Tech giant Apple has complied with a Chinese government order to remove a popular messaging app from its app store in the country, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
Apple has removed messaging platforms WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram and social media app Threads from China’s App Store following orders from the Cyberspace Administration of China, which cited national security concerns as the reason for the restrictions. according to In WSJ. China’s order comes after a heated debate among U.S. lawmakers over whether to place restrictions on TikTok, an app linked to the Chinese Communist Party and some parties selling the app to companies outside China. Or, they are calling for it to be banned in the United States. (Related: Stop the Steal? Biden Pledges to Block Foreign Takeovers of Iconic American Companies)
An Apple spokesperson told the Journal: “Even when we disagree, we are obligated to abide by the laws of the countries in which we operate.”
According to the WSJ, the removed apps had a combined 3 billion users worldwide and were previously used within China via virtual private networks that disguised users’ locations to circumvent China’s censorship firewall. It was only possible to access it. Last year, China issued a law requiring apps to register with the government by March or be removed.
clock:@RepLaTurner Asked @PLMatis If U.S. subsidiaries of Chinese companies like Cnano USA could “completely divorce”
“No company I know has such a close relationship with the party-state and its objectives that it can be considered separate.” – Mattis pic.twitter.com/J6P1NUbXT3
— Philip Lenczycki Cai Yue (@LenczyckiPhilip) April 17, 2024
Apple aims to maintain a strong relationship with the Chinese government, and CEO Tim Cook visited China last year to praise the two countries’ history of cooperation. At its annual meeting in February, Apple shareholders rejected a proposal that would have required an internal investigation into whether the company followed its human rights policy positions in its cooperation with China.
In 2017, Apple removed the New York Times News app from its Chinese store, which the country claimed violated local regulations. In 2012, the Chinese government blocked the NYT website after a report appeared detailing former Premier Wen Jiabao’s wealth.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation. The meta is up to Apple.
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