WhatsApp and Threads, both owned by Meta, have been taken down by Apple from its App Store in China following a directive from the country’s top internet watchdog, as reported by Bloomberg on Friday, with Apple confirming the move.
China engages in some of the most extensive internet control globally, resulting in users in mainland China being unable to access services from giants like Google as well as many foreign apps without resorting to a virtual private network (VPN).
“Even when in disagreement, we are bound to adhere to the regulations in the nations we serve,” commented Apple, as per Bloomberg’s report.
Apple stated, “The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) deemed these apps a national security concern, thereby instructing their removal from the China store,” referring to China’s internet regulation entity.
The apps still remain downloadable from all other stores they are listed on.
When contacted, Meta directed AFP to Apple, who had not responded to requests for comment at that time.
Neither the CAC nor the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, another major Chinese internet regulatory body, had provided immediate responses.
Apple views China as a crucial market, having surpassed all others in the smartphone market last year.
However, matters of censorship and national security have persistently confronted the operations of the US-based company in China, against the backdrop of the intense technological rivalry between Beijing and Washington.
In January, China announced its success in breaking Apple’s encrypted AirDrop service, a tool that played a significant role in aiding communication among protesters during the major pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong back in 2019.
State-backed experts revealed a method to unveil an iPhone’s encrypted device log in January, enabling them to identify an AirDrop user’s phone number and email accounts.
Multiple popular global platforms such as Google, Facebook, X, WhatsApp, and TikTok are inaccessible in mainland China.
Nevertheless, tech-savvy iPhone users in China have managed to access banned platforms by downloading them from Apple’s app store and subsequently utilizing VPN services to bypass the restrictions.
The exclusion of WhatsApp and Threads from the Chinese app store will significantly hinder new iPhone users in accessing the applications.
These developments unfolded a day prior to a scheduled vote in the US House of Representatives to mandate the separation of the immensely popular video-sharing app TikTok from its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
In recent years, US authorities have expressed apprehensions regarding potential national security and privacy risks linked to TikTok, despite reassurances from the company asserting no threats to the American populace.
Beijing has routinely criticized US constraints on Chinese tech, alleging they are merely a facade to restrain the economic ascension of the nation.
AFP