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jimbobb24

Suspended
Jun 6, 2005
3,361
5,393
I don’t mind this. Apple should follow the same rules. Tech giants are all masters at arbitrary rules that are enforced according to their arbitrary bias. I think the govt making them consistent is reasonable.
 
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youdontsay

macrumors regular
Jul 7, 2013
127
182
As usual nobody read the article and go only by the headline.

Exactly! I guess it’s easier to just spit out BS in these days where immediate reaction prevails over thinking.

On Wednesday, France's competition regulator rejected a plea from the group to block Apple's plan to restrict tracking of users' app usage, on the grounds that obtaining consent "doesn't appear to be abusive." Instead, the probe will scrutinize whether Apple is being consistent in applying the same rules to itself.

So, despite everything we can reed here, the only thing the French are doing is making sure Apple applies the same rules to itself. What a disgrace. ?
 

Karma*Police

macrumors 68030
Jul 15, 2012
2,523
2,869
What sort of world are we living in where it's "anti-competitive" to ask companies to stop spying on your internet usage?
A political one where anyone or any organization with enough money or influence can push for any ridiculous policy... good or bad for citizens... doesn’t matter so long as it doesn’t hurt their political career.
 
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UBS28

macrumors 68030
Oct 2, 2012
2,893
2,340
Don't they have better things to do? The question governments should be asking is, how is it allowed that companies are allowed to mine data about what I do, eat, drink, and so on ...?

It is almost like they have a hidden camera in my home aimed at my computer screen without consent, which doesn't sound very legal to me.

And now they are crying because Apple puts a stop to it?
 
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szw-mapple fan

macrumors 68040
Jul 28, 2012
3,519
4,373
The investigation will "look closely" at whether Apple applied less stringent rules to itself than to other services as it makes privacy changes to curb online tracking in its forthcoming iOS 14 software update, the authority's chief, Isabelle de Silva told reporters at a Paris press conference on Wednesday.
If Apple is doing what they say they're doing by applying all the same rules to itself, then it has nothing to worry about.
 
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ani4ani

Cancelled
May 4, 2012
1,703
1,537
I do think the way the question is being asked implies only good or bad akin to "would you like to die a terrible death where all your skin falls off in scaley peices or not"

A more balanced question could be:

"would you like app tracking enabled to allow third parties to personalise content for you?"
"would you like to disable app tracking to limit personalised content?
 
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Skeptical.me

macrumors 6502a
Jun 10, 2017
649
631
Australia
I don't want to be tracked so much. I understand what Apple is doing isn't going to stop us all being tracked, but at least this will reduce it happening on our Apple devices. If you want to allow companies to track you, then opt in. No one should be forced into being tracked, give us choice!
 

Realityck

macrumors G4
Nov 9, 2015
10,402
15,675
Silicon Valley, CA
In a statement given to Bloomberg, Apple said it was "grateful" to the authority for "recognizing that app tracking transparency in iOS 14 is in the best interest of French iOS users," and said it looked forward to working with regulators on user privacy and competition.
Hope it works out.
 
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prizm

macrumors regular
Oct 29, 2007
146
143
It's hard to believe that anyone would advocate for tracking, snooping and profiting from stuff you do in your personal time. Well, except governments and advertisers.
 
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genovelle

macrumors 68020
May 8, 2008
2,105
2,683
What sort of world are we living in where it's "anti-competitive" to ask companies to stop spying on your internet usage?
It’s not even the spying by the App you are actually using. It’s the sharing and selling to 3rd parties and data brokers. So, I might accept tracking from one company because I know them, but they choose to give it to a 3rd party with unknown shady associations. This info then becomes the center of phishing campaigns where they know where you’ve been and who you do business with. Not good at all.
 
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Hyperchaotic

macrumors 6502
Feb 19, 2005
283
360
What sort of world are we living in where it's "anti-competitive" to ask companies to stop spying on your internet usage?
Well, for the govt to "probe" features that has a lot of impact does seem like the right thing to do, especially to make sure Apple also apply some of its rules to itself so as not to give itself an edge..

It's obvious to us techies that this feature is a good thing so if they decide against it then I'll join all y'all in your righteous indignation. Until then it's just the regulators trying to understand what ramifications it has for Apple and other businesses. They might have received complaints about it and it's their job to investigate, hopefully without bias.
 

ericwn

macrumors G4
Apr 24, 2016
11,925
10,562
I’m never not gonna support probes into apples business practices. Best case it comes out saying nope, everything’s fine here. Or other best case (for actual customers) they find something wrong and make apple correct it. For customers it’s win win

Both parties can benefit. Apple will love the government approved sticker for sure. Marketing gold.

Edit: exactly as expected, Apple is welcoming the investigation.
 
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ikramerica

macrumors 68000
Apr 10, 2009
1,562
1,855
The issue to me is more that there is a case of double standards needing investigated. If Facebook had a device that banned everyone else from tracking users, you would be sure that would raise every alarm in the EU.
We don’t know the findings yet but:
1. iOS 14 won’t ban tracking.
2. Apple asks you on installation and activation about tracking, even for diagnostic purposes, and you can opt out. You don’t need iCloud or a paid account to use the iPhone, and you can limit tracking in every aspect of the OS, though some features won’t work without some form of location services. But that info isn’t mined and sold anyway.
 

youdontsay

macrumors regular
Jul 7, 2013
127
182
Exactly! I guess it’s easier to just spit out BS in these days where immediate reaction prevails over thinking.



So, despite everything we can reed here, the only thing the French are doing is making sure Apple applies the same rules to itself. What a disgrace. ?


And now the article has been updated with a statement from Apple thanking France but everyone here continues to read only the title. This is beyond hilarious ? Internet in a nutshell.
 
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