Apple seems to be taking a let’s not hurt our chances at earning tons from the cash cow that’s China but let’s also not let them take reigns of the content we share. The company is said to have disabled its News app in the country. China’s government has wide control over its information and the media so it looks like want to play to the hands of the Chinese government and at the same time not earn their wrath and have their access to the Chinese market cut off. Those in China who try to refresh the Apple News app only get an error message of “Can’t refresh right now. News isn’t supported in your current region.”
Some are expressing concern though about how Apple has disabled its app in the region. Larry Salibra, founder of Pay4Bugs, said in a post on Reddit: “They’re censoring news content that I downloaded and stored on my device purchased in the USA, before I even enter China just because my phone happens to connect to a Chinese signal floating over the border. On device censorship is much different than having your server blocked by the Great Firewall or not enabling a feature for customers with certain country iTunes account. That Apple has little choice doesn’t make it any less creepy or outrageous.”
Source: New York Times | Via: 9to5Mac