Apple cuts off Crimean Developers in response to US sanction order Ping!
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Posted on 01/18/2015 1:28:47 PM PST by dila813
Tensions between Russia and the U.S. over Crimea are spilling into the world of tech: developers are reporting that Apple is sending out notices of termination to people whose accounts are registered in Crimea, citing sanctions that the U.S. has ordered against the region as a response to Russia annexing it earlier in 2014. This means the developers cannot create nor publish apps in Apple’s App Store. The move follows Valve apparently also terminating access to its Steam games distribution platform in Crimea, too.
(Excerpt) Read more at techcrunch.com ...
They should experience freedom in Crimea. They should develop apps for android.
You’d think it would be a trivial matter to register an account ‘from’ anywhere. Use a paypal account.
I’m not a developer so I don’t know how it works exactly, but one would think it would be simple to get around this. Difficult to enforce ‘borders’ on the internet.
Something of interest ...
So Apple will punish Crimea but not the Chinese?
Oh, wait, that is where they get their slave labor to make their iPhones, etc.....unprotested by the whiners of Occupy Wall Street.
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Where has the US set sanctions against the Chinese? These are set by our government. . . not done willy-nilly because YOU want it. Unfortunately, our foreign policy, however inept, is still our nation's foreign policy, and sanctions are enforced and companies who go against them will be punished under law.
These developers would have a similar problem. Given that the sanctions ordered by the Obama administration, no matter how misguided they may be, are enforced against American companies, Google would not be able to put them on the Google Play store in the US, or in any Google controlled store. They would have to be on third party Android stores outside of the US. Will these sanctions hurt Russia? I don't think so.
This is more ineptness from our "glorious" leader and his equally inept Department of State. . . but our businesses have to follow the sanctions. They have no choice.
Exactly my point; the morality of the economic activity (if, as I believe, economic activity can have a moral dimension) matters not to Apple....only whether or not Obama’s regime “permits” it.
The Chinese labor producing Apple or Nike products must be “good” in the eyes of those countries because Obama says it is okay.
I understand that Apple is trying to abide by the law, but like the article says, a few clicks of the mouse and those Crimean developers are suddenly in Ukraine or Russia, and then it is ‘LEGAL’...
Obama has not said a word about it. If he did, he'd most likely side on the China Labor Watch lie side. . . the ones who use photographs from other places and claim they are exemplar of conditions at plants making Apple products when they are not.
I understand your point... But such an electronic "move" would be so transparent I doubt it could stand up to even cursory examination should the authorities come looking. The fines would be substantial.
If one thinks Obamugabe is serious about the sanctions.
There are sanctions against Russia too... one effect of which is no more Saiga or VEPR weapons in the US.
They *are* serious about collecting fines from rich companies to feed their programs and stock their bureaucratic warchests. The administration has *already* started cracking down on businesses conducting business in or with Crimea and Russia.
They already hit BNP Paribas with a $9 BILLION, with a B, fine.
So, basically you think Apple should ignore sanctions by our Government? Hmmm... interesting.
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