One of the new built-in additions to iOS 9 is Apple News, but a new report states that those in China may not be getting the full experience.
Recently, it’s been discovered that for iOS 9 users that access News overseas, away from China, and populate content within the app, are noticing that it’s being trimmed, or otherwise deactivated altogether, when they connect to a network in China. As one user articulated, this type of on-device censorship is a bit baffling, even if everyone understands that, considering the region, Apple doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter:
“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.”
Now, based on those user reports, The New York Times has chimed in, confirming with “a person with direct knowledge of the situation,” that Apple is indeed blocking content from the News app, and in most cases shutting the app down altogether while someone connects to a network in mainland China:
“Apple has disabled its news app in China, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation, the most recent sign of how difficult it can be for foreign companies to manage the strict rules governing media and online expression there. Customers who already downloaded the app by registering their phones in the United States can still see content in it when they travel overseas — but they have found that it does not work 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.”
Apple has eyes on China for a variety of reasons, but especially due to it being an expected huge opportunity of growth for the company. With that being the case, Apple must work with the government’s stipulations and laws, and with the government keeping complete control over the media, this seems to be a byproduct of that decision.
[via The New York Times]
No comments:
Post a Comment