"Apple has removed two of the most popular gay dating apps in China from the App Store after receiving an order from China's main internet regulator and censorship authority, WIRED has learned. The move comes as reports of Blued and Finka disappearing from the iOS App Store and several Android app stores circulated on Chinese social media over the weekend. The apps appear to still be functional for users in the country who already have them downloaded."
""We follow the laws in the countries where we operate. Based on an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China, we have removed these two apps from the China storefront only," an Apple spokesperson said in an email. Apple clarified that the apps have not been available in other countries for some time. "Earlier this year, the developer of Finka elected to remove the app from storefronts outside of China, and Blued was available only in China.""
"China decriminalized homosexuality in the 1990s, but the government does not recognize same-sex marriage. In recent years, China's LGBTQ+ community has increasingly come under pressure as the Chinese Communist Party tightens its control over civil society and free expression. Several prominent gay rights organizations in China have shut down, and social media companies now frequently censor LGBTQ+ content and accounts."
"In July, Blued abruptly stopped new user registration without giving an explanation, according to Chinese social media posts. For a month, Chinese users who wanted to get on the platform were paying as much as $20 for secondhand Blued accounts on ecommerce websites. But registration resumed in mid-August. In 2020, BlueCity, the parent company of Blued, went public. It announced that the app had over 49 million registered use"
Apple removed Blued and Finka from the China App Store after an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China. The apps remain functional for users who already downloaded them. Apple said the apps were not available outside China; the Finka developer earlier removed it from other storefronts and Blued was China-only. Most international LGBTQ+ dating apps are already blocked in China, including Grindr in 2022. China decriminalized homosexuality in the 1990s but does not recognize same-sex marriage. LGBTQ+ groups and content face increasing pressure and censorship, and several gay rights organizations have shut down. Blued briefly halted new registrations in July and resumed in mid-August.
Read at WIRED
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