- Open Door app allows users to see content which is censored in China
- It was being downloaded 2,000 times per day when Apple banned it
- Tech giant said the app contained 'illegal content'
By Aaron Sharp
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Apple has been accused of kowtowing to the Chinese government after it pulled a program from its China App store which allowed users to bypass the country's strict internet controls.
The communist government of the People's Rebublic has passed laws which restricts internet browsing from IP addresses within its country, a project which has become known as 'the great firewall of China'.
But developers from all over the world have tried to liberate China's online public by creating tools which allow users inside the country to bypass 'the wall' and see content they would be able to in the outside world.
Kowtowing: Apple removed the OpenDoor app from its China App store after pressure from the state
Banned: The app was used by Chinese anti censorship protestors, above, who wanted to access websites which were banned by the government
One tool, a free app called Open Door, could be used by Chinese people to randomise their IP to keep their browsing information private and prevent them form being directed to censored content.
It was being sold on Apple's Chinese version of the App Store until July this year, when it was pulled by the Californian computer giant who said that it contained 'illegal content'.
Despite this, a version of the app is still available in the rest of the world.
The developers of Open Door, who are small team of designers, say that the app was being downloaded around 2,000 times a day before it was pulled by Apple.
They received no notification from App Store bosses that their product was set to be removed and were only made aware of its deletion when users from China got in touch to ask where it was.
When they contacted Apple, the tech giant confirmed that the app had been banned because it contained content which was illegal in China, and that developers have to abide by laws in the country they wish to sell their software.
The designers now say that they will not challenge the decision for fear that their other products will be banned globally.
Speaking to CNN, a developer, who asked not to be named, said: 'Unfortunately, we're not aware of any app developer ever (who was successful) in challenging Apple's decision.
'In fact, we won't be surprised if Apple decides to pull our app from all app stores and/or terminates our account in retaliation.'
The incident has sparked widespread criticism of Apple, who have been accused of pandering to the authoritarian Chinese regime with Chinese Open Door users accusing the company of 'surrendering to evil.'
Big business: Apple have been accused of protecting its business interests in China by banning the app
Apple's stance on China is in stark contrast to that of its Silicon Valley rival Google.
The search engine was once accused of cooperating with China's policy of censorship after it was revealed that a Google China search for 'Tienanmen Square', showed no sign of the famous defiant photograph of a protestor standing in front of a Chinese armoured tank.
But Google has since changed its policy and has been at pains to make the search experience for Chinese browsers as liberal as possible.
They even launched a tool which would tell Chinese users when they were searching for a term which was banned by the government.
But after more clashes with the country's communist regime, the feature was banned at the start of this year.
via apple - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFeKuOkkJUwVI07qjJoACk48bx9Kw&url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2445751/Apple-accused-bending-China-pulls-banned-websites-iPhone-app.html
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