Apple to Europe: „Your laws are bad for us, therefore we are withholding unrelated features from your citizens and do everything possible to lobby against your laws.“

Apple in the USA: „We only follow the laws and orders of our authoritarian government, there is nothing we can do against it.“

@_holger one must follow the local laws
@j_hearsay @_holger what is the legal basis for the removal of the apps? all articles I’ve read simply cite “pressure from the justice department”.
@UlrikeHahn @j_hearsay that‘s what I heard as well and that’s why I wrote „orders from the government“ - maybe I could have phrased it better.
@_holger @j_hearsay I see nothing wrong with your post, I was querying the necessity of Apple’s response on the grounds that “local laws have to be followed” as suggested by j_hearsay’s reply.
I haven’t heard any legal grounds for why Apple would have to comply so far, and would be interested to know if there are any…
@_holger @j_hearsay this piece suggests the app is completely legal and there is no legal basis for its removal https://pluralistic.net/2025/10/06/america-with-chinese-characteristics/
Pluralistic: Apple’s unlawful evil (06 Oct 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow