Apple Rejects NTD's iPad App, for China App Store

On July 10, Apple Inc.'s App Review department sent a strange notice to NTD's mobile platform developers; they informed NTD that they have removed NTD's iPhone and iPad apps, called "iNTD," from the China App Store, although they will still be available in other countries where Apple has App Stores.

Apple's email claims that iNTD's content is "illegal in China" without specifying which laws it allegedly breaks. Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution says, "citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech [and] of the press."

Dr. Samuel Zhou, NTD's Vice President of Business Development, says, "Over the past ten years, the Chinese regime has exerted a lot effort to stop its citizens from watching the truthful and uncensored information that NTD provides. They've used tactics like bullying foreign and domestic companies. But because there is actually no law that makes NTD illegal in China, Apple now has an opportunity to stand up to China's unjust censorship. We hope they take it."

In March 2010, Apple's rival Google took a strong stand against China's censorship when it announced it would no longer censor its Chinese search engine. Google's stock price has gone up about 6% since then.

Below is the full email from Apple sent to NTD on July 10, 2012.

Subject:	iNTD for iPad: Application Submission Feedback
Date:	Tue, 10 Jul 2012 20:41:38 -0700 (PDT)
From:	App Review <appreview @apple.com>
To:	iphone @ntdtv.com

Please include the line below in follow-up emails for this request.

Follow-up:  [App ID removed]

Hello Mr. Wang,

We are writing to notify you that your applications, iNTD for iPad and iNTD, will be removed from the China App Store because they include content that is illegal in China, which is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines:

22.1     Apps must comply with all legal requirements in any location where they are made available to users. It is the developer's obligation to understand and conform to all local laws

While your apps have been removed from the China App Store, they are still available in the App Stores for the other territories you selected in iTunes Connect.
If you have questions about the removal of your application, please contact App Review at appreview@apple.com. Please include the App ID and the name of your application in your email request.

Best Regards,

App Review