Technology

Apple is cracking down on illegal content in China after it removed potentially thousands of apps related to gambling.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. phone-maker purged as many as 25,000 apps — thata figure that was first cited by state-owned broadcaster CCTV [link in Chinese]. Apple didn&t comment on the number of apps removed, but it did confirm that it took action.

&Gambling apps are illegal and not allowed on the App Store in China. We have already removed many apps and developers for trying to distribute illegal gambling apps on our App Store, and we are vigilant in our efforts to find these and stop them from being on the App Store,& a spokesperson told TechCrunch.

Apple offers over 1.5 million apps in China. Greater China — which includes China, Hong Kong and Taiwan — is Applethird largest region based on business, grossing $9.6 billion in the most recent quarter. Thataround 18 percent of its total revenue.

The removals come weeks after a number of state-media reportedcriticism of Apple for failing to prevent issues such a spam, gambling, pornography and more concerning its business in Asia.

That criticism has been linked to the ongoing trade war between China and the U.S. — a spat that cost Qualcommits $44 billion acquisition of NXP — but that may be wide of the mark. Apple is not alone in being rebuked by Beijing for content deemed unsuitable, a number of Chinaup-and-coming startups have also had their wings clipped.

Earlier this year, ambitious new media firm ByteDance — which operates news and video apps andis currentlytalking to investors to raise $2.5-$3.5 billion —was ordered to shutter a parody app it operated in China. Additionally,four news and content apps were suspended from the App Store and Google Play for offending authorities. ByteDance responded by doubling its content moderation team and developing stronger systems for checking content.

&Content had appeared that did not accord with core socialist values and was not a good guide for public opinion. Over the past few years, we put more effort and resources toward expanding the business, and did not take enough measures to supervise our platform,& founder and CEOZhang Yiming said in a statement that seemed designed to appease internet regulators.

Apple has, of course, taken criticism for kowtowing to Beijing by removing more than 50 VPN apps, which can be used to circumvent Chinainternet censorship system, from the App Store. CEO Tim Cook has expressed his belief that the apps — and others removed by Apple in order to comply with Chinese law — will return, but it is difficult to envisage a scenario in which that happens.

Walmart announced over the weekend that it has completed a $16 billion investment in Flipkart that sees it become the majority owner of the Indian e-commerce company.

The deal was first revealed back in May and now it has closed after receiving the necessary approvals. Itsees Walmart take a 77 percent share in the company, buying out a number of prior investors in the process and expanding its rivalry with Amazon to a new horizon. The investment capital also includes $2 billion in new equity funding which will be used for growth while the transaction was structured so that Flipkart itself can still go public. That latter point could mean that the Indian firm must go public within four years, as TechCrunch previously reported.

Flipkart will continue to be run by its leadership with Tencent and Tiger Global retaining board seats. Those two have remained investors in the business, alongside others that include Flipkart co-founderBinny Bansal and Microsoft. Walmart previously suggested that other allies would come aboard as investors. Google was strongly mooted, but so far there have been no strategic additions.

Walmart said that its plans for India will include investments that &support national initiatives and will bring sustainable benefits in jobs creation, supporting small businesses, supporting farmers and supply chain development and reducing food waste.&

As we previously reported, it also plans to use Flipkart as a &key center of learning& for the rest of its business across the world, and that includes its home market.

&Not only is [Flipkart] innovative [with the] problem-solving culture that they have, but they are doing some great work both in the AI space, how they are using data across their platforms but particularly in terms of the payment platform that they&ve created through PhonePe. All of those things we can learn from for the future and see how we can leverage those around the international markets and potentially into the US as well,& Walmart COO Judith McKenna said back in May when the deal was announced.

Flipkartbusiness could alsoget a whole lot more transparent since its quarterly results will be reported as part of Walmartearnings. Although they will be part of its international business so that might provide some protection from direct scrutiny.

Begnadigung. ThatGerman for reprieve… well, close enough for us. And thatwhat we&re giving all the lollygaggers, procrastinators and last-minute decision-makers. We extended the deadline to apply for Startup Battlefield at Disrupt Berlin 2018on November 29-30.Yup, you now have until August 27 at 9 p.m. PST to submit your application. But why wait any longer —apply right here, today.

If you&re an early-stage startup founder with dreams of building a company to rival the likes of Dropbox, Mint or Yammer, then our premier startup pitch competition was designed for you. We should know because the founders of those companies — and more than 750 others — launched to fame and fortune from the Startup Battlefield stage and have gone on to collectively raise $8 billion dollars and generate 102 exits.

Herewhat you need to know about competing in Startup Battlefield at Disrupt Berlin 2018.

First, TechCrunch editors, who clearly have a flair for identifying high-potential startups, review every application. Our acceptance rate is typically 3 percent, making this event highly curated and competitive. We&ll choose up to 15 startups to participate.

Startup Battlefield takes place in front of a live audience — thousands of people, including investors, journalists and influential technologists. Each team gets just six minutes to present a live demo to an expert panel of investors and entrepreneurs. Following each pitch, the judges get six minutes to put each team through an intensiveQ- A.

Approximately five teams move to the semi-finals and endure another round of pitching and inquisition. And then only one team will emerge victorious, hoist the Disrupt Cup and take home the $50,000 equity-free cash prize.

If that sounds nerve-wracking, well, it is. But the good news is that TechCrunch editors provide all team founders with free pitch coaching before they ever step onstage. You&ll be ready to handle anything the judges throw your way.

And win or lose, all Startup Battlefield teams benefit from broad investor and media exposure.Plus, we live-stream the entire Startup Battlefield competition to a global audience on TechCrunch.com, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter (and make it available later, on-demand).

This is a prime opportunity to place your early-stage startup in front of Europetop tech investors, and you&ll never know if you have what it takes to win it all if you don&t apply.

Startup Battlefield takes place at Disrupt Berlin 2018 on November 29-30. The new application deadline is August 27 at 9 p.m. PST. Take advantage of your begnadigung and apply right now.