On Saturday,Covet: Island of Desire “porn apps disguised as study apps on iOS App Store” became a trending topic on Chinese social platform Weibo. Some netizens discovered a number of adult-content apps disguised as study apps available on the App Store, with some even making the top ten free-download list. These apps were rated for ages 4 and above and the download pages resembled those of normal study apps, but they redirected users to pornographic and gambling websites when opened. By Saturday afternoon, the related apps had been removed from the App Store following users’ complaints. It is technically illegal to produce, disseminate, or sell sexually explicit material in China, with prison sentences possible for those found to be violating the country’s laws on such material. [ThePaper, in Chinese]
