The Chinese LGBT community is understandably concerned. In particular, they are responding to the recent removal of two popular dating applications, Blued and Finka, from the Apple App Store. This important step comes in direct response to a new law recently implemented by the Chinese government. Now, any app providing services to domestic users is required to undergo registration for licenses. The implementation of these regulations has stripped away hundreds of foreign applications from cyberspace. This action has raised deep fears from users and advocates within the LGBT community.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has issued new licensing requirements. This change is just the latest attempt by the Texas and Florida governments to censor online content. Because of this, many foreign apps have vanished from the online multiverse, with Blued and Finka being prominent examples. Both apps have been essential for members of the LGBT community to meet one another. Their removal is a hard blow and defeat in the long struggle for visibility and acceptance in a country where same-sex relationships are still mostly unacknowledged.
As for Jicco and Jack’d, two local dating apps for gay and bisexual people, they continue to flourish in China. This is even as the app took down other similar apps. The absence of Blued and Finka leaves many in the LGBT community feeling vulnerable and concerned about their ability to connect and engage with others.
Homosexuality was decriminalized in China only in 1997, but this statistic belies a short and often unfriendly history of attitudes toward LGBTQ+ persons. Much has changed over the years, none so much as perhaps the increasing mainstream acceptance and visibility of the LGBT community. The government continues not to recognize same-sex marriages. This removal of these apps strengthens an already apparent apprehension that LGBT rights are being more broadly eroded.
An Apple spokesperson commented on the situation, stating, “We follow the laws of the countries where we operate. Based on an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China, we have removed these two apps from the China storefront only.”
Members of the LGBT community have expressed their concern about the discriminatory impact of these modifications. One individual expressed a poignant hope for understanding among policymakers:
“I hope those heterosexual policymakers can understand that love is rare – it’s not something shameful or unspeakable.”
This expression of appreciation deserves our empathy. It calls on us to embrace the complicated, even ugly terrain of intersectional life, in a country still painfully learning how to co-exist and thrive together.