[cherylskylar]

Important to see whether the ban imposed by telecoms are to be permanent, or whether they will be lifted after the election. Great civil unrest may arise if people still don't have access to the digital infrastructure they feel they are entitled to after an election favorable to the current govt

[ilaksh]

I disagree. Censoring everyone and even further shutting down a critical infrastructure like app stores during an election means you have to wonder if that government is doing more harm than good.

[tester756]

how's "app store" critical infrastructure?

internet access should be enough

[BlueTemplar]

It's critical for those people who's only computer is an iPhone.

[depressedpanda]

A single point of failure, so easily subverted by nefarious actors, seems like a grave architectural flaw on the iPhone to me.

[nevi-me]

Apps and updates to apps. If much of the internet is crippled already, targeting app stores and YouTube could be seen to be limiting options effectively for users.

With app stores blocked, what prevents the government from blocking messaging apps next, as they won't have ways of providing updates to users? I'm referring to Telegram and what they've previously done to try circumvent blocking techniques.

[meibo]

What can you do on your Apple iPhone without Apple servers? Hint: it's nothing.

[zxspectrum1982]

Meaning Epic is right: the Apple Store dependency and monopoly is abusive.

[zepto]

If you choose to buy something like that, how is it ‘abuse’?

[throwaway45349]

Sure, but there are only two choices.

[colejohnson66]

The stock apps include a web browser, email client, and more. Sure, the apps are what make the phone, but to say you can’t do anything on a stock iPhone is a lie. And for those inclined enough, there’s AltStore for sideloading.

[meibo]

You do need an Apple account and constant connection to Apple servers to be able to sign development and AltStore apps - I assume for a govt that wants to block the store, blocking auth or signing servers is just one more line on a memo.

But of course you're right - you can use the web fine, provided the modern web apps you're using aren't crippled by Apple's slow API adoption in Safari, which is of course to drive you to the better experiences that are waiting for you in the hypothetically accessible App Store.

[reaperducer]

What can you do on your Apple iPhone without Apple servers? Hint: it's nothing.

The Apple devices I use that are too old to talk to Apple's servers disagree with you.

[Ekaros]

Make phone calls? Send text messages? Or has Apple removed those features yet?

[jimkleiber]

I remember when building an Android app back in 2012-2014, that if it had in-app purchases, it seemed to have to go through the Play Store. I wonder if banning the Play Store will hinder apps that rely on in-app payments.

Anybody know?

[hulahoof]

Third party apps can handle payment however they want (e.g. gambling apps) but I would expect apps downloaded from the play store not to work if they are connect via play services

[TaylorAlexander]

"The internet" is both browser based web pages as well as various mobile phone based apps.

[frenchy]

While you might consider software that runs on the internet to be part of the internet itself, not being able to run some of the software doesn't mean you can't access the internet.

A little bit less pedantically though, while this is certainly a blow to internet freedom, and not a good thing, I think most of us would agree (at least in the long-term) that access to the web is more important to freedom that a collection of proprietary apps.

[tester756]

what critical stuff is not avaliable via web browser but is via app?

[throwaway45349]

Banking, for one.

[tester756]

why would banking not be avaliable via www?