An app developed by Chinese cyber-activists and Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) that offered readers an uncensored version of China’s most popular social media network has been removed by Apple.

The app, called FreeWeibo attempted to provide people access to censored messages on Weibo and to find out what the Chinese are really discussing online.

Charlie Smith, co-founder of FreeWeibo.com, a collective of activists against internet censorship, told RNW: “This is very, very frustrating. We felt quite good about getting around the Chinese censors, so when Apple pulled it, we found it the worst kind of censorship, because there’s not much we can do to counteract it.”

When RNW’s editor-in-chief William Valkenburg asked them to clarify, Apple’s App Review board stated that they had received a request from Chinese authorities to remove the app because it goes against local laws, and that they consider this a matter between the Chinese authorities and RNW.

Without dwelling on the loss of their app, FreeWeibo has already launched a special mirror site of FreeWeibo.com that is freely accessible to internet users in China.

The group is also developing an Android app.

“This is definitely not the end of the story,” said Charlie Smith.