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Apple on Wednesday removed popular podcast player Pocket Casts from the App Store in China. According to the app's developers, the removal of Pocket Casts was at the request of the country's Cyberspace Administration, which determined that the app could be used to access content regarded as illegal in China.

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"We believe podcasting is and should remain an open medium, free of government censorship," Pocket Casts said on its official Twitter account. "As such we won't be censoring podcast content at their request. We understand this means that it's unlikely that our iOS App will be available in China, but feel it's a necessary step to take for any company that values the open distribution model that makes podcasting special."
Pocket Casts' developers told The Verge that they asked Apple for details on which content violated Chinese law, but were told to contact the Cyberspace Administration of China for the specifics. The app was reportedly removed about two days after Apple contacted the developer.

China's Cyberspace Administration has been known to block access to sites and internet services it doesn't approve of. Blocked content typically includes criticism of the government or other politically sensitive issues. Last year Apple removed the app of news outlet Quartz from China's ‌App Store‌ after complaints from the government that it included content that is illegal in the country. The app was covering the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement protests at the time.


Apple has also been forced to remove many VPN apps from the App Store in China due to the administration's regulations. Other apps affected in the past or present include WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and the New York Times app.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple Removes Pocket Casts Podcast App From Chinese App Store
 
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Incoming tons of comments how Apple should stand above the law. Truth is, you have to obey the law of countries.

In 1930s Germany, it was the law that Jews should hand over their assets to the Nazi party and wear a yellow 'Juden' badge.
By your logic, it would be perfectly fine to have done business with them as it was the law in that country?
 
China is what East Germany used to be (and worse) and North Korea is its former Nazi self and buddy. Sickening how everyone made themselves so dependent on that country.

In 1930s Germany, it was the law that Jews should hand over their assets to the Nazi party and wear a yellow 'Juden' badge.
By your logic, it would be perfectly fine to have done business with them as it was the law in that country?

Actually, everyone was fine with doing business with Germany until they started to attack an ally. Some even made cringeworthy comments in support of it. Kind of like China now.


It’s all starting to reminds me of Gilead in the Handmaids Tale books
 
Incoming tons of comments how Apple should stand above the law. Truth is, you have to obey the law of countries.
Devil’s advocate time:
- Or more likely, how acting like being on a moral high ground looks completely contradictory with playing fair game with these types of rules and censored speech (which it does look like).
- Or how this dictatorship level of constraining content is abhorrent (which it is).
- Or how it would be great if Apple could stop having such a heavy dependance on their workforce, cutting therefore a hefty economical lifeline that’s ultimately used to make this system even more powerful and more oppressive. (which is slowly happening with expansions abroad and if I understand the latest environment properly, the heavy dependance is towards assembly more than anything).

I think, according to Apple’s ideology, the best possible interaction is to have them just as consumers not as partners. Let the consumer ask for whatever he wants, the hands would look a lot cleaner.

On a related note, I’m not even American guys, I have been living in NA for the last 10 years only... but these type of events are a reminder of how “freedom of expression” the west really is. You can make podcasts, books, tv opinion/reality/comedy show, etc criticizing about the collapse of the North American government, the lifestyle, poke fun about how it’s handled, etc. Can even make full movies that paints them in their worst light or even where the whole plot is about the current, past or future assassination of the president itself... I think that’s something to cherish. It really has to be pushed to extreme hate, incite violence or other things that are likely to affect the individual more than anything else to be on the wrong side.

Anyways kudos to these podcasts companies (whom I had never heard of) for standing their grounds on what their platform is supposed to be about.

My half assed .2 cents of a comment on things that I don’t even really grasp the forces behind it all to begin with.
 
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We need more speeches from Tim about equality, privacy as a human right, and how we need to protect human rights. And we need more LGBTQ+ Apple Watch bands and watch faces too, I just love seeing products targeted at a specific minority over and over. China loves their people, there’s no censorship at all, I applaud you Tim for having great values and standing up for them even in this peaceful free country. I think Apple should go even further and let China in their devices, so they can monitor and protect their own people even better. I love that Apple has such a great leader that’s not a hypocrite at all.
 
In 1930s Germany, it was the law that Jews should hand over their assets to the Nazi party and wear a yellow 'Juden' badge.
By your logic, it would be perfectly fine to have done business with them as it was the law in that country?
One example from 90 years ago is proving your point? You and me know the world is not black and white. There are always exceptions.

But what’s the alternative? Stop doing business with China? They’re already trying to have their factories in other places. But guess what, these other places are not perfect democracies either.

As a European, which leader do I think is the most toxic? By far, Trump. By your logic, Apple should stop selling phones to US every time Trump is saying something racist or lying.
 
You know, I think I finally understand a benefit to jailbreaking now. I can see it being beneficial in countries like China now. If done well and securely it could be a big boon to the population to access information from outside their great firewall.
 
We need more speeches from Tim about equality, privacy as a human right, and how we need to protect human rights. And we need more LGBTQ+ Apple Watch bands and watch faces too, I just love seeing products targeted at a specific minority over and over. China loves their people, there’s no censorship at all, I applaud you Tim for having great values and standing up for them even in this peaceful free country. I think Apple should go even further and let China in their devices, so they can monitor and protect their own people even better. I love that Apple has such a great leader that’s not a hypocrite at all.

Are you seriously still miffed at Apple's support of LGBT issues? Dear dog...
 
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What happens with Android phones in China? They can install whatever software they want, with no mandatory distribution center, right? So people with Android phones can install this podcast app and listen to whatever podcasts they want still, right?

If so, this seems to make Apple’s refusal of allowing apps to be installed without Apple’s involvement to be... particularly sinister. It’s not just greedy Apple, who demands a 30% cut of everything no matter how little involvement they have. It’s also Apple who happily carries out any oppression on behalf of the Chinese government.
 
Incoming tons of comments how Apple should stand above the law. Truth is, you have to obey the law of countries.
Has Apple once spoken out against these laws? Tim Cook has no problem speaking out against things in the USA. If, say, the state of Mississippi passed a law that said app stores must carry conversion therapy apps in their App Store do yo think Apple/Tim Cook wouldn‘t have something to say about it?

Good for Pocket Casts. I wish Apple would just one time stand up to China. Maybe if more western companies did things would change.
 
In 1930s Germany, it was the law that Jews should hand over their assets to the Nazi party and wear a yellow 'Juden' badge.
By your logic, it would be perfectly fine to have done business with them as it was the law in that country?

Amen. This is yet another example where Apple is certainly not a corporation that supports liberty, but rather conformity and totalitarianism as long as it means their profits are unscathed. I really miss the Apple of just a decade past where they stayed out of politics... pre-Cook, I mean.
 
You know, I think I finally understand a benefit to jailbreaking now. I can see it being beneficial in countries like China now. If done well and securely it could be a big boon to the population to access information from outside their great firewall.

👍
Exactly my thoughts, jailbreak and sideload Apps, shouldn't be that hard to circumvent the big Chinese Firewall.

What happens with Android phones in China? They can install whatever software they want, with no mandatory distribution center, right? So people with Android phones can install this podcast app and listen to whatever podcasts they want still, right?

That's my question too, why obey the Chinese while on Android it's easy to install apps from elsewhere.
But then again, as above, jailbreak your iPhone enables side loading Apps.

If so, this seems to make Apple’s refusal of allowing apps to be installed without Apple’s involvement to be... particularly sinister. It’s not just greedy Apple, who demands a 30% cut of everything no matter how little involvement they have. It’s also Apple who happily carries out any oppression on behalf of the Chinese government.
[/QUOTE]

It's a business, they are here to make money, Tim should just shut up or use his private time for speaking out.
 
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