Security News > 2022 > December > Apple accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia to maintain market access

The reports, "Apps at Risk: Apple's Censorship and Compromises in Hong Kong" and "United Apple: Apple's Censorship and Compromises in Russia," were released by the Apple Censorship Project, which is run by free speech advocacy group GreatFire.

"Apple's temporary withdrawal from Russia following the start of the war in Ukraine, and Apple's decision to move part of its production out of China, have not provided tangible evidence of any improvement of the situation in the App Store so far. For all we know, Apple is still willing to collaborate with repressive regimes."

The Apps at Risk report report says Apple has failed to offer support for the right of people in Hong Kong to access information without restriction and to express themselves online, even as the Chinese government has suppressed the democracy movement in Hong Kong.

"Apple's response to the events in Hong Kong the last few years are not knee-jerk reactions. Apple's response is aligned to its global business strategies, with a top priority of appeasing the Chinese government to protect Apple's supply chain, distribution channels, and revenue stream."

"The relationships between those regimes and Apple are still asymmetrical, and strongly in favor of the governments of the country where Apple wants to maintain its access to the market, to build and to sell its products," he said, pointing to Apple's Private Relay, which never made it to China and was canceled in Russia.

"If as a user, you are free to download and install apps from any store and the web, then the removal of apps by Apple at the behest of a repressive government will have less impact on the users," Ismail explained.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/12/22/apple_accused_of_censoring_apps/