The Audible app has been removed from the App Store in China. The website Apple Censorship, which monitors these changes, listed the audiobook and podcast app as having been removed on Thursday. (See picture below.) The Amazon-owned company itself subsequently confirmed the removal to The Mac Observer.
Audible Listed as Removed From App Store in China
In a statement to The Mac Observer, an Audible spokesperson said:
Audible does not have a dedicated service for customers in China. Due to permit requirements, we have removed our app from the Apple store in mainland China.
The Mac Observer has reached out to Apple. They had not responded at the time of this writing.
Chinese-language content has been available in Chinese since 2017.
Qoran App Removed After Government Request
On Friday, BBC News reported that a Qoran app used by millions of Muslims around the world, Quran Majeed, had been removed from the China App Store at the request of officials in the country. The maker of that app, PDMS, told the BBC:
According to Apple, our app Quran Majeed has been removed from the China App store because it includes content that requires additional documentation from Chinese authorities.
Apple’s Human Rights Policy says that it is required to comply with local laws, and at times there are complex issues about which we may disagree with governments.”
While the Chinese Communist Party does officially recognize Islam as a religion in China, the government has been accused of violating human rights, and even committing genocide, against the Uyghur minority, which is mostly Muslim.
Apple was also recently criticized for removing an app that promoted tactical voting in Russia, which was linked to opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Again, it was compelled by officials in the company to do so.
[Updated with statement from Audible spokesperson.]