The Internet is the prime source of people looks for any quick information. This urgency led many opportunists to take advantage of those vulnerable people and create misinformative services. Fighting against such players are technology giants like Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple. Apple is found to be rejecting apps regarding Coronavirus information in its Appstore, which are not from reliable sources.
As CNBC reported, few iOS app developers informed the news agency that their apps were rejected which are based on Coronavirus. The apps were designed to show the live statistics of confirmed cases and deaths, that are procured by reliable sources as WHO. Yet, they’re being rejected due to indirect and unofficial sources of Coronavirus.
Apple would allow apps only from health organizations and governments amidst Coronavirus breakout. Searches for keywords like Coronavirus or COVID-19 results apps from above said sources only. Besides Appstore, Google’s doing the same with its Playstore too. If not harsh, Playstore returns the message as “No results found for Coronavirus” when searched for it. It’s policies too states that it restricts any apps that “profit from a tragic event with no discernible benefit to the victims.”
Others too!
It’s not just Apple, but other online platforms too. Popular platforms like Facebook, Google, Amazon, etc are doing their best to reduce the spread of misinformation. Facebook’s running WHO ads for free and removing any conspiracy theories regarding Coronavirus. Amazon, on the other hand, is warning and pulling down products from all those sellers who claim to be killing Coronavirus.
Google, aside harshly regulating its Playstore, it’s banning ads for anti-coronavirus and listing reliable news sources from health organizations in its top results. Morgan Reed, President of App
Association said, “Right now the technology industry is working very hard to ensure the platforms are not being used to provide people with false or, even worse, dangerous information about the coronavirus.”
