
Apple Pulls Gambling Apps Targeted by Chinese State Media - plasticchris
https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-pulls-25-000-apps-from-china-app-store-following-state-media-criticism-1534731049
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dssu
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.

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shanghaiaway
Your primary priority is also to increase revenue.

~~~
cat199
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
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)

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pjc50
This sounds like a mirror image of the US ban on real-money online gambling?

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

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baybal2
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
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"

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galuggus
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
I wish the App Store had a clear way for users to report apps.

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le-mark
> Apple Pulls Illegal Apps Targeted by Chinese State Media (wsj.com)

Illegal in what jurisdiction one wonders?

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CamelCaseName
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."

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neonate
[http://archive.is/BGO4G](http://archive.is/BGO4G)

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JohnTHaller
Apple censors app store to comply with authoritarian regime censorship laws

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craftyguy
gambling apps are not exactly allowed here in the US either, are you
insinuating that the US has authoritarian regime censorship laws too?

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JohnTHaller
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.

~~~
jdietrich
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.

~~~
JohnTHaller
Being jailed for saying someone looks a bit like a cartoon character or
stating simple facts about a government slaughtering students is definitively
wrong. The only folks who might disagree are those brought up in brain-
washy/authoritarian regimes.

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illuminati1911
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.

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scarface74
Exactly. Gambling apps are also illegal in the US and Apple is coming under
scrutiny here for “loot boxes”.

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dec0dedab0de
_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.

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craftyguy
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.

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dec0dedab0de
_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
> 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.

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vengefulduck
Non Pay walled:
[https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/apple-...](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)

~~~
Shivetya
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

