For Bloomberg Opinion, Tae Kim writes that with lawmakers are circling Apple, regulating the company’s App Store likely to have unintended consequences, doing more harm than good.
Tae Kim for Bloomberg Opinion:
Last week, the House Judiciary Committee advanced a series of antitrust bills—a couple of which, if passed, could force Apple to allow third-party app stores on iOS and enable the ability for users to install apps from sources of their choosing… While final passage in Congress is uncertain, Apple is taking the legislation seriously. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has reportedly personally called Speaker Nancy Pelosi to lobby against the bills.
Apple is arguing that allowing third-party app stores on iOS would create security and privacy problems. Smartphones contain our most sensitive personal information—from passwords to bank accounts, intimate health data to contact details. Allowing users to install apps not vetted by the smartphone maker’s App Store review process could very well raise the overall risks.
Tightly controlled access has its benefits. According to a 2020 Nokia Threat Intelligence Report, Apple’s iOS was afflicted with the smallest percentage of overall malware infections at 1.7%, compared with 27% for Android and 39% for Windows PCs. The researchers credited the divergence to the fact that Alphabet Inc.’s Google Android system allows the installation of apps from external sources, while Apple’s does not.
MacDailyNews Take: When D.C. idiots decide to “do something” in order to make a name for themselves, one can only hope they cause as little damage as possible.
There are downsides to everything; there are unintended consequences to everything. — Steve Jobs
We urge careful consideration as legislation often produces unintended consequences. — MacDailyNews, February 13, 2008
When was the last time MORE government regulation had a desired result?
section 230, and net neutrality come to mind
There’s been more improvement to the internet without NN then there ever could be with it.
Oh yeah, it sounds like a good idea. But a name on a bill is just a lie to get you to support it. The Devil (and unintended consequences) are in the detail.
Affordable Care Act?
Infrastructure Bill?
For the People Act?
Give me a break….please!
Section 230 is the worst old business law ever written to protect a few select businesses from legal scrutiny and liability. The unintended consequences as we have witnessed for years have to do with far Leftist woke Big Tech companies practicing political discrimination and censorship of the Republican voices, websites, Facebook posts, conservative newspapers and the most egregious Gold Standard example is BANNING President Trump…
Section 230 is the only reason why you are permitted to post abusive, untrue, and potentially dangerous comments on this website. If you don’t understand that, you don’t understood what the law says and does.
@More, more More!
Or, when was the last time that a lack of regulation had the desired result. There are two sides to every story and to get it right we should at least try to avoid absolutes and extreme positions otherwise readers might think one who supports such extremes are ideologically biased.
Blind cynicism is worse then blind obedience.
Going after Apple (not a monopoly)to give Google( a monopoly) and Facebook, Twitter(nearly a monopoly) direct access into Apple because Apple is profitable is a crime. They are potentially setting Apple up to be taken over by Google. How much were
Those allowing apps from outside sources on their phones should be buying android etc. anyway. The rest of us just won’t do it.
Who would force you?
It’s fine as long as we are able to opt in or out of third party apps.
I don’t care what happens if fools choose to compromise their own security.
I’ll take the appalling, restrictive, monopolising walled garden any day of the week.
You don’t care until one of your text messages comes back to bite you from a “trusted” iPhone owner (supposed to be end to end, but if the other end is polluted, how would you know?) I say NO! it is NOT fine, fools can join the fools who own cheesecloth operating systems, leave ours shut tight!
I guess we should bring up the existence of jailbroken phones, huh?
As your personal choice you are totally correct. Imposing your choice upon others isn’t. You’re not doing that but others are.