Blued and Finka were removed from Apple’s App Store.
LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance have taken another hit in China, with Apple removing two of the countries biggest LGBTQ+ dating apps. Wired reports that Blued and Finka are no longer available on the iOS App Store or certain Android App Stores following orders from the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country’s internet regulator and censor.
Apple told Wired that it must “follow the laws in the countries where we operate.” Both dating apps were available solely in China, where LGBTQ+ dating apps are minimal — Grindr, for instance, hasn’t been available on Apple since 2022. Blued exists internationally under the name HeeSay.
China has increasingly cracked down on LGBTQ+ individuals’ rights and groups in recent years, allegedly shuttering large organizations like the Beijing LGBT Center in 2023. For reasons unknown, Blued previously stopped new registrations this past July, with individuals buying second-hand accounts to use the app. However, it reopened in the middle of August.
Saying the China’s discrimination of LGBTQ people is just pinkwashing is giving off sus vibes tbh. I’m gonna trust the people who actually live there and face that discrimination
i talk to chinese queers everyday via rednote and can attest that gay discrimination is definitely a thing in china; but it comes from its people and not the government.
this is pink washing because it meant to make americans believe that the government is doing the discriminating and there’s no clearer sign of this than a source that has been caught red handed peddling propaganda in the past as well as selective talking point that focuses grindr when other grindr-like platforms are used in china, but completely ignored by this piece of propaganda.
you would do well to develop some media literacy so that you won’t be brainwashed by future propaganda.
Unfortunately the Chinese government is active in discriminating against LGBTQ community and try to show pro-LGBTQ stuff in similar light to you, some foreign influence operation. It’s fucked.
are you going to share the decryption key for this ultra cryptic message? lol
What part are you having trouble with? I think it’s pretty straightforward but I’m not a native speaker
this describes western propaganda and there’s no history of this; but you insist that it has something to do with the chinese government.
sources that are not part of the US state department are needed to verify it.
I’m talking about Chinese government’s way of trying to label pro-LGBTQ movements inside China as some foreign influence operation. You are doing something very similar. That’s what I mean with the quoted part. Hope that helps
yes, it does help and it’s not me whose doing it; it’s an established fact that the american congress has publically admitted to doing many times in the past and to many countries across the world; most notably in north korea
I can’t say that I know much about North Korea’s LGBTQ situation but trying to paint members of China’s LGBTQ community trying to advocate for better treatment as some foreign influence operation is wild.