Can DApps be censored?

[Lionel]

One of the goals of Ethereum and other DApp platforms is to provide users with decentralized , and censorship-free as a consequence , software.

But i think they fail to resist censorship, especially on mobile.

In order for DApps to run on mobile , users still need to install an app from the Play/App Store, which is controlled by central authorities like Google.

Take for example the Trust DApp Browser on Android, which is what you need for discovering and running DApps on android.
Suppose that one of the DApps listed by the Trust browser is a free-speech app that the govs don't like.
They may even ask Google to ban Trust Browser altogether from the app store, even if only one of the DApps inside it was the "culprit"

Even the desktop wallets like Parity are not very safe from this POV.
 AFAIK , it is still not possible to anonimize / torify your IP when using an ETH wallet, like you can do with Bitcoin Core for example.
So the gov can still take action against the people that use or own that free-speech DApp they don't like, in that they can easily get the names and home addresses of those people.

What do you think about that, and possible solutions?

[seo-maestro]

CardStack is solving this problem for ETH dApps because they are making decentralized uncensored marketplace for mobiles.
And NoS will solve the same problem for NEO and ETH dApps and ICO NoS will be launched soon.

[Lionel]

CardStack is solving this problem for ETH dApps because they are making decentralized uncensored marketplace for mobiles.
And NoS will solve the same problem for NEO and ETH dApps and ICO NoS will be launched soon.

How are they censorship-resistant?
Cardstack/Nos, like Trust , are just Android/iOS apps.
So they have the same censorship issue i explained above:
if you can run a DApp that the gov doesn't like, from within CardStack/NoS/Trust, the gov can ask Google to remove CardStack/Nos/Trust altogether from their store.

The only solution AFAIK is to try convincing the masses to use open-source mobile phones like Librem or others (https://opensourceforu.com/2018/05/5-open-source-mobile-operating-sytems-alternatives-to-android/).
And the DApps should run on those phones as well, not just on Android/iOS

[Bruno Sammartino]

This is a serious issue. When the crypto system is decentalized, users have to download DApps from the centralized system like the app stores. The government can monitor the users through this and sense of anonimasity is vanishing. This is threat to all users out there.

[Gavyn Pace]

I am afraid the Government can do that if they want. I have no idea what the solution would be. Let me know if you found out anything. I am interested as well.

[Kasen Matthews]

I think they fail to resist censorship,especially on mobile. Government can still take action against the people that use or own that free-speech DApp they don't like. They can easily get the names and home addresses of those people.

[Melinasdre]

It'll take time for what you're saying to happen regarding googles views on centralizing. Cryptocurrency has gotten popular and a lot of people are now able to use it to some extent but the freedom you propose for mobile devices to be achieved will take time. We're still in the early stages for cryptocurrency so, maybe with time we can hope to see a change on the mobile platform regarding that issue.

[Lionel]

I am afraid the Government can do that if they want. I have no idea what the solution would be. Let me know if you found out anything. I am interested as well.

--- Possible solution for mobile: pre-installed apps --

It would be great if some DApp browser (Vault.io, Trust, ecc. ) will be pre-installed on the phone directly by the OEM distributor or phone manufacturer,
so that the users already have Trust/Vault pre-installed when they buy the phone, and there's no need to put it on the Play/App Store.

Samsung has been doing that, indeed when you buy a Galaxy there are already a few Samsung apps pre-installed that do not even need to be on the Play Store.

Of course, you have to pay the manufacturer and/or OEM distributors for them to pre-install your app on all the phone units before sale.
This solution needs money.
------

[Lionel]

--- Alternative solution: APKs ---

App/DApp developers may distribute whatever application they want as an .APK to be installed directly, so it would be independent of the Play Store, but that has a strong drawback.
The people almost never directly install .APKs because they think it's a virus.
If something is not on the Play Store and approved by it, then probably it is suspicious. That's the mentality.
If we can eliminate this lack of trust on the .APKs, we solve all of our problems.

We can think of making a voting platform that provides users with trust ratings & user reviews on all the APKs.
So that an user can check the trust rating of an APK before installing it.
Also, an APK may have an MD5 checksum associated with it so that you are sure that you are installing the right file.

But these solutions must be made usable for the idiots, not only for tech guys like us that know what MD5 is, for example.
These mechanisms must be automated and transparent, provided from a unique interface, with a few clicks.
The user should not need to spend time to do his own research , or to check if the MD5 of the APK he is downloading is the right one.

I am thinking of some kind of Bittorrent app for mobile that lets you download everything (movies, music, docs, apps, etc. ) ,
but that also rewards users to give genuine feedback and trust rating on files and apps on the Bittorrent network.
And developers may distribute their own APKs or DApps by simply sharing a torrent.
The problem with Bittorrent is that very few people spend time to give ratings and reviews on what they downloaded, so a reward system is needed to encourage them.

-----



----- Other thoughts ---

About the open-source smartphones i was talking about, this solution may be even harder, as Librem, etc. will hardly have a significant market share, because Librem doesnt' natively run Whatsapp and other crucial apps the people want before deciding to buy a phone.
Convincing Librem to pre-install a DApp platform like Trust or Vault.io may be not so expensive as convincing Samsung or LG to do the same, but it would be nonsense if in any case Librem is not going to gain market share.

[sana54210]

One of the goals of Ethereum and other DApp platforms is to provide users with decentralized , and censorship-free as a consequence , software.

But i think they fail to resist censorship, especially on mobile.

In order for DApps to run on mobile , users still need to install an app from the Play/App Store, which is controlled by central authorities like Google.

Take for example the Trust DApp Browser on Android, which is what you need for discovering and running DApps on android.
Suppose that one of the DApps listed by the Trust browser is a free-speech app that the govs don't like.
They may even ask Google to ban Trust Browser altogether from the app store, even if only one of the DApps inside it was the "culprit"

Even the desktop wallets like Parity are not very safe from this POV.
 AFAIK , it is still not possible to anonimize / torify your IP when using an ETH wallet, like you can do with Bitcoin Core for example.
So the gov can still take action against the people that use or own that free-speech DApp they don't like, in that they can easily get the names and home addresses of those people.

What do you think about that, and possible solutions?

By decentralized we mean in regulations sense for example the way Sec does it in usa. If something is as an app becomes available the google or apple doesn't cencor it in the economic sense. Of course if you make a coin based on porn or based on weed or whatever that is illegal in that sense they will not publish it because of their laws however if you create a regular dapp with nothing like that no one really regulates it. Regulations are economic in that sense and not social stuff.

Laws regulate economics in sense that they can print out more money or tax you or punish you for late fee or what not, google or apple doesn't have rights to do that and won't do that so you have nothing to worry about. If you are going to fear anything remotely close to that you should be afraid that google or apple DOESN'T publish the app, that's worse option there for a new coin.

[Maoper602]

Dapps can be censored if it is allowed to. In most cases content in the decentralized cannot be censored easily if used through an open sourced medium.

[Mirendabaen212]

According to my research I didn't find a way that Dapps can be completely censorship free. I will be intrigued to know if there is really a way to do it.

[Elierith254]

If the government decides to ban the company that created the DApp, it won't even run as a business in that particular country. Perhaps a good way would be moving onto a different region in case if censorship. An open source repository would do the trick as welkll

[Nydiratram12]

I don't think DApps can be censorship free at all. If you use the third party apps controlled by Android or IOS it wouldn't make any sense. Looking forward to know more about this.