{"id":49883,"date":"2022-12-22T07:01:14","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T07:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/"},"modified":"2022-12-22T07:01:14","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T07:01:14","slug":"apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia to maintain market access"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Apple has been accused of selling out human rights for the sake of profit by cooperating with authoritarian censorship demands in China and Russia, according to two reports issued on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/applecensorship.com\/the-fundamental-rights-of-millions-are-impacted-when-apple-does-business-with-authoritarian-regimes\/\">The reports<\/a>, &#8220;Apps at Risk: Apple&#8217;s Censorship and Compromises in Hong Kong&#8221; and &#8220;United Apple: Apple&#8217;s Censorship and Compromises in Russia,&#8221; were released by the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/applecensorship.com\/\">Apple Censorship Project<\/a>, which is run by free speech advocacy group <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/en.greatfire.org\/\">GreatFire<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As our two reports show, examples of Apple\u2019s censorship abound,&#8221; said Benjamin Ismail, campaign and advocacy director at GreatFire and project director of GreatFire&#8217;s Apple Censorship project, in a statement.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote\" readability=\"5\">\n<p>The report calls out &#8220;the insincerity of Apple\u2019s self-proclaimed support for LGBTQ+ Rights.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Apple\u2019s temporary withdrawal from Russia following the start of the war in Ukraine, and Apple\u2019s 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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ismail said he expects the reports will be used to try to convince lawmakers to pass antitrust bills that aim to mitigate Apple&#8217;s App Store gatekeeping powers \u2013 something European lawmakers <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/2022\/12\/14\/apple_eu_third_party_ios\/\" rel=\"noopener\">may have achieved<\/a> with the recently approved Digital Markets Act.<\/p>\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"adun\" data-pos=\"top\" data-raptor=\"condor\" data-xsm=\",fluid,mpu,\" data-sm=\",fluid,mpu,\" data-md=\",fluid,mpu,\"> <noscript> <a href=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/jump?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0\" alt> <\/a> <\/noscript> <\/div>\n<p>The Hong Kong-focused Apps at Risk report contends that Apple&#8217;s 50 percent share of the smartphone market makes it the Chinese Communist Party&#8217;s de facto kill switch for politically challenging content.<\/p>\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"adun\" data-pos=\"top\" data-raptor=\"falcon\" data-xmd=\",fluid,mpu,leaderboard,\" data-lg=\",fluid,mpu,leaderboard,\" data-xlg=\",fluid,billboard,superleaderboard,mpu,leaderboard,\" data-xxlg=\",fluid,billboard,superleaderboard,brandwidth,brandimpact,leaderboard,mpu,\"> <noscript> <a href=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/jump?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=4&amp;c=44Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=4&amp;c=44Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D426raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0\" alt> <\/a> <\/noscript> <\/div>\n<div class=\"adun_eagle_desktop_story_wrapper\">\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"adun\" data-pos=\"mid\" data-raptor=\"eagle\" data-xxlg=\",mpu,dmpu,\"> <noscript> <a href=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/jump?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=3&amp;c=33Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=3&amp;c=33Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0\" alt> <\/a> <\/noscript> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It notes that the Hong Kong App Store in November 2022 was missing 2,370 apps available elsewhere. In China&#8217;s App Store, 10,837 apps are missing and in Russia&#8217;s App Store, that figure is 2,754.<\/p>\n<p>Many VPN apps have vanished from the Hong Kong App Store, the report says. And over the past two years, it&#8217;s claimed, many media and information apps have been removed globally, raising the possibility that Apple is engaged in worldwide self-censorship or is doing so on behalf of authorities.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Apple&#8217;s known about Beijing\u2019s authoritarian preferences for decades,&#8221; the report says. &#8220;Apple\u2019s response to the events in Hong Kong the last few years are not knee-jerk reactions. Apple\u2019s response is aligned to its global business strategies, with a top priority of appeasing the Chinese government to protect Apple\u2019s supply chain, distribution channels, and revenue stream.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"adun\" data-pos=\"top\" data-raptor=\"falcon\" data-xsm=\",fluid,mpu,\" data-sm=\",fluid,mpu,\" data-md=\",fluid,mpu,\"> <noscript> <a href=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/jump?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=4&amp;c=44Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=4&amp;c=44Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D426raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0\" alt> <\/a> <\/noscript> <\/div>\n<p>The report calls on Apple to publicly affirm its support for Hong Kongers&#8217; right to information and free expression.<\/p>\n<p>The Russia report explores differences in the way that Russian and Chinese authorities enforce censorship demands, but reaches similar conclusions about how Apple operates. It statesthat from 2018 until 2022, Apple has appeared to comply more readily with censorship requests from the Kremlin.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If Apple\u2019s compliance with requests for censorship is best illustrated by cases of app removals from the iOS App Store,&#8221; the report says. &#8220;Russia\u2019s 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).&#8221;<\/p>\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"adun\" id=\"story_eagle_xsm_sm_md_xmd_lg_xlg\" data-pos=\"mid\" data-raptor=\"eagle\" data-xsm=\",mpu,dmpu,\" data-sm=\",mpu,dmpu,\" data-md=\",mpu,dmpu,\" data-xmd=\",mpu,dmpu,\" data-lg=\",mpu,dmpu,\" data-xlg=\",mpu,dmpu,\"> <noscript> <a href=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/jump?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=3&amp;c=33Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=3&amp;c=33Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0\" alt> <\/a> <\/noscript> <\/div>\n<p>The Russia report, citing Apple&#8217;s removal of LGBTQ+ apps in furtherance of state-backed homophobia, calls out &#8220;the insincerity of Apple\u2019s self-proclaimed support for LGBTQ+ Rights.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Asked whether Apple&#8217;s <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/2022\/12\/08\/apple_encryption_icloud\/\" rel=\"noopener\">deployment of end-to-end encryption in iCloud<\/a> might change things, Ismail expressed skepticism.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;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,&#8221; he said in an email to <em>The Register<\/em>. &#8220;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&#8217;s trademark is opacity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"crosshead\">Ongoing leverage<\/h3>\n<p>Ismail cautioned that the leverage authorities have in China and Russia over Apple will remain. &#8220;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,&#8221; he said, pointing to Apple&#8217;s Private Relay, which never made it to China and was canceled in Russia.<\/p>\n<p>Ismail however expressed optimism that Apple may be forced to allow third-party app stores. That requirement, called for under Europe&#8217;s Digital Markets Act, is also a part of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/117th-congress\/senate-bill\/2710\">Open App Markets Act<\/a>, a bill that GreatFire <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/applecensorship.com\/why-greatfire-supports-antitrust-bills-and-why-you-should-too\/\">has endorsed<\/a> and US lawmakers have yet to pass.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;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,&#8221; Ismail explained. &#8220;Developers will still be able to update (and therefore secure) their apps and offer them to the users without control or intervention from Apple.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;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.&#8221;<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;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&#8217;s decision is very dangerous. It has been the case repeatedly over the last decade.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote\" readability=\"5\">\n<p>&#8220;Apple&#8217;s known about Beijing\u2019s authoritarian preferences for decades&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Asked if Apple&#8217;s rivals have handled the situation any better, Ismail pointed to Google, which <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/googleblog.blogspot.com\/2010\/01\/new-approach-to-china.html\">shut down its Chinese search engine in 2010<\/a> after it was hacked from within the country.<\/p>\n<p>Google and Twitter, he said, do much better in terms of transparency, citing <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/applecensorship.com\/taken-down-a-look-into-apples-transparency-reports\/\">an Apple Censorship report from April<\/a> &#8220;showing Apple is lying in its Transparency reports and deliberately conceals the scale of app&#8217;s unavailability and the reality of the 175 App Stores it operates worldwide.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;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,&#8221; said Ismail. &#8220;In its <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/s2.q4cdn.com\/470004039\/files\/doc_downloads\/gov_docs\/Apple-Human-Rights-Policy.pdf\">Human Rights Policy<\/a>, Apple claims &#8216;Our approach is based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,&#8217; yet every principle set in that UN document is the exact opposite of Apple&#8217;s policy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Apple did not respond to a request for comment. \u00ae<\/p>\n<p> READ MORE <a href=\"https:\/\/go.theregister.com\/feed\/www.theregister.com\/2022\/12\/22\/apple_accused_of_censoring_apps\/\">HERE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Activists note absence of VPNs ponder whether Apple may put revenue above human rights in some markets Apple has been accused of selling out human rights for the sake of profit by cooperating with authoritarian censorship demands in China and Russia, according to two reports issued on Thursday.\u2026 READ MORE HERE&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-register"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Apple accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia to maintain market access 2026 | ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News | ThreatsHub.org | Cloud Security &amp; Cyber Threats Analysis Hub. 100% Free OSINT Threat Intelligent and Cybersecurity News.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Apple accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia to maintain market access 2026 | ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News | ThreatsHub.org | Cloud Security &amp; Cyber Threats Analysis Hub. 100% Free OSINT Threat Intelligent and Cybersecurity News.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-22T07:01:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"TH Author\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@threatshub\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@threatshub\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"TH Author\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"TH Author\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/12e0a8671ff89a863584f193e7062476\"},\"headline\":\"Apple accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia to maintain market access\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-22T07:01:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1123,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\\\/gampad\\\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\\\/6978\\\/reg_security\\\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0\",\"articleSection\":[\"The Register\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\\\/\",\"name\":\"Apple accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia to maintain market access 2026 | ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\\\/gampad\\\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\\\/6978\\\/reg_security\\\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-22T07:01:14+00:00\",\"description\":\"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News | ThreatsHub.org | Cloud Security & Cyber Threats Analysis Hub. 100% Free OSINT Threat Intelligent and Cybersecurity News.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\\\/gampad\\\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\\\/6978\\\/reg_security\\\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\\\/gampad\\\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\\\/6978\\\/reg_security\\\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Apple accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia to maintain market access\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News\",\"description\":\"%%focuskw%% Threat Intel \u2013 Threat Intel Services \u2013 CyberIntelligence \u2013 Cyber Threat Intelligence - Threat Intelligence Feeds - Threat Intelligence Reports - CyberSecurity Report \u2013 Cyber Security PDF \u2013 Cybersecurity Trends - Cloud Sandbox \u2013- Threat IntelligencePortal \u2013 Incident Response \u2013 Threat Hunting \u2013 IOC - Yara - Security Operations Center \u2013 SecurityOperation Center \u2013 Security SOC \u2013 SOC Services - Advanced Threat - Threat Detection - TargetedAttack \u2013 APT \u2013 Anti-APT \u2013 Advanced Protection \u2013 Cyber Security Services \u2013 Cybersecurity Services -Threat Intelligence Platform\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"Threatshub.org\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"ThreatsHub.org\",\"alternateName\":\"Threatshub.org\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Threatshub_Favicon1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Threatshub_Favicon1.jpg\",\"width\":432,\"height\":435,\"caption\":\"ThreatsHub.org\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/threatshub\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/12e0a8671ff89a863584f193e7062476\",\"name\":\"TH Author\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/066276f086d5155df79c850206a779ad368418a844da0182ce43f9cd5b506c3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/066276f086d5155df79c850206a779ad368418a844da0182ce43f9cd5b506c3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/066276f086d5155df79c850206a779ad368418a844da0182ce43f9cd5b506c3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"TH Author\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Apple accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia to maintain market access 2026 | ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News","description":"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News | ThreatsHub.org | Cloud Security & Cyber Threats Analysis Hub. 100% Free OSINT Threat Intelligent and Cybersecurity News.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Apple accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia to maintain market access 2026 | ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News","og_description":"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News | ThreatsHub.org | Cloud Security & Cyber Threats Analysis Hub. 100% Free OSINT Threat Intelligent and Cybersecurity News.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/","og_site_name":"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News","article_published_time":"2022-12-22T07:01:14+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"TH Author","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@threatshub","twitter_site":"@threatshub","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"TH Author","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/"},"author":{"name":"TH Author","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12e0a8671ff89a863584f193e7062476"},"headline":"Apple accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia to maintain market access","datePublished":"2022-12-22T07:01:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/"},"wordCount":1123,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0","articleSection":["The Register"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/","url":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/","name":"Apple accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia to maintain market access 2026 | ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0","datePublished":"2022-12-22T07:01:14+00:00","description":"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News | ThreatsHub.org | Cloud Security & Cyber Threats Analysis Hub. 100% Free OSINT Threat Intelligent and Cybersecurity News.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2Y6jIgRA7Z1rgstpHUCIOQQAAAFE&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/apple-accused-of-censoring-apps-in-hong-kong-and-russia-to-maintain-market-access\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Apple accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia to maintain market access"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/","name":"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News","description":"%%focuskw%% Threat Intel \u2013 Threat Intel Services \u2013 CyberIntelligence \u2013 Cyber Threat Intelligence - Threat Intelligence Feeds - Threat Intelligence Reports - CyberSecurity Report \u2013 Cyber Security PDF \u2013 Cybersecurity Trends - Cloud Sandbox \u2013- Threat IntelligencePortal \u2013 Incident Response \u2013 Threat Hunting \u2013 IOC - Yara - Security Operations Center \u2013 SecurityOperation Center \u2013 Security SOC \u2013 SOC Services - Advanced Threat - Threat Detection - TargetedAttack \u2013 APT \u2013 Anti-APT \u2013 Advanced Protection \u2013 Cyber Security Services \u2013 Cybersecurity Services -Threat Intelligence Platform","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Threatshub.org","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#organization","name":"ThreatsHub.org","alternateName":"Threatshub.org","url":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/coredata\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Threatshub_Favicon1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/coredata\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Threatshub_Favicon1.jpg","width":432,"height":435,"caption":"ThreatsHub.org"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/threatshub"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12e0a8671ff89a863584f193e7062476","name":"TH Author","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/066276f086d5155df79c850206a779ad368418a844da0182ce43f9cd5b506c3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/066276f086d5155df79c850206a779ad368418a844da0182ce43f9cd5b506c3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/066276f086d5155df79c850206a779ad368418a844da0182ce43f9cd5b506c3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"TH Author"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49883\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}