"Tech giant Apple has apparently caved to pressure from the Chinese government by pulling two gay dating apps from the App Store. Wired has reported that Blued and Finka were no longer available in China, with social media users saying the apps were disappearing from the iOS, as well as several Android, app stores. The apps appear to still work for people who have already downloaded them."
"An Apple spokesperson told Wired: "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. Earlier this year, the developer of Finka elected to remove the app from storefronts outside China, and Blued was available only in China." In 2022, LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr was removed from Apple's Chinese app store. Homosexuality was decriminalised in China in 1997 but LGBTQ people still lack many rights."
Blued and Finka were removed from Apple’s China App Store after an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China, with social media reports of disappearance across iOS and some Android stores. Existing users can still access the apps if previously downloaded. Blued is the largest gay dating app in China and globally, while Finka is the second-largest in China. Apple said it follows local laws and noted Finka’s developer had removed the app from stores outside China earlier. Previous removals include Grindr in 2022. LGBTQ people in China lack legal protections, same-sex marriage recognition, and face media censorship and account deletions.
Read at PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]