Apple’s App Store in China Removed LGBTQ Dating Apps
Contributed by: kellyseal on Wednesday, June 30 2021 @ 06:03 am
Last modified on Wednesday, June 30 2021 @ 06:27 am
As Pride Month is celebrated around the world, a report surfaced that 27 LGBTQ+ dating apps were removed from Apple’s app store in China. Notably, these apps did not include China-based gay dating app Blued, Grindr, or Scruff, popular gay dating apps in the country.
According to The Daily Mail[*1] , digital rights advocacy groups Fight for the Future and China-based GreatFire published a report that claims Apple is “actively helping governments around the world isolate, silence and oppress people.” All together, the report shows 1,377 documented cases of restrictions on access to apps in 152 app stores around the world. The app store in China is second only to Saudi Arabia’s in terms of app removals.
Apple strongly denies these claims. And considering the political and legal landscape of these countries, where LGBTQ rights are either illegal as in Saudi Arabia, or where prejudices still exist such as in China, the reports may lack specifics as to why these apps have been removed. Homosexuality was decriminalized in China in 1997 and removed from a list of psychiatric disorders as recently as 2001.
An Apple spokesperson told The Daily Mail that the report “miscontrues that developers themselves have the ability to make apps available in various countries,” adding that companies also might have concerns about legality and customer safety. He also added that 61 of the apps mentioned in the survey were not removed by Apple.
GreatFire’s campaign and advocacy director Benjamin Ismail says that it is more likely Apple removed the apps. He told news outlet Protocol: “It is our assumption that Apple's position in different countries varies and that the company feels more comfortable to ignore/refuse/delay some governments' requests than others.”
The advocacy group also pointed out Apple’s history of bending to China’s political will when it comes to its app store. Apple removed Skype from the store in 2017 for not complying with local Chinese laws and removed the Taiwanese flag from emoji offerings in Hong Kong and Macau two years later when grassroots protests for independence from China increased. It was also reported that because the personal data of Apple device users was being managed in provinces in mainland China, the Chinese government had access to that data without interference from Apple.
Lastly, Apple’s new signature privacy feature, which gives users more visibility and control over how their data is being shared and handled, will not be available in China.
Apple has a history with China, as it has long-established manufacturing facilities and employed Chinese residents to develop products. The Daily Mail noted that China’s consumer market generated $17.73 billion for Apple this past year, almost double from this time last year.