Google aren’t opposed to evil any more though, they removed their motto of “Don’t Be Evil”.
Zak@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Public pushback on stuff like this does work on occasion. It even worked on Apple when they proposed upload filters for CSAM.
Google’s intent in the short term probably is just about malware, but in the long term it gives them, and governments which can pressure them the ability to ban any app from nearly all Android devices. Once deployed, there’s a near 100% chance of such a mechanism being used for evil.
Zombie@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
Maeve@kbin.earth 3 weeks ago
Alphabet Agency company was never opposed to evil. They're like the "nice” drug dealer giving you what you like until you keep coming back. Or the guy in the van giving out free candy.
Goodlucksil@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
The malware argument falls like a house of cards when you just dig a bit nd see that Play Store is full of indiscutible malware like flashlight “apps”.
AceBonobo@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I thought their intent was to (attempt to) reduce piracy
Typhoon@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Their intent is to reduce people running software they didn’t purchase through their commissioned store.
brucethemoose@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Apple is a bit more receptive to bad PR, but Google has a history of kinda ignoring developer feedback, like with the JPEG XL thing as a narrow example.
Alphane_Moon@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I don’t buy the malware arguement. Most major social apps function like malware (tracking location and anything they can). In the 90s, any app that did that (say to your laptop) would be tested as spyware.
Zak@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
No doubt many “legitimate” apps, including some of Google’s own are spyware. This claims to be about the sort of malware that steals your bank account login.
I’d even speculate that most of the people involved are working in good faith; they think they’re the good guys and they can be trusted with that kind of power. Nobody should have that kind of power though because it always leads to corruption.
paraphrand@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I would love to see an interview with the team. Because you’re probally right.
CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
It’s only spyware if Google can’t monetize it. Which is ironic if you think about it.
trolololol@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Also the true malware is currently signed and it still reaches millions of people, most of the time downloaded straight from store.
WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I would argue that was the definition even in the early 2000s. then it became a business model for famous companies.
Alphane_Moon@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
True, even in the early 2000s, an application tracking your laptop locations would be treated as extremely dangerous spyware and the relevant could would be treated as a borderline criminal actor.