Beijing tightens its restrictions around Apple products. At the request of the Chinese authorities, the American Apple brand has removed WhatsApp and Threads from its application store in China, the Bloomberg agency reported this Friday, citing the American group Meta, owner of the two targeted programs.
They join the list of numerous sites (Google, Youtube, etc.), applications and foreign social networks (X, Instagram, Facebook, etc.) which are inaccessible without IT tools such as virtual private networks (VPN) to circumvent blocks. .
Apple respects even if it “disagrees”
“ The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) ordered the removal of these apps due to national security concerns “, Apple said in a press release, cited by the financial information agency Bloomberg.
“ We are required to respect the laws of the countries in which we operate, even if we do not agree », Specified Apple in a press release, still according to Bloomberg. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.
WhatsApp is a popular instant messaging application, while the social network Threads is a competitor to X (formerly Twitter). Both belong to the American group Meta, which referred AFP to Apple for comment.
Asked by the press agency, neither the Chinese Internet regulator (CAC) nor the Ministry of Industry and Technology, which also supervises the Internet in China, responded immediately.
Signal and Telegram also unavailable
This Friday, WhatsApp and Threads were therefore unavailable on the Chinese version of the App Store, Apple’s virtual store where the applications are downloaded, as are the secure messaging applications Signal and Telegram. AFP did not immediately receive a response to a request for comment sent to Signal and Telegram. However, all of these applications can still be downloaded from App Stores located outside mainland China.
WhatsApp is supplanted in China by WeChat (messaging, online payment, social network, purchases and reservations). The application, present on almost all phones in the country, serves as a means of payment for hundreds of millions of Chinese every day. As for Threads, which allows you to publish text, photo and video content publicly and for your subscribers, it has had an equivalent since 2009: Weibo.
Restrictions on iPhones in the administration
This is not the first time that Beijing has imposed restrictions on Apple. China, in fact, closely monitors its media and its internet, subject to strict regulation and censorship of content that presents state policy in a bad light or is likely to create unrest.
Since November 2022, the American giant has already applied, on its iPhones sold in China, restrictions for sharing files between devices, a function potentially usable to circumvent censorship and disseminate information deemed hostile or critical of those in power. The AirDrop function of an iPhone allows you to share any type of content, including photos and videos, without limits with an Apple device located nearby. Thus, for two years, an update on the American group’s phones sold in China automatically deactivates this function after 10 minutes. This restriction greatly reduces the likelihood of unexpectedly receiving files from strangers.
In addition, last September, the American business daily Wall Street Journal had claimed that the Chinese authorities prohibited certain civil servants from using the iPhone for professional purposes, to protect themselves from the risk of espionage.
China, however, denied banning the Apple iPhone in its ministries or “ other foreign brand phones » after this press information. “ China has no laws, regulations or guidelines that prohibit the purchase or use of foreign brand phones including the iPhone », The spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, Mao Ning, told the press.
Apple products, very popular in China
Especially since Apple products, from the iPhone to the iPad, remain immensely popular in China, one of the American group’s main markets outside the United States. Apple has also taken the lead in smartphone sales on the Chinese market for the first time in 2023 despite increased competition from local players and in particular the return of Huawei, according to new data published this Friday. The American technology giant’s market share in the world’s second-largest economy stands at 19%, industrial data provider Canalys also indicated in January.
Internet controls around sensitive dates and events
In general, a tightening of restrictions is generally observed in China around sensitive dates and events. In March, Beijing had, for example, strengthened its control of the Internet and in particular access to foreign sites during the annual session of Parliament in Beijing, a service provider allowing censorship circumvention told AFP.
“ Censorship intensifies » online and certain tools to circumvent it « do not work », Said VPN provider Astrill, popular with foreigners living in China. Using a VPN or any other tool to access prohibited websites is illegal in China without official authorization.
Employees of certain state media and Chinese diplomats use VPNs to publish in particular on the social network X (formerly Twitter), blocked in China. In a speech last year, President Xi Jinping stressed the importance for China to strengthen its control and security of its internet.
(With AFP)
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