7 ms·

Apple Pulls Gambling Apps Targeted by Chinese State Media

91 points by plasticchris 8y ago

vengefulduck 8y ago
Non Pay walled: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/apple-pulls-25-000-apps-from-china-app-store-following-state-media-criticism-1534731049 https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/apple-...
- Shivetya 8y ago
  I find that outline does a good job https://outline.com/XK3BwM https://outline.com/XK3BwM The story is pretty much no controversy, being that they are eliminating gambling apps
pjc50 8y ago
This sounds like a mirror image of the US ban on real-money online gambling?
- hour_glass 8y ago
  sounds like they're cracking down on vpns as well
Proven 8y ago
Socialists are calling the shots, crony capitalists are playing along = fascism. Amazon's China DCs are fully open to the communists, Apple is self-censoring, Google is readying its search engine with communist characteristics, and so on and so forth. Reminds me of how IBM did business with a national socialist worker party a while ago.
le-mark 8y ago
> Apple Pulls Illegal Apps Targeted by Chinese State Media (wsj.com) Illegal in what jurisdiction one wonders?
- CamelCaseName 8y ago
  In China of course. FTA: "In China, Apple said it removed nearly 700 virtual private networks, or VPN, apps from its App Store last year in response to new local restrictions."
JohnTHaller 8y ago
Apple censors app store to comply with authoritarian regime censorship laws
- craftyguy 8y ago
  gambling apps are not exactly allowed here in the US either, are you insinuating that the US has authoritarian regime censorship laws too?
  - JohnTHaller 8y ago
    Not sure that outlawing gambling, which wrecks lives through addiction and has no measurable benefit, could be equated to outlawing letting you talk about the fact that your government slaughtered students in Tienanmen Square or simply that your ruler resembles Winnie the Pooh.
    - craftyguy 8y ago
      the article is about them removing gambling apps, not about them removing apps that help citizens speak out about their government...
      - JohnTHaller 8y ago
        Sorry, conflated this with the recent purge of VPN apps that China insisted on to prevent citizens from talking of Pooh and Tienanmen.
    - jdietrich 8y ago
      Most people in my country think that gambling is basically fine and handguns are a menace to society, so our laws reflect that. It seems bizarre to us that most Americans can legally own a handgun, but can't legally place a $5 bet on a football game. Our attitudes to guns and gambling aren't right or wrong, they're just different. There are things I could say in this comment that would be a federal felony. No country has absolute freedom of speech. All countries draw a line somewhere. China draws that line in a different place to the US. It's not right or wrong, it's just different.
illuminati1911 8y ago
The title deceivingly hides the word "gambling" and tries to make it sound like Apple censoring free press or something similar for the Chinese government.
- scarface74 8y ago
  Exactly. Gambling apps are also illegal in the US and Apple is coming under scrutiny here for “loot boxes”.
  - dec0dedab0de 8y ago
    Gambling apps are also illegal in the US Gambling apps are not illegal in the US, it is decided at the state level like all other gambling.
    - craftyguy 8y ago
      No States allow broad gambling. Even Nevada only allows it in certain areas. So it's pretty safe to say that gambling is generally illegal, with a few exceptions.
      - dec0dedab0de 8y ago
        No States allow broad gambling. Even Nevada only allows it in certain areas. So it's pretty safe to say that gambling is generally illegal, with a few exceptions. By that logic performing surgery is illegal, should Apple remove an app that helps operate surgical equipment? Also, many states allow private gambling anywhere as long as there is no house edge(vig/rake), which makes it more of an industry regulation.
        danharaj 8y ago
        > By that logic performing surgery is illegal, should Apple remove an app that helps operate surgical equipment? Yes? That would probably make it a medical device which is also regulated.
baybal2 8y ago
Apps including gambling element. How they found gambling in a calendar app is beyond me. Overall impression is that they were simply given a list of app urls and they had them block them without any right to question that.
- gowld 8y ago
  Don't know about this particular incident, but in general gambling is very culturally integrated in Asia is found in many contexts you wouldn't see gambling in other countries. The weirdest I've seen: http://www.motorscooterguide.net/Kymco/Bet-Win/Bet-Win.html http://www.motorscooterguide.net/Kymco/Bet-Win/Bet-Win.html A motorcycle whose model name is "Bet & win"
dssu 8y ago
It's disappointing they are pulling VPN apps that might help with escaping the GFW. I find it funny how large tech companies such as Google, Facebook, and Apple - try so hard to adopt a public image promoting western liberal values. However they all end up submitting to political censorship demands for a population of over a billion people. I read earlier in the month even Google has caved in, despite being an example years ago by refusing to participate in censorship But then I know their primary priority is to increase revenue/profits. Can't do that by being blocked out of such a massive market.
- shanghaiaway 8y ago
  Your primary priority is also to increase revenue.
  - cat199 8y ago
    do you actually know this poster? Or is this some sort of pseudo-intellectual libertarian assumption that functions as 'true' by eliminating all variables which disagree with it?
    - dang 8y ago
      Can you please not post ideological battle-style comments to HN? They're not what this site is for. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - dang 8y ago
    Could you please stop posting unsubstantive comments to Hacker News?
- avcdsuia 8y ago
  FYI they pulled proxy apps but made switching app store region very easy.
  - 4ad 8y ago
galuggus 8y ago
In China I often get spam iMessage texts from illegal gambling services advertising their apps. These apps are often disguised as something else. You download a calendar/video app etc hit the right button and it turns into a casino/sports betting app. During the world cup I was getting 4-5 texts a day.
- Razengan 8y ago
  I wish the App Store had a clear way for users to report apps.
neonate 8y ago
http://archive.is/BGO4G http://archive.is/BGO4G

91 points by plasticchris 8y ago

Non Pay walled: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/apple-pulls-25-000-apps-from-china-app-store-following-state-media-criticism-1534731049 https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/apple-...

Shivetya 8y ago
I find that outline does a good job https://outline.com/XK3BwM https://outline.com/XK3BwM The story is pretty much no controversy, being that they are eliminating gambling apps

pjc50 8y ago

This sounds like a mirror image of the US ban on real-money online gambling?

hour_glass 8y ago
sounds like they're cracking down on vpns as well

Proven 8y ago

Socialists are calling the shots, crony capitalists are playing along = fascism. Amazon's China DCs are fully open to the communists, Apple is self-censoring, Google is readying its search engine with communist characteristics, and so on and so forth. Reminds me of how IBM did business with a national socialist worker party a while ago.

le-mark 8y ago

> Apple Pulls Illegal Apps Targeted by Chinese State Media (wsj.com) Illegal in what jurisdiction one wonders?

CamelCaseName 8y ago
In China of course. FTA: "In China, Apple said it removed nearly 700 virtual private networks, or VPN, apps from its App Store last year in response to new local restrictions."

JohnTHaller 8y ago

Apple censors app store to comply with authoritarian regime censorship laws

craftyguy 8y ago
gambling apps are not exactly allowed here in the US either, are you insinuating that the US has authoritarian regime censorship laws too?
- JohnTHaller 8y ago
  Not sure that outlawing gambling, which wrecks lives through addiction and has no measurable benefit, could be equated to outlawing letting you talk about the fact that your government slaughtered students in Tienanmen Square or simply that your ruler resembles Winnie the Pooh.
  - craftyguy 8y ago
    the article is about them removing gambling apps, not about them removing apps that help citizens speak out about their government...
    - JohnTHaller 8y ago
      Sorry, conflated this with the recent purge of VPN apps that China insisted on to prevent citizens from talking of Pooh and Tienanmen.
  - jdietrich 8y ago
    Most people in my country think that gambling is basically fine and handguns are a menace to society, so our laws reflect that. It seems bizarre to us that most Americans can legally own a handgun, but can't legally place a $5 bet on a football game. Our attitudes to guns and gambling aren't right or wrong, they're just different. There are things I could say in this comment that would be a federal felony. No country has absolute freedom of speech. All countries draw a line somewhere. China draws that line in a different place to the US. It's not right or wrong, it's just different.

illuminati1911 8y ago

The title deceivingly hides the word "gambling" and tries to make it sound like Apple censoring free press or something similar for the Chinese government.

scarface74 8y ago
Exactly. Gambling apps are also illegal in the US and Apple is coming under scrutiny here for “loot boxes”.
- dec0dedab0de 8y ago
  Gambling apps are also illegal in the US Gambling apps are not illegal in the US, it is decided at the state level like all other gambling.
  - craftyguy 8y ago
    No States allow broad gambling. Even Nevada only allows it in certain areas. So it's pretty safe to say that gambling is generally illegal, with a few exceptions.
    - dec0dedab0de 8y ago
      No States allow broad gambling. Even Nevada only allows it in certain areas. So it's pretty safe to say that gambling is generally illegal, with a few exceptions. By that logic performing surgery is illegal, should Apple remove an app that helps operate surgical equipment? Also, many states allow private gambling anywhere as long as there is no house edge(vig/rake), which makes it more of an industry regulation.
      - danharaj 8y ago
        > By that logic performing surgery is illegal, should Apple remove an app that helps operate surgical equipment? Yes? That would probably make it a medical device which is also regulated.

baybal2 8y ago

Apps including gambling element. How they found gambling in a calendar app is beyond me. Overall impression is that they were simply given a list of app urls and they had them block them without any right to question that.

gowld 8y ago
Don't know about this particular incident, but in general gambling is very culturally integrated in Asia is found in many contexts you wouldn't see gambling in other countries. The weirdest I've seen: http://www.motorscooterguide.net/Kymco/Bet-Win/Bet-Win.html http://www.motorscooterguide.net/Kymco/Bet-Win/Bet-Win.html A motorcycle whose model name is "Bet & win"

dssu 8y ago

It's disappointing they are pulling VPN apps that might help with escaping the GFW. I find it funny how large tech companies such as Google, Facebook, and Apple - try so hard to adopt a public image promoting western liberal values. However they all end up submitting to political censorship demands for a population of over a billion people. I read earlier in the month even Google has caved in, despite being an example years ago by refusing to participate in censorship But then I know their primary priority is to increase revenue/profits. Can't do that by being blocked out of such a massive market.

shanghaiaway 8y ago
Your primary priority is also to increase revenue.
- cat199 8y ago
  do you actually know this poster? Or is this some sort of pseudo-intellectual libertarian assumption that functions as 'true' by eliminating all variables which disagree with it?
  - dang 8y ago
    Can you please not post ideological battle-style comments to HN? They're not what this site is for. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- dang 8y ago
  Could you please stop posting unsubstantive comments to Hacker News?
avcdsuia 8y ago
FYI they pulled proxy apps but made switching app store region very easy.
- 4ad 8y ago

galuggus 8y ago

In China I often get spam iMessage texts from illegal gambling services advertising their apps. These apps are often disguised as something else. You download a calendar/video app etc hit the right button and it turns into a casino/sports betting app. During the world cup I was getting 4-5 texts a day.

Razengan 8y ago
I wish the App Store had a clear way for users to report apps.

neonate 8y ago

http://archive.is/BGO4G http://archive.is/BGO4G