disparage other government employees. Are you honestly so great that you can justify crapping on the skills and dedication of millions of people with little or no justification? If you were truly that great, then you would not feel the need to denigrate others.
I am pretty sure you missed all together the point of Ronald Reagan’s quote. The government workers you are talking about are just as much the victims of that “government” as the rest of us.
Here’s another way to consider it: it was hard working, diligent employees or contractors of the Nazi government that built the concentration camps.
Even our founding fathers did not trust government (and the people who truly control it) to truly serve the country and the people, which is why they built in strong limitations and checks on power, which every president since Carter has whittled away at.
That’s what Reagan meant, and, ironically, he jumpstarted the power grab that each President has furthered since. Just like Trump, he told Americans directly how flawed and corrupt the government is, all the while using those flaws to benefit himself and the extreme capitalist agenda that is destroying our culture, our country, and the planet.
The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help. — Ronald Reagan
Said the man from the government who claimed to be helping.
That Gentry got relief from draft dodging and soon the Gentry will get relief from student loans and it will be a bi-partisan affair. All people love it (government) when they get something out of it.
I hope Apple pulls ApplePay from Germany. And then the German people complain to their lawmakers about stupid laws.
Keep in mind that many other countries in the West view governments as service providers, not as wild beasts to be contained as Americans do. If Germans support the law coming through the Bundestag, they may instead zero in on Apple for being belligerent.
Reagan’s quote is simplistic & designed to divert attention from the real problem.
Eugene Debs quote circa 1920: “politics is the shadow cast on society by big business,”
The U.S. of America is a one party state, with two wings within it; both are owned by
corporate america. Everything else is the “shadow” or political theater, with some really good puppets like Reagan, the Clintons, Obama & Trump. Its the people behind the curtains (the puppeteers) who are really in control.
Listen here my Communist friend.
Here in the US we have two vibrant parties, split down the middle (give or take 3 million votes).
They are the “right wing” and the “very right wing”.