Google, Apple sued for failing to give Telegram the Parler putdown treatment

https://www.theregister.com/2021/01/26/google_parler_lawsuit/

by brink • 5 years ago

7 6 5 years ago

iagovar• 5 years ago

Do it in the US if you want, leave everyone else alone please. Telegram is very useful, I have been part of Telegram groups with very good content and I don't want someone in SV decide for me.

App stores have been a mistake.

Darmody2• 5 years ago

A random guy trying to let me and millions of users without any way to communicate using an argument that would take down every messaging app that exists.

With Coalition for a Safer Web they probably mean Coalition to control what everybody says on the web.

remram• 5 years ago

Every attempt at stopping E2EE just shows how much we need E2EE.

Darmody2• 5 years ago

They don't even need that apparently. If Google and Apple shuts you down that's it for you. Most people won't bother installing your app from an alternative store.

Daho0n• 5 years ago

This shows what a can of worms removing Parler was. Telegram has lots of Bad Stuff too, so where to draw the line? I only see two ways to solve this: Open up completely for competing app stores by law or make app stores liable for what is both on the store and what is in the apps that is on the store. Of course I vote for the first solution but I'm pretty sure much of government doesn't agree.

I also have to wonder how much this is a part of a wish to try to stop the shift away from WhatsApp to other platforms that might be out of reach of Five Eye law enforcement.

jfengel• 5 years ago

This lawsuit almost certainly lacks standing, so the can of worms gets re-closed quickly. The app store may or may not choose to remove other apps, but it's unlikely that it can be forced to just because they removed one particular app.

The difference is that Parler was conspicuous in promoting an obvious threat. It was aimed specifically at users who had already been kicked off other platforms for promoting misinformation which, if taken seriously, could only be seen as a call for violence. That same misinformation was being promoted at the highest levels. That's a very clear line that nobody else has yet crossed.

That doesn't resolve what to do about apps that have crossed some other lines and should probably come in for scrutiny. Probably by law enforcement -- the real problem here is that crimes have been ignored, and app stores don't want to take the blame for it. The app stores also ignore it until it becomes un-ignorable -- a line that becomes clear only after threats of violence become acts of violence.

It won't be resolved by a lawsuit that lacks standing. That can of worms will almost certainly be shut.

Google, Apple sued for failing to give Telegram the Parler putdown treatment

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