Ask HN: Who is hiring? (September 2025)

Some more context from the linked github issue[0], the app was removed because of European sanctions against Russia, it seems that the app developer who now lives in Malta, has a Russian background.

What is interesting is that it's Apple enforcing these sanctions, rather than AltStore.

The amount of control that Apple exercises over these alternative app stores, really does seem to be against the spirit of the DMA.

[0]: https://github.com/XITRIX/iTorrent/issues/401#issuecomment-3...

jkaplowitz · 10m ago

That’s also weird to me. I don’t have current 2025 info on the sanctions, but back in early 2022 I had a colleague with Russian citizenship who was living in Ireland (with proper permission to live and work - I think even permanent residence). He was exempted from the nationality-based sanctions because of his EU residence, although he did have to prove it to e.g. his banks.

Do the sanctions applicable in 2025 apply even to EU residents of Russian nationality or origin without such an exemption, or is this person covered by more narrow sanctions like one which name him individually, or is Apple going beyond the sanctions rules here for a store they don’t even operate?

Edit: reading the linked GitHub discussion more closely, it seems that he expects to benefit from the same exemption as I was describing, with the problem being twofold: one, the developer had neglected to update his personal info in Apple’s dev portal - not Apple’s fault, at least assuming that sanctions enforcement is their job at all in this scenario. But two, Apple has taken a long time to react to this guy providing proof of his Maltese residence, so that’s on them for being an unresponsive bottleneck.

andai · 11m ago

If Apple can decide what you can publish on alternative stores, doesn't that defeat the purpose of having alternative stores?

can16358p · 23m ago

Not to play devil's advocate here and also IANAL but:

If (as as it is) Apple is still controlling apps via notarizarion/digitally signing apps of and recognizing developers, and if the app is developed for something that would land Apple in legal trouble (e.g. it makes it easy to freely and illegally download music and Apple also has legal contracts with record labels as they have Apple Music, and not only legal but it also affects Apple's own music revenue too) as the app has passed explicit notarization of Apple (in other words: Apple "knowlingly" allowed them and greenlighted them by notarizing the app), wouldn't it cause legal trouble for Apple?

For that, it's the logical behavior for a company like Apple to stop allowing the app.

Again, I'm not supporting it, but I can imagine where it's coming from and that makes sense from a business perspective as torrenting on mobile has almost no legal use cases. We all know you have not installed it to download your favorite Linux distro to your iPhone.

ronsor · 10m ago

1. Signing apps does not constitute endorsement. Re-read the developer agreement.

2. Apple's obligations under law supersede their agreements with any record labels.

dmix · 17m ago

I don’t think people are blaming Apple here

charcircuit · 30m ago

This headline is misleading as it seems the issue is with the way countries are sanctioning Russian developers (assuming based off the Russian name) as opposed to being related to torrents.

ronsor · 27m ago

Ideally you would be able to install what you want on devices you pay for, without being overseen by an external body, thus rendering sanctions irrelevant.

charcircuit · 25m ago

While an option in the design space, and favorable for countries who may have sanctions placed on them, it may not actually be ideal since that means malware authors have free reign.

ronsor · 14m ago

Yes, users will install malware sometimes. I'm OK with that as long as the rest of us don't have to suffer everything being locked down for their sake.