Apple News app (Photo : YouTube)
Apple has reportedly deactivated its own News mobile app in China because it has become fed up with the nation's strict censorship rules. The tech giant's digital newspaper and magazine viewer, which was launched in the United States in June, typically shows news stories when accessed abroad, but is producing a message to foreign users in China that the application is unavailable.
The New York Times (NYT) broke the story about Apple News. App users in the Asian country see a message on the welcome screen that refreshing is unavailable and News is unsupported in the current region.
However, an anonymous yet reliable source noted that the Apple app has only been rolled out in the U.S, and is available in a beta version in the United Kingdom and Australia.
The Apple News app is allegedly not being blocked in China. It has not been launched in the country so foreign smartphones and tablets cannot access the software in China.
Apple's earnings report for April noted that China, with a population of 1.35 billion people, is the world's biggest market in terms of revenue. For the first time it topped the U.S., according to CNET.
Apple has expanded its iPhone sales in the country and earned $13 billion in Q3 of this year, according to The Seattle Times. It is meeting a growing demand as the middle class skyrockets and high-end smartphones become a status symbol.
Widely popular websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Gmail have been blocked in China for a long time. Meanwhile, other companies use Internet filters to screen controversial content.
In 2010 Google relocated its desktop search operations from mainland China to Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Sony launched few video games with its PlayStation 4 due to censorship laws.
Apple could filter out sensitive articles by using automated software and employees. It is the same system most Chinese companies use.
