Apple Upholds Values, Just Not the Gay Ones, in China
Apple, a company that wraps itself in rainbow flags during Pride Month, swiftly removed gay dating apps like Grindr and Scruff from its Chinese App Store. This follows an updated 'personal information protection law' from Beijing. While Apple cites compliance with local laws, this isn't a new policy for the tech giant. In 2017, Apple removed VPN apps in China, facilitating the 'Great Firewall,'
proving its commitment to 'human rights' is oddly selective when a billion-dollar market is at stake. Funny how principles become 'local regulations' when the ledger is sufficiently green. One might wonder if the same moral flexibility would apply if a Western government asked them to remove apps promoting, say, heterosexual marriage or capitalism. The silence from corporate virtue-signaling
headquarters is deafening, perhaps because it's hard to shout about 'inclusion' while simultaneously excluding an entire demographic for geopolitical convenience. Clearly, some 'values' are more negotiable than others when faced with a juicy market share.