hvklos

How did that work out for you when the PATRIOT Act was passed?

They’d probably try to compel app stores to support individual targeting as a first step. If the Australian versions haven’t shut down in the next few weeks, it’s a pretty sure bet that they’ll have been compromised.

Compromised version dropped onto phone of a target? Most people are reliant on App Stores for their apps, so that will be a likely vector. We don’t run checksums on desktop software, let alone software from App Stores.

Sure, this strategy may work in China but Australia is a Western nation where freedom is taken seriously.

That’s the carefully cultivated reality distortion field at work.

It may look that way from the outside, but it’s a tightly controlled, aging and fearful society. Anyone who steps out of line is dealt with harshly and swiftly. The government may loosen the leash on those who align with their political philosophy (so figures who vilify vulnerable groups are given a bit of freedom under the current government) but the jackboot of the state isn’t far away.

Re your edit: there is compulsory voting, so the people obviously like it that way.

If they want to continue doing business in Australia (and they very much do)

Meh. 25 million people, and not a top ten economy. Australia has a powerful reality distortion field that makes it seem more important than it is. Must be the tourist marketing and the fact that it punches above its weight in producing successful entertainers.

It’s more likely that WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging apps will just get pulled from the Australian App Store (if the Australian App Store remains in place, since it’s likely to be chosen as a distribution vector for compromised software).