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What you need to know

  • The Quartz news app has been taken down from the Chinese App Store.
  • China's government claims the app contains content that is illegal in China.
  • This comes right after Apple was criticized for letting another app return to the store.

Apple has reportedly removed the Quartz news app from the Chinese App Store at the request of the Chinese government, according to Quartz. Reported by 9to5Mac, not only has the app been removed, but the Quartz website has also been completely banned in mainland China.

This comes after earlier news after Apple had received intense backlash from Chinese state media after it had allowed the HKmap.live, a maps app popular with Hong Kong protestors, back on the Chinese App Store. According to John Keefe, Investigations Editor at Quartz, their app did not fare as well.

Keefe questions whether or not the removal of the app and the ban of the website is due to their coverage of the Hong Kong protests:

"Apple just took the Quartz app out of the Chinese app store at the request of China, and http://qz.com is now blocked from mainland China. Our excellent @qz coverage of ongoing Hong Kong protests may be the reason."

According to The Verge, Quartz had received a notice from Apple that the the app "includes content that is illegal in China." Quartz's new CEO Zach Seward criticized China's ban against their publication:

"We abhor this kind of government censorship of the internet, and have great coverage of how to get around such bans around the world."

Even though Apple has complied with the Chinese government and taken down the Quartz app, there is hope it will return. The HKmap.live was originally taken down from the Chinese App Store by Apple under accusations saying it "promoted illegal activity", but a day later the app was permitted to return to the store.