Apple has been named in an article listing several websites and app stores being investigated in China for providing pornographic content.
The article isn’t prominent in today’s edition of the Chinese newspaper, The People’s Daily, but clearly lists Apple in amongst the other app stores accused of providing such inappropriate content.
The Cupertino company has a strict anti-porn policy for any app present within its App Store and was recently accused of homophobia after banning a comic book depicting gay porn scenes from sale.
The iPhone 5 maker isn’t emphasised or singled out in The People’s Daily article, but it does put the company in more trouble with the Chinese government.
Earlier this month, Apple also appeared in the government-owned newspaper for an entirely different matter. The company was apologising to Chinese consumers following accusations of offering shorter warranties and only refurbished parts for repairs rather than giving brand new replacement handsets.
The Chinese government is well known for its campaigns to keep pornography off the internet, launching various schemes to block illicit material online and closing blogs and websites. Internet executives have also been dragged into industry-wide meetings calling for higher levels of vigilance, and occasionally porn is used as an excuse to ban politically sensitive articles and websites.
In March, the Chinese government called for another campaign against pornographic material and cited Apple’s App Store as a source of such “obscene pornographic” content, ordered it to remove said material and submit a report about the violations. The iPad 4 manufacturer was also asked to take measures to prevent any future violations.
Today’s newspaper article has sparked online debate that the Chinese government is determined to remove Apple and its various products from the country. Seeing as China is Apple’s second largest market, such opposition could be devastating for Apple.
Via: WSJ
