Apple Responds to Chinese State-Run Media Warning Against iOS Location Tracking

[Eraserhead]

There's nothing "same" about the nature or level of criticisms towards Chinese gov and US/UK gov.

No, and that's the problem.

China is still less free but it also attracts extra criticism because it doesn't allow people to choose which set of establishment figures should be in charge.

I don't actually think in China these days middle class people would get in too much trouble complaining about political figures on the internet and not organising protests as people do here, and that is a key freedom that we have had since the 13th century.

 

[scottwaugh]

This is what happens when several of your direct competitors (Andriod) in that market (China) have close direct ties to the government….

 

[Eraserhead]

This is what happens when several of your direct competitors (Andriod) in that market (China) have close direct ties to the government….

Google has connections to the Chinese government?

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Google has connections to the Chinese government?

Butt kissing for the stolen money they have.

 

[Eraserhead]

Butt kissing for the stolen money they have.

Source?

As Google doesn't even do business in China.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Source?

As Google doesn't even do business in China.

They do some, but left after the hack and the fools sold Motorola to them.

 

[Solomani]

I guess this trouble is, Chinese law is flexible to how much influence your company has with the government. Recently Apple has been targeted by the state media with lots of tabloid style smear pieces for reasons unknown. It probably has a lot to do with China-US relations and would probably stop the minute the US started taking China's side in things like territorial disputes with it's neighbours. Having said that, the Chinese government said recently that iOS and Android is too dominant in the Chinese marketplace and they're developing their own state controlled OS for mobiles. Then you could guarantee they'd track everything

Yes. I suspected Apple is being used as a target by the Chinese government, in retaliation for US foreign policy in Asia disputes (e.g. Japan, Vietnam, Philippines island claims). It doesn't help the situation that Apple is considered the largest (or almost largest) market cap American corporation in the world. Because of that, whenever China is upset with the US Government, they can conveniently target Apple because Apple already has a huge manufacturing presence within China.

Russia tried to do the same thing to Apple a few months ago. The Russian state-controlled media blasted Apple devices as "espionage tools" for the American government. Of course they would do this, because Putin and Russia are very upset with the USA taking the side of the Ukraine.

 

[gnasher729]

One lie negates the validity of the whole statement.

Apple WAS caught gathering all iPhone tracking data "to improve maps"! And unfortunately, this data was saved unencrypted on your phone and in backups, if you didn't put a password on your backup, leaving customers' data vulnerable.

That's a blatant misrepresentation of what actually happened.

It wasn't tracking data. It was locations of cell towers and hotspots that were in a wide area around your location. So all that code be deduced from this was that you were in some rather large area at some point in the past. The location of your iPhone was _never_ recorded. And of course it "improves maps". It means that when you move, and your phone detects some cell tower, it knows the location of that tower without asking Apple, which saves battery, is faster, and protects your privacy.

And if you don't have a passcode on your phone, and don't make your backups encrypted (which is _one_ click in iTunes), then it's your own fault. Most information on your phone can be read in that case, but you obviously didn't care.