Podcast app Pocket Casts disappears from Chinese App Store at government request

Apple has removed the Pocket Casts podcast app from the Chinese version of the App Store at the request of the government of China. It is unknown why that happened; Pocket Casts itself does not offer podcasts and can only play audio that is also available in other apps.

The Cyberspace Administration of China has asked Apple to remove the app, writes Pocket Casts. Apple granted that request. The exact reason is not mentioned, but the wording of the company behind the app indicates that the Chinese government wanted Pocket Casts to censor certain podcasts. “We believe that podcasting is and should remain an open medium, free from government censorship, so we will not censor podcast content at their request.”

Apple did make some Chinese-language podcasts unavailable in its Podcasts app in China last year at the request of that government, Techcrunch wrote at the time. It is obvious that the Chinese government has made the same request to Pocket Casts, under penalty of removal from the App Store.

The iPhone maker more often grants requests from the Chinese government to apply censorship. For example, the company came under fire last year when it removed HKMap.live, an app that allowed people to see where large groups of police officers were during the protests in Hong Kong. Apple also removed the Quartz app from the App Store after reporting about the protests in Hong Kong.