China Orders Gay Dating Apps Pulled from Mobile Stores, Apple Reacts
- Apple has confirmed that it removed two of China’s most-used gay dating platforms from its app store
- The apps, Blued and Finka, were removed from the App Store following a government directive on the LGBT community
- The move, Apple says, complies with orders from the Cyberspace Administration of China
Apple has confirmed it removed Blued and Finka, two of China’s most popular gay dating applications, from its local App Store after being directed by Chinese authorities.
BBC reports that Blued, with tens of millions of downloads, is one of the world’s largest gay dating networks.
Source: Twitter
Its removal follows a pattern in 2022, the US-based app Grindr was also deleted from China’s App Store after authorities tightened rules on “illegal and inappropriate content.
An Apple spokesperson told the BBC, “We follow the laws of 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.”
The move has triggered concern within China’s LGBT community, which has seen increasing censorship in recent years.
There is an alternative
Some members voiced frustration online, saying, "It’s not something shameful or unspeakable."
However, a lite version of the Blued app remains available for download, and other platforms such as Jicco and Jack’d are still accessible in China.
In 2023, Beijing announced new regulations requiring all apps to register for licenses to operate domestically, prompting several foreign platforms to exit.
Source: Twitter
Officials described the move as part of efforts to promote the standardised and healthy development of China’s online industry.
Although homosexuality was decriminalised in 1997, same-sex marriage remains unrecognised, and many advocacy organisations, including Beijing LGBT Centre and Shanghai Pride, have shut down in recent years.
China suspends 'special port fees' on US vessels
Legit.ng earlier reported that China said it would suspend for one year "special port fees" on US vessels "simultaneously" with Washington's pause on levies targeting Chinese ships, as a fragile trade truce between the superpowers continues to take shape.
The United States and China have been involved in a volatile trade and tariff war for months, but agreed to walk back some punitive measures after Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump met last month in South Korea.
At one point, duties on both sides had reached prohibitive triple-digit levels, hampering trade between the world's two largest economies and snarling global supply chains.
The suspension of the port fees, which applied to ships operated by or built in the United States that visited Chinese ports, began at 13:01 (05:01 GMT) on Monday, a transport ministry statement said.
Burger King to enter China joint venture
US fast-food chain Burger King will rapidly expand its China operations in the coming years, its parent company said, selling its controlling stake to form a new joint venture powered by hundreds of millions of dollars in local investment.
International brands have in recent years sought to pivot their strategies in the world's number two economy, where a persistent spending slump and increasingly digitalised services shape new consumption habits.
The Florida-based hamburger giant -- owned by Canadian multinational Restaurant Brands International (RBI) since 2014 -- entered the Chinese market in 2005.
Source: Legit.ng
