To nitpick your argument, this doesn't change customer security in the way that letter discusses. Apple is still protecting the devices they sell, it's just unfortunate thay China implements network-level controls at a national level, beyond the device.
This is just unfortunately a step in the wrong direction of free speech that Apple could have combated had they wanted. That said, the great firewall crushes VPNs fairly easy anyway, so I don't think it's as big a loss as people are making out.
While you're calling another man a coward for not living your values, I'm wondering what you've done to stand up against China that's so fucking brave.
> While you're calling another man a coward for not living your values, I'm wondering what you've done to stand up against China that's so fucking brave.
Well for one thing, I didn't remove vpn apps from my app store.
No, he's a Chief Executive. If the Chief Executive can make more money by saying Apple is going to bat for gay people (in America, so bold! so brave! /s) or for your privacy, then the Chief is going to say it.
You're at fault for taking them on their word. What you needed was a contract, not an open letter.
I was ready to point that "coward" also should be prefixed with "almost" then, but then I read that link:
>We have great respect for the professionals at the FBI, and we believe their intentions are good. Up to this point, we have done everything that is both within our power and within the law to help them. But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.
[emphasis mine]
I think you read what you wanted to read, not what was written. What exactly did you almost believe? There is no "we'll fight to death against all laws and leave markets on failure". There is respect to the agency and "please, no" to non-lawful demands. Maximizing this the other way to "I didn't believe anyway" is just a denial. They have mutually benefical intents, but they ain't no force against a man with a law in one hand and loaded gun in the other. They live in reality.
If we only stopped turn claims upside down, the world already would be much better place despite local goverment vectors.
https://www.apple.com/customer-letter/
And here I was, almost believing you.
You're a coward.