Overseas technology companies enter a “wartime state.”
On March 14, Pacific North American Time, Apple issued a statement in its developer community that Apple will only accept “credible entities such as government organizations, non-governmental organizations concerned with public health, and authority certificates in health Companies, as well as medical or educational institutions, “release coronavirus-related applications.
Apple explained that this was done to ensure that the “source of credit” of the app is good. In addition, very strictly, Apple will not approve any entertainment and gaming applications with a corona virus-themed theme.
The most famous mobile game application with the theme of the epidemic is “Plague Company”. Players need to spread a virus throughout the world in the game, and then destroy everyone. On February 27, 2020, “Plague Company” could not be found in the App Store in mainland China and many Android app stores in Mainland China. So far, the game is still available for download in app stores in most countries around the world.
Like Facebook, Google, and Amazon, which form the “New Crown Virus Special Response Team,” Apple has also entered a “wartime state.”
In addition to controlling the categories of the listed apps and reviewing the qualifications of the app producers, Apple has also opened up a “green channel”. The announcement states that any developer who meets the criteria can mark the content they submit for review as a “Time-Sensitive Event” to expedite the review of staff.
Apple’s announcement states that “The App Store should always be a place where users can download applications safely and securely. Now, in the context of the world’s fight against coronavirus, this promise is more special than ever. Because there will be Rely on apps as a source of news, such as helping them understand the latest health innovations, knowing where to get help or who to help, etc. “
Amazon’s approach is similar to Apple’s, but it also blocks all non-authoritative corona virus content. Google filters corona virus-related search results to direct people to the World Health Organization (WHO) website and “trusted applications.”
Earlier last week, the White House made new demands on technology companies, telling them to help stop rumors about coronaviruses from spreading online. Although technology companies have been fighting rumors, hate speech and harmful information for a long time, the stringent information control methods emerging from the new crown epidemic are rare.
Currently, a total of 86,895 cases of new coronary pneumonia have been diagnosed outside China, 73,914 cases have been confirmed, 3,282 people have died, and 9,699 people have been cured.
Source of the title map: “Plague Company”