Amazing. I had no idea Apple could just arbitrarily (or even with great reasons) decide to shut down your Apple ID, killing your software and disable a lifetime of DRM protected music, ebook and application purchases. Reminds me of how you now must show a passport to leave the US and being behind on your child support is cause to prevent US citizens from leaving the country, just as if they lived in East Germany. Starts out, oh sure, we need this system to check to make sure you're not some kind of criminal. Then it is used for arbitrary control and enforcement of the whims of a cold centralized bureaucracy.
Still worse, if you're an indie iOS developer they can yank your entire living out from under you without explanation. This happened to me this year, I suspect because I made some app store purchases while traveling abroad. They disabled my ID and refused to even tell me why and only reinstated it after a long and arduous exchange with support.
I really enjoy developing for iOS but this was a sobering experience.
There are no "indie" iOS developers, because iOS developers are not independent. There are only "iOS contract developers", paid on a royalty basis, but retained at-will by Apple.
Since when do you have to show a passport to leave the US? All you have to do is prove that you are eligible to enter the country you are traveling to. (This is strictly a money thing: the airline doesn't want to transport you to another country where you'll be refused entry, because then they'll have to fly you back, which costs them money. So you show a passport at checkin and they save money, making your ticket cheaper.)
That's when you check-in and get your boarding pass issued. After that, many countries (not sure how it works in the US now) have an immigration check point where you're supposed to show your passport (probably to check if you've overstayed on your visit). Some places don't have this check - I noticed that London doesn't.
I'm guessing America started enforcing this check as well recently.
The US does not have exit immigration. Airlines have to ask for your passport to ensure that you meet the entry requirements of your destination country. If an airline transports a passenger who is then denied entry, that airline will be fined and on the hook for getting the passenger out again. Generally they can recoup these fines from the passenger but it's a pain and they don't want to deal with it.
The EU and Japan, for instance, do have exit checks. These are done by the relevant immigration bureaus. The passport checks performed by airline personnel are completely different and bear no impact on one's ability to leave the US.
As an aside, this is the reason that most international connection at US airports require a visa. US airports (with LAX being the sole exception, AFAIK) have no way to monitor anyone leaving the secure area. Nothing would stop passengers in transit between international flights from simply leaving. Connecting in, say, Tokyo-Narita doesn't require entering Japan because everyone in the secure area has either exited Japan or is in transit in the sterile zone.
The only exception is passengers on Air New Zealand's Auckland-LAX-London run and Air France's Paris-LAX-Tahiti flight, though I may be wrong. Special arrangements have been set up for these flights.
The EU and Japan, for instance, do have exit checks.
Not if you leave from an airport in the Schengen area to another Schengen airport.
Some airports may check your ID (and determine if it matches your boarding pass) before allowing you into the restricted, passenger only area. But others don't. In Vienna and Zurich you just automatically scan the bar code on the boarding pass and an automatic gate admits you. Some of the gates now even have automated gates where you scan your boarding pass and get admitted to the plane.
There is also no entrance check, when you arrive from a Schengen airport.
I usually don't need an id when flying within Schengen (Prague being one of the exceptions), just the boarding pass, which I usually print at home.
Please note that I don't recommend not to carry id. Even if you're usually not asked. If they do check at the gate you're quite obviously not boarding when you don't have a valid id.
Of course, excuse my Amero-centrism. I should've written that the Schengen Zone does not have exit checks, which is what I meant when I mistakenly wrote "EU."
I miss my time in Europe. Flying around Schengen nations is so much easier than between states these days.
That's not entirely accurate. Since the arrival of the US-VISIT program, visa holders need to record their departure. At least at some locations and times, this was done with a mobile "pseudo-checkpoint" near the gate area. You weren't required to talk to them, though.
Reminds me of how you now must show a passport to leave the US and being behind on your child support is cause to prevent US citizens from leaving the country, just as if they lived in East Germany.
Curious, what country did you travel to that you experienced this?
Driving across the border to Canada recently I did not have to talk to or interact with anyone from US Customs.
Cough cough Stallman was right cough cough.