By: Jennifer Pepin
Amazon’s Audible book reading services (“Audible”), and phone apps for reading the holy books of Islam and Christianity have disappeared from the Apple store in mainland China. Audible reported that it removed its app from the Apple store because of “permit restrictions.” Apps for listening and reading the Quran and Bible, which are called Quran Majeed and Bible App by Olive Tree, were reported to have been taken down at the request of Chinese officials. Apple said that Chinese officials found the apps to have breached laws on hosting illegal religious texts. The recent ban aligns with the Chines government’s long-standing effort to limit the influence of Islam and Christianity in China.
This isn’t an uncommon ban for China, in 2018 the Chinese government banned online retailers from selling the Bible. China has one of the most aggressive and sophisticated internet censorship regimes in the world. In the past, China controlled how the Bible was sold by only allowing church bookstores to distribute and print the Bible. President Xi Jinping’s religious regulations have effectively tightened rules on Christianity and Islam to promote traditional values of China. Controlling content online is an effort made to support the Communist party in pushing “core socialist values.”
The makers of the Quran Majeed app, with nearly 1 million users in China, want more information from China’s internet authority about how it can be restored. Olive Tree Bible app also hopes to restore its app to China’s App Store by getting the necessary permits. Apple’s actions in removing the apps are being criticized for enabling China’s religious persecution. The Council on American-Islamic Relations harshly states, “[i]f American corporations don’t grow a spine and stand up to China right now, they risk spending the next century subservient to the whims of a fascist superpower.” Apple contends its Human Rights policy states, “[w]e’re required to comply with local laws, and at the times there are complex issues about which we may disagree with governments and other stakeholders on the right path forward.”
Apple is not alone in remaining diplomatic about China’s strict internet regulations. Microsoft shut down LinkedIn in China because of the challenging compliance requirements enforced by China. LinkedIn was the last big American social media site in China and now the platform will remove its services because the shared content was considered offensive to China’s government. The question, therefore, seems to be, how can the United States most effectively prevent these companies from assisting China in controlling the Internet and violating citizens’ freedom of religion?
The Global Online Freedom Act was created in 2005 to deter American businesses from assisting strict foreign governments in the repression of their people through Internet censorship. The Act was intended to protect universal human rights from the failure of tech companies to find a balance in dealing with these governments. While the Act is primarily focused on tech companies, it did not completely shift responsibility away from strict Internet regulating countries.
China attempts to argue its Internet controls are not so different from those in other western countries. China is attempting to exercise its sovereignty by governing the Chinese people pursuant to its unique beliefs in the post-modern industrialized world. Consistent with the overarching principle of foreign policy, China demands dominion and control over the Internet within its borders. Essentially, China believes that “if there are some foreign companies operating in China, they should also follow China’s laws and regulations.”
According to the Chinese government, religious believers must “adapt themselves to the socialist society.” China asserts that there is religious freedom in the country despite the inability to read scripture online. Many find this paradox absurd. However, China continues to enforce complete control over content on the internet by banning Audible.
Although it is unsurprising that China has continued to ban religious scriptures, American tech companies’ role in enabling religious persecution is shocking. App makers alike advocate that the decision to ban their apps must be reversed. On the other hand, tech companies rationalize that their presence in China today will harbor change in the future ensuring an American hand in structuring the China of tomorrow. Those religiously persecuted can only hope China’s slow-moving modernization will evolve to less strict regulations and allow them to read religious materials online.
Student Bio: Jennifer Pepin is currently a second-year law student at Suffolk University Law School and a staff member on the Journal of High Technology Law. Prior to law school, Jennifer received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business from the University of Southern Maine.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are the views of the author alone and do not represent the views of JHTL or Suffolk University Law School.
