Apple removes RSS reader apps from Chinese App Store

AppleInsider

Apple is in the process of removing RSS reader apps from the Chinese App Store to comply with government regulations designed to block "illegal content."

Word of the ban circulated in an unconventional manner. This week, popular RSS app Reeder and Fiery Feeds both responded to a 2017 tweet from Inoreader regarding an apparent takedown at the behest of Chinese authorities, reports Daring Fireball.

The original post from Inoreader explains that the App Store review team informed them that the RSS reader was being pulled from circulation because it contained "content that is illegal in China." A copy of the message was included in the post.

Hello,

We are writing to notify you that your application will be removed from the China App Store because it includes content that is illegal in China, which is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines.

Apps must comply with all legal requirements in any location where you make them available (if you're not sure, check with a lawyer). We know this stuff is complicated, but it is your responsibility to understand and make sure your app conforms with all local laws, but just the guidelines below. And of course, apps that solicit, promote, or encourage criminal or clearly reckless behavior will be rejected. While your app has been removed from the China App Store, it is still available in the App Stores for the other territories you selected in iTunes Connect.

Best regards,

App Store Review

It is unclear why the Chinese government is cracking down on RSS readers. The specialized apps are basically content aggregators, similar to web browsers insomuch that they are portals to information rather than content generators.

Also unexplained is the three year hiatus between Inforeader's removal and this week's culling.

Apple is widely viewed as having an obsequious relationship with Chinese authorities like the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). Though it touts itself as a staunch champion of human rights causes, the tech giant routinely cows to Chinese officials who control the keys to a huge, and significantly untapped, consumer market.

On the app distribution side of the relationship, Apple in late 2016 removed the official New York Times app from circulation after authorities claimed it violated unspecified local laws. About six months later, Apple did the same with virtual private network (VPN) apps that threatened to break through China's "Great Firewall."

Last year, Quartz and a police monitoring app were stricken from the China App Store during protests in Hong Kong. CEO Tim Cook addressed public outcry in a letter to employees, saying at the time that the app, HKmap.live, was in violation of Hong Kong law because it was reportedly being used to maliciously target police officers and victimize individuals in areas where no police were present.

For its part, Apple maintains the app removals are at times necessary to fall in line with local laws.

Most recently, Apple in August purged an estimated nearly 30,000 games from the regional App Store for lacking the required government licensing that enables in-app purchases.

MacFans

Nice, China blocking the Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Inoreader, GitHub, Google service. But U.S cannot block WeChat & Tiktok. Haha very interesting. This is how Chinese use freedom to suppress freedom.

coolfactor

Does someone at Apple not know what RSS is? Are these apps pre-bundling certain RSS feeds that are in violation?

And then for Apple to state to that the developer that it is "your responsibility to understand and make sure your app conforms with all local laws"???

Hello, users add their own RSS feeds. The developer has no control over that!

This is a major foo-pah on Apple's part.

elijahg

coolfactor said:

Does someone at Apple not know what RSS is? Are these apps pre-bundling certain RSS feeds that are in violation?

And then for Apple to state to that the developer that it is "your responsibility to understand and make sure your app conforms with all local laws"???

Hello, users add their own RSS feeds. The developer has no control over that!

This is a major foo-pah on Apple's part.

It may have been at the request of the CCP, it's quite likely they are the ones not understanding. 

viclauyyc

Funny that the Chinese Constitution guarantee freedom of speech, right to election and right to protect. But I guess it is only apply to top party members.

Some people are just more equal than others.

pizzaboxmac

Apple is rolling over to Beijing again. Every time they do this, they weaken their argument about keeping out the government here in the U.S. Maintaining  a presence in China is simply more important to them.

viclauyyc

pizzaboxmac said:

Apple is rolling over to Beijing again. Every time they do this, they weaken their argument about keeping out the government here in the U.S. Maintaining  a presence in China is simply more important to them.

So should Apple ban Tiktok in US? Should Apple rolling to DC? What trump’s did to Tiktok is pretty much suppressed freedom of speech. 

svanstrom

viclauyyc said:

pizzaboxmac said:

Apple is rolling over to Beijing again. Every time they do this, they weaken their argument about keeping out the government here in the U.S. Maintaining  a presence in China is simply more important to them.

So should Apple ban Tiktok in US? Should Apple rolling to DC? What trump’s did to Tiktok is pretty much suppressed freedom of speech. 

Don't deflect from the issue here; to begin with there's a difference between the CCP cyberstalking people all over the world, and the CCP being afraid of the Chinese people getting non-government sanctioned information about the world… So nowhere is this about that racist orange trying to block the people from getting unfiltered news.

mr lizard

The absolute gall of the wording Apple uses in that email is disgraceful. Rather than be honest about it and say that the Chinese government have forced Apple to remove these apps, Apple goes out of their way to word the email as though the developer has broken a law. 

“Check with a lawyer” and “we know this stuff is complicated”? Get to hell. This is the most condescending phraseology Apple could have chosen to use. 

This is categorically not the fault of developers and Apple damn well knows that. 

corp1

AppleInsider said:
"Apple is widely viewed as having an obsequious relationship with Chinese authorities like the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). Though it touts itself as a staunch champion of human rights causes, the tech giant routinely cows to Chinese officials who control the keys to a huge, and significantly untapped, consumer market."

Nice phrasing, though I have one suggested edit:

Although Apple may indeed be cowed by the Chinese authorities, I think the word you are looking for is kowtows, as in "the tech giant routinely kowtows to Chinese officials."

(Both words are unrelated to cowardice, which could also be an appropriate description.)

Another reason why Apple may be reluctant to stand up to the Chinese authorities is that it doesn't want its factories and supply chain to be shut down. China's routine, authoritarian demands, presumably backed by threats of shutdown, import/export bans, and worse, could be one reason that Apple seems to be trying to diversify its manufacturing operations.

corp1

viclauyyc said:

pizzaboxmac said:

Apple is rolling over to Beijing again. Every time they do this, they weaken their argument about keeping out the government here in the U.S. Maintaining  a presence in China is simply more important to them.

So should Apple ban Tiktok in US? Should Apple rolling to DC? What trump’s did to Tiktok is pretty much suppressed freedom of speech. 

Surprisingly enough, the US still has the rule of law, which everyone, even the president, is ultimately subject to. If the Tiktok ban is illegal (as it may be), it will be reversed.

The dicey issue is that the administration seems to be claiming that Tiktok is a threat to national security because of its intrusive and sneaky data collection practices. This is an interesting argument, and one could imagine CAC (or indeed the Pentagon or EFF) making a similar argument that Facebook et al. are threats to national security because of their intrusive and sneaky data collection practices.

Note also that companies operating in California must comply with CCPA, and companies operating in Europe most comply with GDPR. Tiktok could fall afoul of those as well.

There is simply no comparison between internet censorship in China vs. the US. Call me when the great firewall is removed, the New York Times is unblocked, and you can search for "democracy" or "Tiananmen" or "Hong Kong" or "Taiwan" or "Uighurs" without results being censored (not to mention Winnie the Pooh and Animal Crossing.) 

GeorgeBMac

China is wisely trying to avoid the shitshow the U.S. has turned into with foreign and domestic propaganda being propagated by social media.

The extremists and those with agendas use any media they can manipulate in order to get their message out and the result is a divided country at war with itself.

Russia used that technique 4 years ago to change an election to their liking and it has only gotten worse since then.  
Essentially, they (and others) are using the freedom of speech guaranteed by our Constitution to attack the fabric of our democracy.  And, right now, it is hanging by a thread.

gatorguy

GeorgeBMac said:

China is wisely trying to avoid the shitshow the U.S. has turned into with foreign and domestic propaganda being propagated by social media.

The extremists and those with agendas use any media they can manipulate in order to get their message out and the result is a divided country at war with itself.

Russia used that technique 4 years ago to change an election to their liking and it has only gotten worse since then.  
Essentially, they (and others) are using the freedom of speech guaranteed by our Constitution to attack the fabric of our democracy.  And, right now, it is hanging by a thread.

What's your suggested solution George? Legislating away freedom of speech would be one way but that's 99.9% out of the question. If we were more like China the ruling powers could just control it by decree, allow nothing but State-reviewed and vetted media that casts our country in the best light, but the US is not an authoritarian country. If George ran the US how would you suggest we approach it? 

svanstrom

gatorguy said:

GeorgeBMac said:

China is wisely trying to avoid the shitshow the U.S. has turned into with foreign and domestic propaganda being propagated by social media.

The extremists and those with agendas use any media they can manipulate in order to get their message out and the result is a divided country at war with itself.

Russia used that technique 4 years ago to change an election to their liking and it has only gotten worse since then.  
Essentially, they (and others) are using the freedom of speech guaranteed by our Constitution to attack the fabric of our democracy.  And, right now, it is hanging by a thread.

What's your suggested solution George? Legislating away freedom of speech would be one way but that's 99.9% out of the question. If we were more like China the ruling powers could just control it by decree, allow nothing but State-reviewed and vetted media that casts our country in the best light, but the US is not an authoritarian country. If George ran the US how would you suggest we approach it? 

Based on what he’s said in these forums he’d fix it by blocking people from speaking, and then making it illegal to say anything but the people/speech being free. 

flydog

mr lizard said:

The absolute gall of the wording Apple uses in that email is disgraceful. Rather than be honest about it and say that the Chinese government have forced Apple to remove these apps, Apple goes out of their way to word the email as though the developer has broken a law. 

“Check with a lawyer” and “we know this stuff is complicated”? Get to hell. This is the most condescending phraseology Apple could have chosen to use. 

This is categorically not the fault of developers and Apple damn well knows that. 

Nowhere in the email (which may not even be genuine) is there any accusation that the developer is breaking the law, and it's a stretch to say that whoever wrote this email "goes out of their way" to make such an accusation.

GeorgeBMac

gatorguy said:

GeorgeBMac said:

China is wisely trying to avoid the shitshow the U.S. has turned into with foreign and domestic propaganda being propagated by social media.

The extremists and those with agendas use any media they can manipulate in order to get their message out and the result is a divided country at war with itself.

Russia used that technique 4 years ago to change an election to their liking and it has only gotten worse since then.  
Essentially, they (and others) are using the freedom of speech guaranteed by our Constitution to attack the fabric of our democracy.  And, right now, it is hanging by a thread.

What's your suggested solution George? Legislating away freedom of speech would be one way but that's 99.9% out of the question. If we were more like China the ruling powers could just control it by decree, allow nothing but State-reviewed and vetted media that casts our country in the best light, but the US is not an authoritarian country. If George ran the US how would you suggest we approach it? 

Actually, what you describe as China's approach is pretty much exactly what we had in during the cold war through the 50's, 60's and, to a lesser extent, in the 70's and 80's.   Media pretty much stuck to the script.   You can call that good or bad.   But, it did go a long way to helping us win a very, very serious cold war that we would probably have lost if we had fought it under today's conditions and divisiveness.  But, it also swept a LOT of bad shit under the rug.  For example, it enabled Joseph McCarthy and misled the American people on the Vietnam War.   Conversely it built up American pride and solidarity when we needed it most -- and it took us to the moon.

Do I propose going back to that?   No -- if for no other reason than you just can't put that genie back into the bottle.

So, what is the solution?   Truth.   That enough media reports fairly, honestly, impartially and honestly the truth, the whole truth and nothing (to the best of their ability) nothing but the truth.   AND, that there are enough intelligent people out there to actually hear it, read it and believe it.  AND that they call out the lies, distortions, half truths and propaganda.   Because, if that crap is allowed to stand it takes on a life of its own.   It must  be rebutted and shown to be what it is:  propaganda pushing an agenda disguised as facts and truth.

Right now we are being divided by professional propagandists.   Our democracy simply can't and won't stand under the assault.  

gatorguy

GeorgeBMac said:

gatorguy said:

GeorgeBMac said:

China is wisely trying to avoid the shitshow the U.S. has turned into with foreign and domestic propaganda being propagated by social media.

The extremists and those with agendas use any media they can manipulate in order to get their message out and the result is a divided country at war with itself.

Russia used that technique 4 years ago to change an election to their liking and it has only gotten worse since then.  
Essentially, they (and others) are using the freedom of speech guaranteed by our Constitution to attack the fabric of our democracy.  And, right now, it is hanging by a thread.

What's your suggested solution George? Legislating away freedom of speech would be one way but that's 99.9% out of the question. If we were more like China the ruling powers could just control it by decree, allow nothing but State-reviewed and vetted media that casts our country in the best light, but the US is not an authoritarian country. If George ran the US how would you suggest we approach it? 

Actually, what you describe as China's approach is pretty much exactly what we had in during the cold war through the 50's, 60's and, to a lesser extent, in the 70's and 80's.   Media pretty much stuck to the script.   You can call that good or bad.   But, it did go a long way to helping us win a very, very serious cold war that we would probably have lost if we had fought it under today's conditions and divisiveness.  But, it also swept a LOT of bad shit under the rug.  For example, it enabled Joseph McCarthy and misled the American people on the Vietnam War.   Conversely it built up American pride and solidarity when we needed it most -- and it took us to the moon.

Do I propose going back to that?   No -- if for no other reason than you just can't put that genie back into the bottle.

So, what is the solution?   Truth.   That enough media reports fairly, honestly, impartially and honestly the truth, the whole truth and nothing (to the best of their ability) nothing but the truth.   AND, that there are enough intelligent people out there to actually hear it, read it and believe it.  AND that they call out the lies, distortions, half truths and propaganda.   Because, if that crap is allowed to stand it takes on a life of its own.   It must  be rebutted and shown to be what it is:  propaganda pushing an agenda disguised as facts and truth.

So you suggest entirely voluntary? How do you think that would work out? 

So with that being a ridiculous expectation who would be your truth police?

Your truth may not be everyone's truth so wouldn't some authority be required to determine truth from half-truth from propaganda? For example, some people will consider some or even much of what you post to be propaganda while I assume you want to consider all of it to be truth. Which is it? 

Voluntary determination per source is plainly is out of the question since you'd have so many different translations. The South China News would often disagree on "the truth" with the Washington Post who would often disagree with Le Mond. So now you're back to depending on an authoritarian agency or office or person deciding what you will be allowed to read or hear? There is no master office of truth for all the media outlets to lean on.

After that we'd have to put a firewall in place to make sure the Chinese truth/propanda and the Russian truth/propaganda and the French and Czechoslovakian truth/propaganda didn't make it through to media outlets and search providers for US citizens to be exposed to if those truths disagreed with what our US arbiter says is official US Truth, freedom of media be damned. So there you are arriving back at suggesting US citizens would be better off under an authoritarian government. Logic is your friend.

And no the US did not imprison journalists for speaking what they believe to be the truth,during the 50's, 60's, and 70's (They've rarely been imprisoned for other reasons) so your story of "we were like China" then is false equivalence. The US has never controlled the message or even claimed a right to even tho they might try to influence it.  China on the other hand has and does. Aggressively, apparently with little faith in their own people to recognize the truth.

Did you know China authorities indefinitely imprisoned 47 Chinese media journalists last year, most with unspecific or even unrevealed charges, for reporting what they considered "the truth"? What would be your attitude if a US authority ordered Chis Wallace or Andrea Mitchell or Rachel Maddow (or you) indefinitely imprisoned for speaking their truth?

I don't believe you thought through your response. Perhaps you should rethink it and try again with a more rational one.