New Site Exposes How Apple Censors Apps in China (theintercept.com)

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

New Site Exposes How Apple Censors Apps in China (theintercept.com)

Posted by msmash on Friday February 1, 2019 @04:45AM from the closer-look dept.

A new website exposes the extent to which Apple cooperates with Chinese government internet censorship, blocking access to Western news sources, information about human rights and religious freedoms, and privacy-enhancing apps that would circumvent the country's pervasive online surveillance regime. The Intercept: The new site, AppleCensorship.com , allows users to check which apps are not accessible to people in China through Apple's app store, indicating those that have been banned. It was created by researchers at GreatFire.org, an organization that monitors Chinese government internet censorship. In late 2017, Apple admitted to U.S. senators that it had removed from its app store in China more than 600 "virtual private network" apps that allow users to evade censorship and online spying. But the company never disclosed which specific apps it removed -- nor did it reveal other services it had pulled from its app store at the behest of China's authoritarian government.

13 of 33 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Non-News? by Dru+Nemeton · 2019-02-01 04:50 · Score: 2, Informative

This seems to be the price any company pays for doing business in China. How is this news?
1. Re:Non-News? by saloomy · 2019-02-01 07:33 · Score: 1
  
  What I dont get is how VPN apps are meant to work? iOS has its own VPN connection tool right there in settings. In China, does that VPN option go away?
  Anyone could spin up a micro instance in any AWS (or any other cloud) and VPN their way anywhere.
  Maybe I am ill-informed, but I use that all the time when traveling internationally.
Why are you so stupid? by LazarusQLong · 2019-02-01 05:16 · Score: 1, Funny

Do you not understand that if you want to do business in country A, then you MUST obey the laws that Country A has in place? Is that so difficult?

--
"Governments have been dominated by the corporate entities and citizens have ceased to matter in public policy" true in
1. Re:Why are you so stupid? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-01 05:38 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  One always has the choice to stick with principles and _not_ do business in a nation when required to directly assist them in actions that go against those (significant, critical) principles in order to do so. Likewise, us knowing about this allows us to decide not to support said company as well.
2. Re: Why are you so stupid? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-01 05:49 · Score: 1
  
  Do you not understand that if these companies wanted, they could refuse to do business with China, forcing China to change its laws if it wanted that business's services?
  If Western business refused to do anything with China until they resolved their human rights issues, then the Uighur genocide wouldn't be happening.
  Instead, we, the rest of the world, seem to be perfectly ok with China rounding people up into concentration camps, as long as those people are Muslim.
  Hail the almighty dollar.
3. Re:Why are you so stupid? by SuricouRaven · 2019-02-01 06:03 · Score: 1
  
  You can try. Physics is against you on that one - long-range radio communications are actually pretty easy to set up, but only if you are willing to accept poor reliability and pitiful bitrate. I can talk to Russia from the UK most days if I want to - at 31bps. That's bits per second. Not kilobits. Still, if you want to mess around with something more local, I've some pretty good designs and software for building a piratebox if you want it.
4. Re: Why are you so stupid? by Darth · 2019-02-01 08:57 · Score: 2
  
  the only way that would be feasible is if it were an international law and the entire world boycotted china as a market for those products. otherwise, a company boycotting china is just giving a market of 1 billion people to their competitors.
  
  --
  Darth --
  Nil Mortifi, Sine Lucre
Re:How would it be ... by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-01 05:23 · Score: 1

"It is own laws"
Re:How would it be ... by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-01 06:59 · Score: 1

These laws can be based on ...whatever the people in that society allow.

...whatever the people in the ruling political class allow. The bad guys here are obvious. That is what this discussion is ultimately about. Freedom of speech, and the total lack of it in China.
Re:Nonstop drumbeat of "China is screwing you" by jellomizer · 2019-02-01 07:00 · Score: 2

In what direction are they going?

--
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Re:How would it be ... by CaptainDork · 2019-02-01 11:18 · Score: 1

"Freedom of speech," is in the American constitution.
China doesn't fall under that jurisdiction, right?

--
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
Re:How would it be ... by CaptainDork · 2019-02-01 11:20 · Score: 1

Are there any bad guys here?

Apple Will Store Russian User Data Locally, Possibly Decrypt on Request: Report

--
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
Not all VPNs banned... by found404 · 2019-02-01 15:06 · Score: 2

Typing VPN into the form discloses that 'Lantern VPN' by Beijing Qimengjialu Technology Co., Ltd is NOT banned. Every other VPN is either banned or unavailable. Good way to test which apps/companies are direct extensions (or an integral arm) of the Chinese Government, although anyone doing business there (including Apple) is directly serving the government.
Apple, for example, provides unfettered access to their datacenters (phones, images, uploaded FaceID, messages, Geo Location, etc). They are probably serving the government much more than Beijing Qimengjialu Technology Co.