Apple has fixed a bug that blocked searches with the word ‘Asian’

Apple's content restriction tool for adult websites has been blocking searches related to Asian culture for a year now.

Apple (AP)

Apple is finally working on a fix for its built-in web content filter on iOS and macOS that blocked searches for the word “Asian”. This error has been around for a year with reports of this issue appearing from February 2020 but Apple is only fixing it now.

Apple blocked searches for the words relating to Asian culture including “Asian market”, “Asian culture” and “stop Asian hate”. This happens when the content restriction tool is turned on. Apple's content restriction tool is actually meant to block adult websites. The searches are blocked on both Safari and Google Chrome. As for devices without the content restriction filter displayed the search results normally.

When searching for these words, the webpage reads “Restricted Site”. Users can click on “Allow Website” to have the website displayed. The Verge found that these searches are still blocked on iPadOS 14.4.1 and macOS 11.2.3 as well. More words such as “Asian food” are blocked on macOS and iOS. Whereas “Asian restaurants” are blocked on macOS but not on iOS.

It's clearly an error but seeing how this has been for a year now, and how it affects a major community is very surprising. Even more surprising is Apple taking this long to fix the issue. Apple has fixed this error in the latest iOS 14.5 beta, as reported by Mashable. iOS 14.5 is going to a big update, and it's expected to release soon.