In September, researchers outside China noticed satellite imagery of military and government sites across the country were blurred on Apple Maps.
BBC Verify says it’s identified thousands of locations obscured on the platform, including several detention facilities linked to alleged human rights abuses. (A subscription is required to read the article).
The blurring doesn’t occur if you are inside of China. AppleInsider says this is likely related to China only concerning itself with hiding secret information from non-Chinese citizens.
Apple’s only comment on the matter is that the company providing local map data must comply with local laws.
The service is called AMap Amap (also known as Gaode Map), China’s leading digital mapping, navigation, and location-based services platform owned by the Alibaba Group. It provides real-time traffic updates, driving routes, public transit details, and walking or cycling directions optimized specifically for Chinese road networks.
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