38 years ago, Apple vowed to fight 1984’s big government; it’s embraced it, instead

Apple hobbled a crucial tool of dissent in China weeks before widespread protests broke out

AirDrop, the file-sharing feature on iPhones and other Apple devices, has helped protestors in many authoritarian countries evade censorship. That’s because AirDrop relies on direct connections between phones, forming a local network of devices that don’t need the internet to communicate. People can opt into receiving AirDrops from anyone else with an iPhone nearby.

That changed on Nov. 9, when Apple released a new version of its mobile operating system, iOS 16.1.1, to customers worldwide. Rather than listing new features, as it often does, the company simply said, “This update includes bug fixes and security updates and is recommended for all users.”

Hidden in the update was a change that only applies to iPhones sold in mainland China: AirDrop can only be set to receive messages from everyone for 10 minutes, before switching off. There’s no longer a way to keep the “everyone” setting on permanently on Chinese iPhones. The change, first noticed by Chinese readers of 9to5Mac, doesn’t apply anywhere else.

AirDrop has been an effective communication tool for protestors in Hong Kong, as Quartz previously documented. It’s been used to communicate with other protestors, reach passersby, and spread messages to tourists from mainland China visiting Hong Kong. On the mainland, protestors have also AirDropped protest literature, particularly on college campuses where some of the current protests have broken out. China’s control of the internet has become so strong that dissidents must cling to any crack in the so-called Great Firewall.

Apple has a long history of kowtowing to its Chinese masters, and it continues. It’s required app developers to block covid-origin searches

In 2019, Apple removed an app that Hong Kong protesters used to track where police were headed next to crack protesters’ skulls.

Apple doesn’t just work for its Chinese masters, it’s joined with repressive regimes across the globe, including here in the US, where it has pulled all its advertising from Twitter and threatened to bar the Twitter app from Apple’s app store; Twitter has never been allowed to operate in China, so these attacks are being done for a different emperor, but with the same goal: suppressing free speech and freedom.

For younger readers, or for those who were into their 16th beer by the time this aired, here’s the 1984 Super Bowl ad: