Video game Plague Inc censored, as new internet rules kick in
The China Project illustration by Derek Zheng
Popular simulation video game Plague Inc., which lets players create and evolve a disease to wipe out humanity, was removed from Chinese app stores this week as China continues to grapple with COVID-19. A statement released by the U.K.-based game’s creator said that the game was no longer available on Apple’s App Store in China after the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the central government’s internet censor, made a decision to take it down for including “content that’s illegal” in the country.
This came just before China adopted stricter new internet control rules on March 1 (see The China Project Access — paywall). The new rules have already had their first victims, reports Radio Free Asia.
