Apple cracks down on coronavirus-related apps, cancels ‘Today at Apple’ event in Italy

Apple is cracking down on apps related to the coronavirus outbreak that aren’t from recognized institutions like governments or hospitals, according to CNBC.

A search for “coronavirus” or “COVID-19″ on Apple’s App Store reveals few apps specifically centered around the outbreak and almost no spam, the article adds. Four independent developers told CNBC that Apple rejected their apps, which would allow people to see stats about which countries have confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Some of these apps used public data from reliable sources like the World Health Organization (WHO) to create dashboards or live maps. 

CNBC surmises that Apple has been specifically evaluating coronavirus apps to prevent the spread of misinformation. It looks at both where the health data comes from and whether the developers represent organizations that users can trust to publish accurate data, like governments or health-focused organizations, according to a person familiar with the matter. 

Related to the outbreak, all “Today at Apple” sessions in Italy have been cancelled for the time being. The Apple Oriocenter retail store in the country has been closed through at least March 8.

Italy was the worst-affected country from the coronavirus outside Asia earlier Wednesday, temporarily overtaking Iran in terms of the number of deaths and infections from the virus. CNBC reports that the death toll in Italy, Europe’s worst-affected country, jumped to 79 on Tuesday from 52. As of Wednesday morning, there are 2,502 cases of the virus in Italy.