Two years ago, Apple effectively curtailed a fundamental communication feature on the iPhone. This alteration was reportedly initiated at the behest of the Chinese government. However, it wasn’t long before Apple applied this change to all iPhones around the world.
By implementing this restriction, Apple appeared to support China’s censorship demands, willingly imposing limits on all iPhone users, including those in the United States and other democratic countries. While the move was controversial, it did not evoke lasting public outcry. Instead, the user autonomy and decentralized communication that characterized the platform were compromised under the pretext of safety.
This feature is known as AirDrop, which enables iPhone users to wirelessly share files, images, links, and more with nearby iPhones. AirDrop was introduced in September 2013 with iOS 7. Almost a decade later, Apple made a seemingly minor change that significantly impacted its functionality.
In November 2022, through the iOS 16.1.1 update, Apple modified how AirDrop operated in China.
Before this update, AirDrop had three receiving modes: Everyone, Contacts Only, and Receiving Off. The iOS 16.1.1 revision replaced the Everyone option with “Everyone for 10 Minutes” for users in China. This alteration eliminated the option to keep AirDrop in receiving mode continuously, enforcing the Contacts Only setting after the 10-minute window.
Apple has never publicly acknowledged that this change was made under pressure from the Chinese Communist Party.
Nonetheless, it was widely reported that AirDrop served as a crucial tool for activists distributing information amongst protesters opposing the authoritarian regime. One iPhone could initiate a file sharing session with dozens of nearby iPhones with AirDrop set to receive from anyone, a functionality that censorship couldn’t obstruct.
Quartz discussed the practical use of AirDrop in 2019:
A protest held yesterday (July 7) in Tsim Sha Tsui, one of Hong Kong’s most popular tourist districts, had a clear purpose: to inform mainland Chinese individuals about the city’s resistance to a controversial extradition bill, which had mobilized millions in multiple protests and posed the most significant challenge to the local government in decades.
However, news of the protest was heavily suppressed in mainland China, with any reference to the mass movement erased from the Chinese internet. […]
Thus, Hong Kong’s protesters turned to Apple’s AirDrop feature to relay their message to their counterparts in mainland China. […]
“Did you know? Over the past month, Hong Kong has witnessed three massive rallies, with as many as 2 million participants,” read one AirDropped poster. “Don’t wait until [freedom] is lost to regret its absence. Freedom is not given by nature; it is fought for by the people.”
“Maybe you’ve heard that Hong Kongers are consistently marching, 1 to 2 million strong, to oppose the extradition bill,” read another message. “We wish you safe travels. Experience the freedom of assembly along your journey. This space of freedom is the reason we fight.” Other AirDropped files explained the absence of “foreign forces” in Hong Kong’s protests and how China’s authoritarian regime led to the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989.
Apple argues that it must comply with governmental mandates in the regions it operates or risk losing the ability to serve customers there. That is to say, a partially censored iPhone is preferable to no iPhone at all.
This rationale may explain AirDrop’s modifications in China in 2022. Apple often opts to contest government regulations it believes it can navigate successfully. Given that China is not a democracy, it is unsurprising that Apple altered AirDrop in that market.
What is striking, however, is how Apple managed the changes to AirDrop. Following the removal of the perpetual receiving option in China, Mark Gurman from Bloomberg reported that Apple intended to implement the modification globally to help reduce spam.
Apple did not comment on the rationale for the adjustment in China but stated that the new AirDrop setting would be available worldwide in the coming year. The intention is to mitigate unwanted file sharing, the company claimed.
A few weeks later, the censored version of AirDrop in China transitioned into the standard version for all users. Two years later, this modified version of AirDrop has become commonplace.
Although this change likely stemmed from a desire to appease the CCP, Apple’s narrative that it was initiated to reduce unwanted file sharing has generally gained acceptance. This does not negate the fact that AirDrop has occasionally been used for pranks, particularly when the prompts included potentially inappropriate or misleading image previews.
Without understanding the context of the AirDrop modification, the introduction of the “Everyone for 10 Minutes” option may be perceived as granting users more control. However, it is still accurate to categorize what occurred with AirDrop as censorship. Apple didn’t merely add a new option; they entirely eliminated the ability to leave AirDrop receiving mode on. This results in fewer choices, not enhanced user control.
Apple is not obligated to maintain AirDrop’s previous functionality. Still, the company must be held accountable for compromising a tool utilized for anonymous, decentralized communication that posed issues for an authoritarian regime, then preemptively diminishing the tool’s capabilities for all users without urgent need to do so.
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