Less than a month after making its public debut, Apple News has been disabled in China. Apple is yet to confirm the move, but users visiting mainland China report\u00a0they are unable to refresh Apple News to fetch new stories.<\/p>\n
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Apple News is only officially available in the U.S. for now, so those living in China do not get the app with iOS 9.\u00a0However, the service is normally available to U.S. users who travel internationally \u2014 so long as their device region remains set to U.S.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s not the case if you visit China, where roamers\u00a0are unable to pull new stories. Apple has introduced an error message that reads, \u201cCan\u2019t refresh right now. News isn\u2019t supported in your current region.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to a source speaking to\u00a0The New York Times,\u00a0<\/em>Apple has taken this action to avoid China\u2019s stringent media rules. The\u00a0Cupertino company would have to censor certain stories to avoid breaking them \u2014 but it seems disabling the service is the easier option for now.<\/p>\n However, Apple\u2019s decision has not been taken well by some users.\u00a0Larry Salibra, co-founder of software testing service Pay4Bugs, voiced his concerns in a post on Reddit.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re censoring news content that I downloaded and stored on my device\u00a0<\/em>purchased in the USA, before I even enter China just because my phone happens to connect to a Chinese signal floating over the border,\u201d Salibra wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cOn device<\/em> censorship is much different than having your server blocked by the Great Firewall or not enabling a feature for customers with certain country iTunes account.\u00a0That Apple has little choice doesn\u2019t make it any less creepy or outrageous.\u201d<\/p>\n We expect Apple to explain its decision as these concerns escalate, but it seems highly unlikely it will be reversed until the company can avoid breaking China\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n