In some countries, where people receive conditioned social security benefits, just sending the money via bank account will have disadvantages (at worst the next sum from social security is lowered 1:1 by the money received and they try to keep it that way). So, if you do not meet the gift receiver in person and do not trust the postal service with cash, a gift card can be a solution.

> If enough of these horror stories are publicized, people will learn to never buy/redeem Apple gift cards because of the real possibility of account bans.

If you are trying to be a bad person you could weaponize that approach. You do not like person x, send them some Apple gift cards... :o

> You do not like person x, send them some Apple gift cards... :o

99.999% chance they happily redeem them and go about their lives.

These stories, while frustrating, are clearly edge cases. Yes I know you can find more if you search social media, but I don’t think a lot of these HN commenters realize the volume of gift cards Apple sells and redeems without problem every day.

Maybe that hypothetical, bad person needs to find out what is triggering the account locking, first. Many small sums per gift card? A sum over a certain threshold? The point is, in reality it will not be up to pure chance.

However, I personally would not do that anyway.

In this case buy the gift card from some shady retailer with a one-time-use virtual card, and give this shady code to your friend. Or buy a physical card from aliexpress, the cheapest one with bad reviews.

They trust themselves to do whatever increases the shareholder value. Is that not trust enough for you? /s

That must be the invisible hand of the free market at work. ;)

Well CAFE standards say don't bother making small vehicles. And manufacturers say oh darn, we have to make the vehicles with lots of profits? Well sorry small truck buyers, we're out.

Let's start with smartphones.

You can make a law that encompasses all

No, it would no reach that star. It is not aimed at it but at the constellation Ophiuchus.

You're right; I was thinking of distance traveled, not direction.

Unless we find the means to manipulate our own star or the orbit of Earth we most likely will not be around at that time. The sun's increased luminosity will boil us way earlier.

Awesome! Now they will try to hire you, as SVP of Customer Exploitation.

That is the gap in the argument of the parent. At least in the US already the threat to sue for copyright infringement has almost such a strong impact as a won lawsuit. You can also see that with things like the DMCA. This is often adhered to, even in ridiculous cases.

> Coincidentally it's also why the US and EU are growing further apart.

That is not a given, as there are many authoritarian political parties in European countries growing in size and influence. Possibly Europe is only the usual decade or two behind the US developments? Well, I at least hope it does not come to this.