Apple has removed Meta’s WhatsApp and Threads, as well as Telegram and Signal from the Chinese App Store.
Citing national security concerns, the company was ordered to do so by the Cyberspace Administration of China, Apple told Reuters. report Posted on Friday (April 19th).
“We are obligated to abide by the laws of the countries in which we operate, even if we disagree with them,” the technology company told the media.
Other meta-apps such as Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger will also continue to be available for download on China’s App Store, according to the report. You can also use many popular apps from other companies, such as YouTube and X.
The four apps removed from stores on Friday remain available in China’s two special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau, the report said.
Even before this measure, these and many other foreign apps were blocked on Chinese networks by China’s “Great Firewall” and could only be used with proxy tools, the report said.
In December, it was reported that China was expanding its reach. Ban Regarding the use of Apple’s iPhones by government employees, a growing number of government agencies and state-owned companies are instructing employees to stop bringing iPhones and other foreign-made devices to work.
The ban plan was first reported in September, followed weeks later by news that China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had issued new rules that could prevent Apple from offering many foreign apps on the country’s App Store. flowed.
Them new rules Only apps from government-registered app operators can be offered on the App Store.
Reports at the time said the rule was not specifically aimed at Apple, but was part of China’s ongoing efforts to tighten data security regulations. They aimed to close a loophole in the Great Firewall that allowed iPhone users in China to download popular Western social media apps via virtual private networks (VPNs).
At the time, these social media apps had been downloaded more than 170 million times over the past decade.
Mobile in September app store Operated by companies such as tencent and xiaomi It also began blocking app publishers from debuting new apps if they haven’t disclosed proper information to authorities.
