On the one hand, it's pretty clear that whatever moderation is being done on app stores like the App Store or Play Store is clearly not enough to handle the scams and frauds and fake apps found there. That apps that encourage illegal actions or blatantly infringe on others' IP rights are being waved right through by an apathetic and broken moderation process that seems more like an ineffectual box ticking exercise.
In that sense, "we're too big to care about the law" seems to be the order of the day for these companies, especially where app stores and advertisers are concerned.
At the same time though, I can't help but worry about the implications, since a fair amount of what they 'allow' is really just being allowed because it's best for the users and their freedom to use these systems. Yes there are dodgy search results, but that's because Google isn't manually approving every site that wants to be listed there. Yes things like malware exist, but that's a cost associated with the user being able to run whatever programs they want on their machine.
My worry is that their apathy towards issues that make them money (scam ads, scam apps on app stores, unmoderated marketplaces, etc) is also going to lead to them being required to turn all their services into walled gardens that kill user choice for 'safety'.
Kinda torn on this to be honest.
On the one hand, it's pretty clear that whatever moderation is being done on app stores like the App Store or Play Store is clearly not enough to handle the scams and frauds and fake apps found there. That apps that encourage illegal actions or blatantly infringe on others' IP rights are being waved right through by an apathetic and broken moderation process that seems more like an ineffectual box ticking exercise.
In that sense, "we're too big to care about the law" seems to be the order of the day for these companies, especially where app stores and advertisers are concerned.
At the same time though, I can't help but worry about the implications, since a fair amount of what they 'allow' is really just being allowed because it's best for the users and their freedom to use these systems. Yes there are dodgy search results, but that's because Google isn't manually approving every site that wants to be listed there. Yes things like malware exist, but that's a cost associated with the user being able to run whatever programs they want on their machine.
My worry is that their apathy towards issues that make them money (scam ads, scam apps on app stores, unmoderated marketplaces, etc) is also going to lead to them being required to turn all their services into walled gardens that kill user choice for 'safety'.