In both mainland China and Hong Kong, Apple also censors references to political dissidents such as 余杰 (Yu Jie), 刘霞 (Liu Xia), 封从德 (Feng Congde), and 艾未未 (Ai Weiwei). Such censored keywords include 雨伞革命 (Umbrella Revolution), 香港民运 (Hong Kong Democratic Movement), 雙普選 (double universal suffrage), and 新聞自由 (freedom of the press).
In both regions, Apple broadly censors references to collective action. Much of Apple’s political censorship in mainland China also bleeds into Hong Kong. Others include Hong Kong based newspapers such as 南华早报 (South China Morning Post), a paper owned by Alibaba, and 明報 (Ming Pao). Some of these include references to news organizations that are critical of the Chinese Communist Party, such as 美国之音 (Voice of America), a United States funded media organization, or 大纪元 (Epoch Times), an outlet linked to the banned political and religious group Falun Gong. In mainland China, Apple also widely censors references to news organizations. Such heavy-handed censorship restricts users’ abilities to freely express themselves politically and religiously. Such keywords include 正法 (dharma), 達賴 (Dalai), and 达兰萨拉 (Dharamshala). In mainland China, Apple also heavily censors references to Tibet and Tibetan religion. In mainland China, Apple widely censors political speech, including broad references such as 政治 (politics), 抵制 (resist), 民主潮 (wave of democracy), and 人权 (human rights).
The report gives examples of some of the banned terms. Within mainland China, we found that Apple censors political content including broad references to Chinese leadership and China’s political system, names of dissidents and independent news organizations, and general terms relating to religions, democracy, and human rights. There was clear evidence of political censorship in China, with some of this extending to Hong Kong and Taiwan also. The tests were carried out across six regions, revealing that Apple uses different APIs to validate the text in each of the countries tested. It was able to do so because the Apple engraving website analyzes text as you enter it, character by character, and immediately flags unacceptable content.
The company doesn’t reveal the banned text, but Citizen Lab carried out tests to find out which attempts were rejected. In China, however, the number of banned words and phrases is more than a thousand, and includes many political references…Īpple lets you engrave AirPods, AirTag, Apple Pencil, iPad, and iPod touch. The Apple engraving service – available as a free option when ordering one of six product categories direct from Apple – has been accused of political censorship in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.Īpple aims to ban offensive words and phrases, and in the US bans 170 words.
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