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Apple Reportedly Disables Its News App In China (nytimes.com)
An anonymous reader writes: When Apple launched iOS 9, it replaced its Newsstand app with Apple News. The software has only been available to users in the U.S., but those who registered their phones in the U.S. had no problem using the app while overseas. Now, the NY Times reports that Apple is specifically disabling the app for users located in China. "Those in China who look at the top of the Apple News feed, which would normally display a list of selected articles based on a user's preferred media, instead see an error message: 'Can't refresh right now. News isn't supported in your current region.' ... Beijing generally insists that companies are responsible for censoring sensitive content inside China. In Apple's case, that would mean it would probably have to develop a censorship system — most Chinese companies use a combination of automated software and employees — to eliminate sensitive articles from feeds."
Think Different commercial
1984 commercial
Are you in China?
...Is to sell computers with the warning that "News is not supported in your region."
Chinese users will figure out how to route around the problem.
Yes. Because in this case, "localized news" means "doing the Chinese government's censorship for them." That's a principled stance--not the most principled stance, but Apple does need to show a profit.
It shows the Chinese user what he's missing--although this may or may not have been part of Apple's intention. The main thing is this isn't about the phone, it's about where the phone is. When you take it into China, this happens. When you take it out of China, it stops happening. So all phones have the code since any phone might be taken into China (if I'm reading this correctly, it isn't code in the phone performing the check, it's Apple's News servers doing it when the phone asks for News).
That is a profoundly racist outlook. It's exactly the expression of a racist point of view.
No, it isn't. It is an objective observation.
A long serving totalitarian regime, known for suppression of dissent, would invariably condition generations of its populace to avoid confronting the status quo.
That is why Tiananmen Square was so impressive. And a massacre.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Does Apple's News app in china display a message "the shitty masters you put up with won't let you see real news, BITCHES"? I thought not. Apple is one among many actively propping up that hide bound gerontocracy.
"The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them." -Lenin. They will also gleefully cooperate with evil bastards.