Apple Inc. blocks its own News app in China: reports

Apple Inc. blocks its own News app in China: reports

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has deactivated its News application in China, according to a report published by the New York Times, seemingly becoming the latest international tech company upset by tough censorship regulations of China.

The app was rolled out in the United States in June. Users traveling overseas can still use the app, according to the report. Users in China are coming across a notification that the app is not available, instead of seeing a list of news stories.

The app’s welcome display states ‘Can’t refresh right now. News isn’t supported in your current region’.

China is a region that is of great importance to the technology world. The huge population of the country, about 1.35 billion, and increasing middle class has made it a productive market for tech players including AAPL, which has made considerable progress in the country, growing its retail stores and boosting iPhone sales there. The iPhone maker disclosed in its April earnings report that China is now its biggest market across the globe in terms of revenue, surpassing the U.S for the very first time.

China’s censorship rules have been restricting its residents from using a range of United States-based websites, which is limiting their ability to share views and information on sensitive topics. Earlier in 2015, China updated its Internet filtering and made policies stricter.

Tech firms have also been thwarted by the rigid regulations that compel companies to ban sensitive information inside China. Famous sites and services including Facebook, Twitter and Gmail have been banned in the country from a long time.

Following a conflict with the government on censorship, the search engine giant Google shifted its Web search operations to Hong Kong, which enabled the company to avoid the rules imposed on it by the Chinese government.

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