Apple Removes Unofficial WikiLeaks Application From App Store [Updated]

[hackum]

And now with all that said, I believe I'm done. Most of the people that understood this as an ethical topic have moved along, and what remains appears to mostly be people that want to nitpick over tiny irrelevant details. I shared my opinion and I'm content with that

Peace out.

I really support everyone having an opinion, but I am scared of people who have opinions on stuff they apparently know little about.

 

[Skoal]

Well, Apple has shown its true colours, that is, it like every American corporation are extensions of American foreign policy. Where are the cries of 'Freedom of Speech" that Americans so gallantly profess at every given opportunity, what happened to the telling truth. Shame on you Apple, you have left your 'Think Different' slogan in favour of the Orwellian state.

What does Apple have to do with freedom of speech? They are a corporation not the state. I could care less what they do. I buy their products if they meet my needs not because they want you to think they "think different".

 

[Dmac77]

So no information is sacred huh. I love the implications of this. In the name of absolute transparency, I think you should post your name, home address, social security and bank account #'s right now

Now here's the difference between my personal information and the government information that WikiLeaks releases. My personal information and choices have no impact on you whatsoever. The fact that I do my banking through JP Morgan Chase, and the fact that my brokerage account is through TD Ameritrade has nothing to do with you. The information that WikiLeaks is releasing is relevant to everyone, especially all Americans, because our government is supposed to represent us, the people; how can we know if the government is representing our interests if we don't know what the government is doing? The information that WikiLeaks is releasing is relevant to the rest of the world because the US is the only remaining superpower. Everything the US government does somehow impacts everyone.

-Don

 

[aristotle]

Now here's the difference between my personal information and the government information that WikiLeaks releases. My personal information and choices have no impact on you whatsoever. The fact that I do my banking through JP Morgan Chase, and the fact that my brokerage account is through TD Ameritrade has nothing to do with you. The information that WikiLeaks is releasing is relevant to everyone, especially all Americans, because our government is supposed to represent us, the people; how can we know if the government is representing our interests if we don't know what the government is doing? The information that WikiLeaks is releasing is relevant to the rest of the world because the US is the only remaining superpower. Everything the US government does somehow impacts everyone.

-Don

Do you realize that your bank account and your investments could be severely impacted by either Assange and his organization or by their henchmen in Anonymous?

Let me put it in words that you might understand. You could be broke. That information they are threatening to release could be "your" financial information.

An acceptable level of transparency exists in the intelligence community in the form of congressional oversight committees. Complete transparency is untenable. You do not live in a world full of good people. Osama Bin Laden is not your friend.

To fight a war on terror or any war for that matter requires some secrecy.

BTW. How is your personal information or your personal client attorney privilege any different the expectation of confidentiality of conversations between diplomats or other people and diplomats? All of these forms of "privacy" have limits. If you are being investigated for corruption then you lose some of your privacy in the investigation. The problem with wikileaks is that the cables released were not limited to signs or possible corruption or collusion. The government employee just decided to steal a bunch of documents without considering their content or impact.

 

[charlituna]

wikileaks is publishing stolen US classified documents. Apple is a US company. They are breaking the law if they allow this app

If criminal charges arise from the site then yes Apple could be viewed as an accessory. That risk is a pretty good reason to pull the app

Add to this that allowing the app could be viewed as a political stance by Apple, and they are careful not to take either side on almost all issues.

Detail that apparently there is a rule about 'charity apps' being prohibited from having a cost.

Detail that apparently this guy is not part of the site and there is no proof that he really would give them any of the money

Detail that Apple is not keen on apps that just copy content from th web, particularly when it is at a cost and thus the whole 'no added value' rule could apply.

This app should not have been approved in the first place for this stack of reasons, that is really the only error. Apple is not obliged to have anything in their store any more than any store is. Sorry that some folks don't think they should have that right but they do. If it chafes your hide that much, stop buying Apple stuff etc

 

[Skoal]

now more the land of the surveilled, home of the slaves....

...you mean home of the tightly bound tin foil hat.

 

[charlituna]

Quite possibly, but if that were the case, why didn't Apple say this to the developer?

Who says they didn't. If I am a developer who wants to get some PR for my app so folks will jailbreak their phones and such to support me (don't doubt that this won't be they next step), I am going to want to score as many sympathy points as I can. And nothing works better than some ire against Apple for throwing their weight around. So if I contacted them to find out exactly why my app was pulled and was told that it was due to breaking rules I signed a contract to follow, am I going to tell that part of the story? No I am not.

 

[Skoal]

Comments like this make me think you're naive

People have been whining about this for years. You have more freedom in this country than anywhere else in the world. Some people think the world should be a utopian place where all information is open and everything should be handed to them on a silver platter. Why can't these people conceive the fact that without the Govt. having the ability to work as they do we would have none of these freedoms.

 

[Skoal]

Vital locations for national security? If they agreed to work with wikileaks they could have taken these out, I support the release of information like the 15,000 more civilians that were killed that they just "left out".

Whatever! The Govt. doesn't work with blackmailing entities to censor CLASSIFIED information. Asange has a thing out for the USA plain and simple.

 

[champ01]

My answer for this is ... Assange, whether he gets convicted of sex crimes or not in Sweden ... he will be spending a very long time incarcerated in an American Prison. ... so long that the next generation of kids, will not even of heard his name ... if he ever gets out.

America is not the boss of everyone and they never will be.

100.000 fighters for freedom behind bars will not stop revealing the documents with scams by countries all around the globe (and not only by America!) many many many more documents will follow.

Now go watch some FOX news and play some Call Of Duty and maybe tonight Sarah Palin will tell you a bedtime story.

 

[charlituna]

What law has Wikileaks broken? Bradley Manning, as the source of the leaks, a member of the US military, has legal problems.

Did he sign documents agreeing to keep materials he had access to a secret. That agreement could be considered a binding contract. Did he reveal those secrets. And was it due to someone enticing him to do so in exchange for money or other payment.

If yes on those counts then wikileaks may have violated laws. Against such enticements. It may not be criminal but it would still be a violation. Time will tell how the arguments are made.

 

[Liquorpuki]

Now here's the difference between my personal information and the government information that WikiLeaks releases. My personal information and choices have no impact on you whatsoever. The fact that I do my banking through JP Morgan Chase, and the fact that my brokerage account is through TD Ameritrade has nothing to do with you. The information that WikiLeaks is releasing is relevant to everyone, especially all Americans, because our government is supposed to represent us, the people; how can we know if the government is representing our interests if we don't know what the government is doing? The information that WikiLeaks is releasing is relevant to the rest of the world because the US is the only remaining superpower. Everything the US government does somehow impacts everyone.

-Don

I gave several examples of non-government info released in another thread. Wikileaks published the names, home addresses, and home phone numbers of all members of the British National Party. They published the personal contents of Sarah Palin's email account, including personal photos and non-government contacts. They published the inititation rituals for Alpha Sigma Tau, a US sorority that had done nothing wrong. It would be nice if they focused entirely on government secrets and performed the necessary redactions of personal info. They don't.

 

[Apple OC]

America is not the boss of everyone and they never will be.

100.000 fighters for freedom behind bars will not stop revealing the documents with scams by countries all around the globe (and not only by America!) many many many more documents will follow.

Now go watch some FOX news and play some Call Of Duty and maybe tonight Sarah Palin will tell you a bedtime story.

Tell it in your wikilove letter to Assange when he is holed up in Leavenworth

 

[charlituna]

doesn't change a fact that journalists have every right to publish that information.

Yes but that argument hinges on whether one can really call Team Wikileaks journalists. Many folks would not. Despite what the UN etc say

And since we are playing the whole 'the site isn't based in the US', assuming the term fits, what are the laws in the appropriate country in regards to journalistic conduct. They could be less forgiving than in the US.

 

[snberk103]

Do you realize that your bank account and your investments could be severely impacted by either Assange and his organization or by their henchmen in Anonymous?

Let me put it in words that you might understand. You could be broke. That information they are threatening to release could be "your" financial information.
...

You are wrong on at least two counts.

1) Wikileaks is releasing State Department cables, in this round. So, unless American Diplomatic Missions were sending his/her financial information, then No - their are not at risk financially. In other rounds, Wikileaks has released government documents, not personal financial documents.

2) Wikileaks is working with their media partners to redact sensitive information. So, if the US State Department had his/her financial details (illegally) it would be edited out. Though presumably with enough info so that he/she would know that their banking info was in the hands of the State Department.

 

[champ01]

Tell it in your wikilove letter to Assange when he is holed up in Leavenworth

How about a letter to the young American soldier who had the guts to spread the cables in the first place and now has to spent christmas in prison.

 

[Apple OC]

How about a letter to the young American soldier who had the guts to spread the cables in the first place and now has to spent christmas in prison.

Send a wikilove letter to him also ... Mr. Bradley Manning would probably turn back time if he could.

 

[antster94]

"Apple Removes Unofficial WikiLeaks Application From App Store"

*Apple website proceeds to be brought down by Anonymous*

 

[Doctor Q]

Reminder: This thread is about the WikiLeaks app and its removal from the App Store. If you want to discuss poltical issues that are only marginally related to this topic, use other threads.

 

[andy721]

Strict.

Another reason I'm done with the iPhone and switched to Android.
I hate all this strict protection from itunes? Enough is enough.. Time to get over yourself Steve Jobs. We have your HIV records from wikileaks btw.

 

[harveypooka]

Another reason I'm done with the iPhone and switched to Android.
I hate all this strict protection from itunes? Enough is enough.. Time to get over yourself Steve Jobs. We have your HIV records from wikileaks btw.

Might want to change your sig, dude...

 

[celo48]

I do not blame Apple for banning this app. I think they have every right to protect their asses in anyway they can.

 

[Bubba Satori]

Assgangrene outraged by rape case leaks

"Assange's conspiratorial reaction, suggesting the women's allegations are part of a "dirty tricks" and "smear" campaign by unseen dark forces, and that he will fight extradition in part because he and his lawyers had been denied access to any documentation on the case. This prompted Davies, an experienced policing digger, to investigate.

On Friday, the Guardian published the result, an article which presented the allegations against Assange in unprecedented detail. Davies' report was based on police documents to which he said Assange's legal team had also been granted access.

The Assange camp reacted with fury, denouncing those who had leaked the documents to Davies, while denying any double standards."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/21/assange_guardian/

 

[Bubba Satori]

America is not the boss of everyone and they never will be.

Now go watch some FOX news and play some Call Of Duty and maybe tonight Sarah Palin will tell you a bedtime story.

"America is not the boss of everyone."

Are you seven years old?

Does the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Commitee, Diane Feinstein watch Fox news?
I don't think so. She says Assange should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.


Prosecute Assange Under the Espionage Act

"No doubt aware of this law, and despite firm warnings, Mr. Assange went ahead and released the cables on Nov. 28.

In a letter sent to Mr. Assange and his lawyer on Nov. 27, State Department Legal Adviser Harold Hongju Koh warned in strong terms that the documents had been obtained "in violation of U.S. law and without regard for the grave consequences of this action."

Mr. Koh's letter said that publication of the documents in Mr. Assange's possession would, at minimum:

• "Place at risk the lives of countless innocent individuals—from journalists to human rights activists and bloggers to soldiers to individuals providing information to further peace and security;

• "Place at risk on-going military operations, including operations to stop terrorists, traffickers in human beings and illicit arms, violent criminal enterprises and other actors that threaten global security; and,

• "Place at risk on-going cooperation between countries—partners, allies and common stakeholders—to confront common challenges from terrorism to pandemic diseases to nuclear proliferation that threaten global stability."


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703989004575653280626335258.html

 

[Apple OC]

In a letter sent to Mr. Assange and his lawyer on Nov. 27, State Department Legal Adviser Harold Hongju Koh warned in strong terms that the documents had been obtained "in violation of U.S. law and without regard for the grave consequences of this action."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703989004575653280626335258.html

Maybe Apple received a leak that the noose was getting tighter on Assange and wanted no part of the espionage trial.

Espionage is never good for retail business