(CP) Hallow may no longer be allowed in the EU, Alex Jones, CEO and co-founder of the Christian prayer app, announced on X, due to an "over-regulation" targeting all religious apps.
"China shut us down by outright removing us from the App Store. The EU is shutting us down by over-regulation, apparently targeting any religious app, making it effectively impossible for us to operate in the EU," he wrote.
"Honestly pretty heartbreaking — was just talking with the team about building out our Polish / French / Italian / German content and teams, but if this is right will be essentially impossible."
While details surrounding the EU's decision remain unclear, some speculate that the region's strict data privacy laws could be a factor.
In 2022, the EU enacted the Digital Services Act, which went into effect in February 2023. The legislation mandates that all platforms operating within the EU disclose their user numbers publicly twice a year. Additionally, it restricts platforms from handling sensitive data — such as information indicating a user's religious or philosophical beliefs — without obtaining explicit consent.
Amid the uncertainty, some organizations have stepped forward to support the app. ADF International, a legal group focused on free speech and religious liberty, responded to Jones on X, encouraging him to "DM them with more details," adding that they "might be able to help."
Since its launch in December 2018, Hallow has been downloaded more than 22 million times across 150 countries, according to the app's website. Hallow offers guided prayers, meditations and Bible readings and has partnered with celebrities, including Mark Wahlberg, Jonathan Roumie and Gwen Stefani to further its message.
Roumie previously shared with The Christian Post how his involvement with the app helped his prayer life grow in frequency, intensity and intention.
"It's about the purity of intention behind the prayers. When you earnestly seek God, He meets you where you are," he said.
"Ask God, 'How should I pray?' Ask the questions, and He will, inevitably, if your heart is really connected to Him, and you earnestly desire to deepen your prayer life, He will answer you. And He will answer you in the most profound ways, in the most unexpected ways."
"God is not trying to hide how you can reach Him," he said. "There are a myriad of avenues to connect [with] Him. Music is a part of that. Music is a huge inroad to people's prayer life and spiritual life. [...] Everyone's got one way that speaks to them more than another route. And I think it's just a matter of trying to figure out what that is and starting with the question."
Wahlberg also opened up about his involvement with the app, telling CP: "[Prayer] has been a big part of the way I start my day for decades now. [...] It helps me get through everything, especially to remind me of what I'm trying to do on a daily basis. I'm away from home, I miss my family, so it's got to start with gratitude. And then also, the guidance and the reminder to continue to do the things that He wants me to do and the path that He wants me to take, because I'll always have a plan, and He changes that quite often."
The news of Hallow's potential banning comes as Europe continues to experience a decline in religious affiliation and an uptick in persecution.
According to data released by the U.K.'s Office for National Statistics that year, less than half of the population identifies as Christian for the first time since the country's first census in 1801.
The data showed that only 46.2% — or 27.5 million of the U.K.'s more than 67 million people — say they are Christian. In the 2011 census, 59.3% of the population — or 33.3 million people — described themselves as Christian.
Additionally, a 2024 study found that more than half of Christians in the U.K. claim to have experienced hostility and ridicule for their faith.
The study, compiled by the nonprofit Voice for Justice UK (VfJUK), claimed the country has exhibited "some of the highest levels of intolerance and discrimination against Christians in Europe," which researchers attributed to hate speech laws that have led to a prevalence of "harassment, self-censorship, direct and indirect discrimination."
Anti-Christian hate crimes in Europe also reached a total of 2,444 incidents in 2023, according to a report that compiled data from police and civil society sources across 35 European countries. The statistics include 232 personal attacks on Christians, ranging from harassment and threats to physical violence.
At least 1,230 anti-Christian hate crimes were allegedly committed by 10 of the European governments in 2023, an increase from 1,029 in 2022.
