Skip to content
RealinfoSec.net

RealinfoSec.net

InfoSec News, Cybersecurity Awareness

  • Home
  • InfoSec News
    • Data Breach News
    • Latest Vulnerabilities
  • What Is InfoSec
  • CyberSecurity Newsletter
  • Cyber Academy
  • Cyber Help Desk
  • Cyber Knowledge Base
  • Contact Us
    • Contribute
  • My Bookmarks
  • Subscribers
    • Knowledge Quizzes
    • Register
  • Login
    • Password Reset
  • Register
  • Privacy Policy
    • Legal
  • Toggle search form
apple

Apple is accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia

Posted on 22 December 202222 December 2022 By RiSec.n0tst3 No Comments on Apple is accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia

According to two stories published on Thursday, Apple has been accused of sacrificing human rights for financial gain by obediently complying with censorship requests in China and Russia.

The Apple Censorship Project, which is sponsored by free speech advocacy group GreatFire, published the reports titled “Apps at Risk: Apple’s Censorship and Compromises in Hong Kong” and “United Apple: Apple’s Censorship and Compromises in Russia.”

According to Benjamin Ismail, campaign and advocacy director at GreatFire and project head of GreatFire’s Apple Censorship project, “as our two reports illustrate, evidence of Apple’s censorship abound.”

“Apple’s temporary withdrawal from Russia following the start of the war in Ukraine, and Apple’s decision to move part of its production out of China, have not provided tangible evidence of any improvement of the situation in the App Store so far. For all we know, Apple is still willing to collaborate with repressive regimes.”

Ismail said he expects the reports will be used to try to convince lawmakers to pass antitrust bills that aim to mitigate Apple’s App Store gatekeeping powers – something European lawmakers may have achieved with the recently approved Digital Markets Act.

The Hong Kong-focused Apps at Risk report contends that Apple’s 50 percent share of the smartphone market makes it the Chinese Communist Party’s de facto kill switch for politically challenging content.

It mentions that there were 2,370 unavailable apps in the Hong Kong App Store in November 2022. 10,837 apps are missing from the Chinese App Store, while 2,754 apps are absent from the Russian App Store.

According to the report, a lot of VPN apps have disappeared from the Hong Kong App Store. Many media and information apps have allegedly been banned globally over the past two years, raising the suspicion that Apple is either engaging in global self-censorship or is doing so on behalf of authorities.

The Apps at Risk report report says Apple has failed to offer support for the right of people in Hong Kong to access information without restriction and to express themselves online, even as the Chinese government has suppressed the democracy movement in Hong Kong.

Recommended:  Hacking Campaign Steals 10,000 Login Credentials From 130 Different Organizations

“Apple’s known about Beijing’s authoritarian preferences for decades,” the report says. “Apple’s response to the events in Hong Kong the last few years are not knee-jerk reactions. Apple’s response is aligned to its global business strategies, with a top priority of appeasing the Chinese government to protect Apple’s supply chain, distribution channels, and revenue stream.”

The report demands that Apple officially reaffirm its support for the freedom of information and speech of Hong Kong residents.

The Russia investigation examines discrepancies between how Chinese and Russian censorship demands are carried out but comes to the same findings about Apple’s business practises. It claims that between 2018 and 2022, Apple appeared to accede to censorship requests from the Kremlin more quickly.

“If Apple’s compliance with requests for censorship is best illustrated by cases of app removals from the iOS App Store,” the report says. “Russia’s innovative and extensive oppression has also led to censorship within software (LGBTQ+ watch faces), accessories (LGBTQ+ watch bands), software-based cartography (Crimea), protocols (Private Relay), and even the design of iOS (Russian iOS).”

The Russia report, citing Apple’s removal of LGBTQ+ apps in furtherance of state-backed homophobia, calls out “the insincerity of Apple’s self-proclaimed support for LGBTQ+ Rights.”

Asked whether Apple’s deployment of end-to-end encryption in iCloud might change things, Ismail expressed skepticism.

“We know nothing about how the data are stored in China Guizhou data center, which is owned by a Chinese company and not by Apple,” he said in an email to The Register. “In this case, and for many other examples related to the management of the App Store (e.g. Government App Takedown Requests, App Store Review Board, etc.), Apple’s trademark is opacity.”

Ismail cautioned that the leverage authorities have in China and Russia over Apple will remain. “The relationships between those regimes and Apple are still asymmetrical, and strongly in favor of the governments of the country where Apple wants to maintain its access to the market, to build and to sell its products,” he said, pointing to Apple’s Private Relay, which never made it to China and was canceled in Russia.

Recommended:  Ransomware gangs, hackers pick sides over Russia invading Ukraine

Ismail however expressed optimism that Apple may be forced to allow third-party app stores. That requirement, called for under Europe’s Digital Markets Act, is also a part of the Open App Markets Act, a bill that GreatFire has endorsed and US lawmakers have yet to pass.

“If as a user, you are free to download and install apps from any store and the web, then the removal of apps by Apple at the behest of a repressive government will have less impact on the users,” Ismail explained. “Developers will still be able to update (and therefore secure) their apps and offer them to the users without control or intervention from Apple.”

“Moreover, it should be easier for Apple to dismiss censorship demands by saying that the users can still find the app targeted by the authorities, outside of the App Store. Eventually, it might dissuade the authorities to even make the demand to Apple.”

“Of course sideloading is not the perfect solution and other stores might be targeted by repressive governments. The important part is to let the users handle their device the way they want it to work. To have developers, publishers and customers all subject to Apple’s decision is very dangerous. It has been the case repeatedly over the last decade.”

Asked if Apple’s rivals have handled the situation any better, Ismail pointed to Google, which shut down its Chinese search engine in 2010 after it was hacked from within the country.

Google and Twitter, he said, do much better in terms of transparency, citing an Apple Censorship report from April “showing Apple is lying in its Transparency reports and deliberately conceals the scale of app’s unavailability and the reality of the 175 App Stores it operates worldwide.”

Recommended:  Ukraine Accuses Russia of using Phosphorus Bombs - Ombudsman

“It might be time for Apple to consider the possibility that it does more harm by being present in China than by not being there,” said Ismail. “In its Human Rights Policy, Apple claims ‘Our approach is based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,’ yet every principle set in that UN document is the exact opposite of Apple’s policy.”

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

Suggest an edit to this article

Cybersecurity Knowledge Base

Homepage

Remember, CyberSecurity Starts With You!

  • Globally, 30,000 websites are hacked daily.
  • 64% of companies worldwide have experienced at least one form of a cyber attack.
  • There were 20M breached records in March 2021.
  • In 2020, ransomware cases grew by 150%.
  • Email is responsible for around 94% of all malware.
  • Every 39 seconds, there is a new attack somewhere on the web.
  • An average of around 24,000 malicious mobile apps are blocked daily on the internet.

Bookmark

Please login to bookmark

Social Comments Box
  • About
  • Latest Posts
RiSec.n0tst3
Connect
RiSec.n0tst3
Hello! I'm Steve, an independent security researcher, and analyst from Scotland, UK.

I've had an avid interest in Computers, Technology and Security since my early teens. 20 years on, and, it's a whole lot more complicated...

I've assisted Governments, Individuals and Organizations throughout the world. Including; US DOJ, NHS UK, GOV UK.

I'll often reblog infosec-related articles that I find interesting. On the RiSec website, You'll also find a variety of write-ups, tutorials and much more!
RiSec.n0tst3
Connect
Latest posts by RiSec.n0tst3 (see all)
  • JD Sports:Cyber Attack affects 10 million customers - 30 January 2023
  • InfoSec – A Newbie Guide – InfoSecurity - 25 January 2023
  • Apple is accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia - 22 December 2022
Share the word, let's increase Cybersecurity Awareness as we know it

No related articles.

InfoSec News Tags:apple, Censoring, Hong Kong, russia

Post navigation

Previous Post: 100,000 students’ grades and personal information were leaked via McGraw Hill’s S3 buckets
Next Post: Russian-Backed Hackers attacked a “major” oil refinery in a NATO Country

Related Posts

5 British businesses were penalised for making 500,000 unwanted calls InfoSec News
ransomware Ragnar Locker Ransomware Breached 52+ Orgs Across 10 Critical Infrastructure Sectors InfoSec News
spotify 768x432 1 Spotify Accounts Hacked by Credential Stuffing Based on Stolen Database InfoSec News
Cybersecurity Dangerous hole in Apache Commons Text – like Log4Shell all over again InfoSec News
macos Microsoft: macOS ‘Powerdir’ Flaw Could Enable Access to User Data InfoSec News
aws AWS Patches Glue Bug That Put Customer Data at Risk InfoSec News

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RiSec Captcha 46 − = 38

AbuseIPDB Contributor Badge

Follow Our Socials:

Latest InfoSec News

Data Breach News InfoSec News

JD Sports: Cyber Attack affects 10 million customers

RiSec.n0tst3
30 January 2023 0
what is infosec
Cybersecurity Academy

InfoSec – A Newbie Guide – InfoSecurity

RiSec.n0tst3
25 January 2023 0
google
Cybersecurity Academy How to

Google Open-Source Vulnerability Scanning Tool

RiSec.Mitch
18 January 2023 0
InfoSec News

Polymorphic Malware Produced by ChatGPT

RiSec.Mitch
18 January 2023 0
russia
InfoSec News

Russian Hackers Repurpose Decade-Old Malware Infrastructure to Deploy New Backdoors

RiSec.Mitch
8 January 2023 0
latest cybersecurity news
InfoSec News

Dridex Banking Malware Targets MacOS users with a new delivery method

RiSec.Mitch
8 January 2023 0
ransomware
InfoSec News

Microsoft Discloses Methods Employed by 4 Ransomware Families Aiming at macOS

RiSec.Mitch
8 January 2023 0
InfoSec News

$8 billion in cryptocurrency withdrawals strike US bank Silvergate

RiSec.Mitch
8 January 2023 0

Featured Posts

cve-2022-38970
Data Security Featured How to InfoSec News Vulnerabilities

ieGeek Security Vulnerabilities still prevalent in 2022 IG20

RiSec.n0tst3
28 August 2022 6
Data Security Featured InfoSec News

Hacking Campaign Steals 10,000 Login Credentials From 130 Different Organizations

RiSec.n0tst3
27 August 2022 0
DDoS
Featured InfoSec News

Google mitigates largest DDoS Attack in History – Peaked at 46 Million RPS

RiSec.n0tst3
19 August 2022 1
Security researcher contacted me
Cybersecurity Academy Featured How to

A Security Researcher Contacted Me – What should I do?

RiSec.n0tst3
30 June 2022 0
google chrome
Featured InfoSec News

Google Chrome extensions can be easily fingerprinted to track you online

RiSec.n0tst3
19 June 2022 0
MFA
Cybersecurity Academy Data Security Featured

3 Steps To Better Account Security

RiSec.n0tst3
21 February 2022 0
hardening vps security
Cybersecurity Academy Featured

HARDEN YOUR VPS: Steps to Hardening your VPS Security

RiSec.n0tst3
10 January 2022 2

Share the joy

Copyright © 2022 RealinfoSec.net. CyberSecurity News & Awareness. All Trademarks, Logos And Brand Names Are The Property Of Their Respective Owners

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of the cookies. Cookie & Privacy Policy
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
en English
af Afrikaanssq Albanianam Amharicar Arabichy Armenianaz Azerbaijanieu Basquebe Belarusianbn Bengalibs Bosnianbg Bulgarianca Catalanceb Cebuanony Chichewazh-CN Chinese (Simplified)zh-TW Chinese (Traditional)co Corsicanhr Croatiancs Czechda Danishnl Dutchen Englisheo Esperantoet Estoniantl Filipinofi Finnishfr Frenchfy Frisiangl Galicianka Georgiande Germanel Greekgu Gujaratiht Haitian Creoleha Hausahaw Hawaiianiw Hebrewhi Hindihmn Hmonghu Hungarianis Icelandicig Igboid Indonesianga Irishit Italianja Japanesejw Javanesekn Kannadakk Kazakhkm Khmerko Koreanku Kurdish (Kurmanji)ky Kyrgyzlo Laola Latinlv Latvianlt Lithuanianlb Luxembourgishmk Macedonianmg Malagasyms Malayml Malayalammt Maltesemi Maorimr Marathimn Mongolianmy Myanmar (Burmese)ne Nepalino Norwegianps Pashtofa Persianpl Polishpt Portuguesepa Punjabiro Romanianru Russiansm Samoangd Scottish Gaelicsr Serbianst Sesothosn Shonasd Sindhisi Sinhalask Slovaksl Slovenianso Somalies Spanishsu Sudanesesw Swahilisv Swedishtg Tajikta Tamilte Teluguth Thaitr Turkishuk Ukrainianur Urduuz Uzbekvi Vietnamesecy Welshxh Xhosayi Yiddishyo Yorubazu Zulu