Discussion

• @lolesports @lolesports on x

  A message from John Needham, Global Head of League of Legends Esports pic.twitter.com/5Au9rE7T86

• @charlesmok @charlesmok on x

  There is something called global human rights standards, if you are not aware. Freedom of speech cannot be curtailed by strong-arm politics from big and powerful nations. I am sure you are thinking about a lot of dollar signs but that does not make it right. https://twitter.com/.…

• @robbiegramer Robbie Gramer on x

  League of Legends has an active user base of over 110 million players. Hearthstone by Blizzard has almost the same number. And if there's one thing the gaming community doesn't like, it's being told what not to do or not talk about... https://twitter.com/...

• @terrajobst Immo Landwerth on x

  “There is a consequence for taking the conversation away from the purpose of the event and disrupting or derailing the broadcast.” You call your game esports but you clearly haven't paid attention to speeches given by athletes. https://twitter.com/...

• @caseynewton Casey Newton on x

  Blizzard probably spent $100,000 on crisis PR to write this statement and it's still only going to make things worse https://news.blizzard.com/...

• @bratterz Chris Bratt on x

  Blizzard frantically spinning the orc statue outside the main entrance, hoping it'll land on a company value that can explain away this mess: https://news.blizzard.com/...

• @saffronolive Saffron Olive on x

  Blizzard with the classic 5pm on a Friday announcement. https://news.blizzard.com/...

• @gossithedog @gossithedog on x

  Blizzard have reached that stage in incident response where there's 7 PR people and 3 legal people in every meeting arguing about wording, and nobody is addressing the issue. https://twitter.com/...

• @mcharsky Miranda Charsky on x

  You failed. And you failed again. Punishing on-air talent for what was 100% a lack of training is a PAB move. What is happening isn't a divisive political view, it is a drag out fight for democracy and freedom. It impacts the fabric of their lives and yes, even their gaming. http…

• @tha_rami Rami Ismail on x

  There's dropping the ball in handling PR, and then there's dropping the ball hard enough that it passes through the planets' core and through and off into space so far that alien species find it in half a million years & go ‘wtf is this terrible statement’ https://news.blizzard.c…

• @soledadobrien Soledad O'Brien on x

  It's too long to read this mess from @Blizzard_Ent but here's the short version: “Our stated corporate values “Think Globally; Lead Responsibly; and importantly, Every Voice Matters” are complete and utter bullsh*t.” There, I saved you all some time. https://twitter.com/...

• @chillmage @chillmage on x

  every voice matters... unless that voice dares say anything that might upset the communist party of china! pic.twitter.com/TlJ64W4XYf

• @stevenle08 Steven Le on x

  blizzard needs a better pr department. took way too long to issue a statement, and is so poorly worded it feels like a high schooler wrote it. https://news.blizzard.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @swiftonsecurity @swiftonsecurity on x

  Are you sure you didn't post a draft because there's no way you spent a week writing and ended up with this.

• @sidalpha @sidalpha on x

  Blizzard's statement, released late on a Friday which is deliberate within a news cycle. Directly contradicts their apology to china, and still will likely force the casters and Blitzchung to seek either different employment or supplementary employment. https://news.blizzard.com/…

• @azrhi_twitch Azrhi on x

  #Blizzard just put out a statement at https://news.blizzard.com/... The statement itself is lacking, they purport to hold the values by which the public is stringing them by the neck, but it's clear they don't in their refusal to drop all punishments. “Every voice matters” indee…

• @rob_keyes Rob Keyes on x

  Blizzard, failing: https://news.blizzard.com/...

• @chrismohney Chris Mohney on x

  a magisterial work of patronizing shit-eating hypocrisy, congrats to the Blizzard team for making Facebook look like a wizard of emotional intelligence by comparison https://news.blizzard.com/...

• @drewbug01 Andrew Hayworth on x

  This is a shitty, shitty response. One reason employees need to force corporations to take ethical stances is that otherwise, someone with more money will. https://news.blizzard.com/...

• @lewiep Lewie Procter on x

  Yeah this misses the mark on several levels https://news.blizzard.com/...

• @dhindes @dhindes on x

  All of PR's greatest hits as a craft are somehow here: backtracking WHILE doubling down, and releasing the statement at 5pm Friday US-time. https://news.blizzard.com/...

• @kameronhurley Kameron Hurley on x

  You know how many people must have cancelled their accounts to make this happen? https://twitter.com/...

• @amandafarough @amandafarough on x

  This statement is absolutely galling. Business in China had nothing to do with this? Sure. Okay. Show me the list of banned Overwatch League players for making homophobic and racist comments ON AIR?! https://news.blizzard.com/...

• @dellcam Dead Cameron on x

  Interesting: Gamers pissed that Blizzard punished a Hearthstone player for his ‘liberate Hong Kong’ remark are punishing Blizzard back by trying to get one of its products banned in China, turning a video game character into a pro-Democracy meme. https://www.polygon.com/...

• @bethanyallenebr B. Allen-Ebrahimian on x

  This is a fascinating turn of events. A new weapon in the arsenal of those trying to push back against Chinese censorship of companies? Trying to associate company products with CCP red lines so that they get blocked https://twitter.com/...

• @jamiepastore9 Jamie Pastore on x

  Interesting twist: trying to make an Overwatch character associated with the Hong Kong protests through memes https://www.polygon.com/...

• @thegrugq Thaddeus E. Grugq on x

  This pure information warfare attack surface is brilliant. Blizzard punished a player for being pro Hong Kong. Players are attempting to get Blizzard games banned by Chinese censors. Winnie the Pooh is already censored due to memes about Xi, so this isn't too unrealistic a goal. …

• Vox Peter Kafka on x

  Apple cracked China when Facebook and Google couldn't. Now that's a problem for Apple.

• @juddapatow Judd Apatow on x

  Apple Told Some Apple TV+ Show Developers Not To Anger China- hey and don't mention that Turkey is bad. We sell a lot of watches there. And don't mention Saudi Arabia murdering journalists- they love the iMac and don't mention Russia—big iPad market. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/…

• @markdistef Mark Di Stefano on x

  Such a significant story — How Apple's new TV streaming service told developers not to piss off China. ‘We thought trade would bring Western values to China. Instead, it brought Chinese values to Apple.’ https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...

• @numbersmuncher Josh Jordan on x

  South Park's portrayal of how content is made specifically to not offend China was spot on - it's insane how many companies are working on behalf of the Chinese government to silence voices here in America. https://twitter.com/...

• @lrvick Lance R. Vick on x

  Apple blocked multiple apps, handed over encryption keys, blocked the Taiwan flag emoji, and is now censoring anyone from saying anything bad about China on their TV network. Apple is now an arm of the Chinese government. Giving this company money is funding human rights abuse. h…

• @humarisaac @humarisaac on x

  Oh for fuck sake @Apple. I personally watched Apple Books Store had its glorious opening in China and got kicked out in less than a year. There's no way you can lick hard enough to make your shows land on China market. Cc @netflix https://twitter.com/...

• @edbott Ed Bott on x

  “Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers — the round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently."* * Offer void where prohibited. https://twitter.com/...

• @tomwarren Tom Warren on x

  Apple should just get back to being innovative in hardware and software again, instead of chasing services revenue that leads them into this Hollywood-style mess. It'll all end in tears. https://twitter.com/...

• @panzer Matthew Panzarino on x

  It's literally the Hollywood playbook. Every studio does the same. Movies are edited to appeal and not offend China. The culture clash is one of optics and interests. https://twitter.com/...

• @carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x

  As bad as this makes Apple look, this is par for the course in Hollywood. Remember that both #IronMan3 and #TransformersAgeOfExtinction went as far as having scenes in set in China with no real relevance to the plot. Real question is why tech companies would want this drama? http…

• @reckless Nilay Patel on x

  Apple, new to the media business, now has to quickly navigate a conflict of interest scandal at worldwide scale

• @reckless Nilay Patel on x

  This is an explosive allegation for Apple's move into news and entertainment https://twitter.com/...

• @notpatrick Patrick Beja on x

  This week's confluence of events is making us realize that our involvement with China isn't just a deal to change our behavior in China, but at home as well. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...

• @fabiochiusi Fabio Chiusi on x

  “an ironic inversion of a longstanding argument in the West that by bringing China into the world trade system, the country would adopt western values. Instead, China is asking tech companies to adopt its values — and Apple is willing to pay that price” https://www.buzzfeed.com/.…

• @mrbcyber Michael Ron Bowling on x

  Some thought trade would bring Western values to China. Instead, it brought Chinese Communist Party values to Apple & a lot of other companies https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ... via @kantrowitz

• @rmac18 Ryan Mac on x

  I imagine a world in which Apple didn't do this and Gwenyth and Gary Vee just had a competition to say the most offensive thing about Xi on Planet of the Apps

• @reckless Nilay Patel on x

  Apple's “lovable dads you can trust” executive image is quickly dissolving https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...

• @marcoarment Marco Arment on x

  Just as Apple wants no supplier or developer to have too much power over them, they shouldn't want any foreign government — especially THIS one — to have the level of control that China has over them. It's going to be hard. It's going to be expensive. But get out of China.

• @jackmurphylive Jack Murphy on x

  Apple removes Hong Kong crowdsourcing app from it's store. They say it's unsafe to tell people where the police are. By this logic, Apple should remove the WAZE app as well. The police location crowdsource feature is one of it's best benefits. https://www.theverge.com/...

• @ravi_hiranand Ravi Hiranand on x

  This map is incredibly useful. I use it every weekend — not to smash things, not to attack the police, but simply to get around Hong Kong without running into a road filled with tear gas or blocked by protesters. https://twitter.com/...

• @pinboard @pinboard on x

  @hkmaplive So the Hong Kong police spokesman today contradicted Tim Cook's account. Cook also said the app is “in violation of Hong Kong law” Neither Cook nor anyone speaking for the Hong Kong government has been able to point to a law that this app contravenes, because no such l…

• @pinboard @pinboard on x

  @hkmaplive The police in today's briefing used hypothetical language because every observer of Hong Kong protests knows such ambushes have not happened. Tim Cook, in his internal memo to Apple employees, changed this to make it sound as if these attacks on police had already happ…

• @comparativist Dr. Trey on x

  This one angers me more than HKmaps ban. You can make edge case arguments about live maps and assisting illegality, but this was just a damn text-based RPG game some kids designed on @lihkg_forum to put people in the shoes of a Hong Kong protester. WTF, @Google https://twitter.co…

• @charlesmok @charlesmok on x

  Tim Cook defends Apple's removal of Hong Kong mapping app //Charles Mok, HK legislative council member, wrote to Cook saying he was “deeply disappointed with Apple's decision to ban the app, and would like to contest the claims made by HK police force.// https://www.theguardian.c…

• @neilcybart Neil Cybart on x

  Here's Tim Cook on why Apple removed the HKMap. live app from the App Store in Hong Kong. It's a strong statement. Cook claims the facts point to the app being used to “target individual officers for violence” and “victimize individuals and property...” https://www.bloomberg.com/…

• @terencechantl Terence Chan on x

  The defence @tim_cook made is weak, as we HKers have been subjected to police violence for months now. You cannot trust the Hong Kong police. You cannot trust the Hong Kong government. There is no substantial evidence to support the claims that this app violated laws in HK. https…

• @aaschapiro Avi Asher-Schapiro on x

  Apple has decided to remove the news website Quartz from the Chinese App Store. Quartz says its retaliation for its “ongoing coverage of the Hong Kong protests.” This is not new territory for Apple—they did the same thing to the New York Times in 2017. https://www.theverge.com/..…