Apple has removed the Quartz news app from the Chinese App Store at the request of the Chinese government

iPad app Store (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

The Quartz news app has been taken down from the Chinese App Store.
China's government claims the app contains content that is illegal in China.
This comes right after Apple was criticized for letting another app return to the store.

Apple has reportedly removed the Quartz news app from the Chinese App Store at the request of the Chinese government, according to Quartz. Reported by 9to5Mac, not only has the app been removed, but the Quartz website has also been completely banned in mainland China.

This comes after earlier news after Apple had received intense backlash from Chinese state media after it had allowed the HKmap.live, a maps app popular with Hong Kong protestors, back on the Chinese App Store. According to John Keefe, Investigations Editor at Quartz, their app did not fare as well.

Apple just took the Quartz app out of the Chinese app store at the request of China, and https://t.co/M7MXa7n7AG is now blocked from mainland China. Our excellent @qz coverage of ongoing Hong Kong protests may be the reason: https://t.co/FI4pcyzARzApple just took the Quartz app out of the Chinese app store at the request of China, and https://t.co/M7MXa7n7AG is now blocked from mainland China. Our excellent @qz coverage of ongoing Hong Kong protests may be the reason: https://t.co/FI4pcyzARz— John Keefe (@jkeefe) October 9, 2019 October 9, 2019

Keefe questions whether or not the removal of the app and the ban of the website is due to their coverage of the Hong Kong protests:

"Apple just took the Quartz app out of the Chinese app store at the request of China, and http://qz.com is now blocked from mainland China. Our excellent @qz coverage of ongoing Hong Kong protests may be the reason."

According to The Verge, Quartz had received a notice from Apple that the the app "includes content that is illegal in China." Quartz's new CEO Zach Seward criticized China's ban against their publication:

"We abhor this kind of government censorship of the internet, and have great coverage of how to get around such bans around the world."

Even though Apple has complied with the Chinese government and taken down the Quartz app, there is hope it will return. The HKmap.live was originally taken down from the Chinese App Store by Apple under accusations saying it "promoted illegal activity", but a day later the app was permitted to return to the store.

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.