By Raffaele Huang
SINGAPORE -- Apple removed WhatsApp and Threads from its app store in China on Friday saying it was ordered to by the government, the latest example of censorship demands as China tightens internet controls.
The iPhone maker said the company was told by China's top internet regulator to remove the apps because of national security concerns.
"We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree," an Apple spokesperson said in a statement.
Many Western social-media apps are already blocked in China. Even so, removing them from Apple's app store effectively closes a loophole in the Great Firewall, which had allowed Chinese mobile users to download censored apps and use them via a virtual private network, or VPN, a tool that would mask users' locations and connect them to the internet outside China.
The removals follow a string of moves Apple has made in its largest overseas market to comply with China's increasing censorship and tightening rules on data security. It was China's top smartphone maker last year, with more than 17% of the market, according to industry researcher International Data Corporation.
Apple faces having to remove a lot more foreign and domestic apps in China, following an edict from the government last year requiring mobile-app developers to register their apps with regulators by March this year. Unregistered apps would be taken down from app stores, Beijing said, saying it was targeting apps deemed unsafe, such as those involved in telephone scams.
Apple staff met with Chinese authorities and expressed concern over how the rules would be implemented and affect its users, the Journal reported. Then, officials told Apple that it had to strictly implement the rules.
Beijing has intensified crackdowns on its internet space, cranking up censorship and data controls, and requiring platform operators to manage online activities. In 2017, Apple came under fire for removing dozens of apps enabling Chinese internet users to circumvent the Great Firewall from the country's app store. It also took down thousands of videogame apps in 2020 after Chinese officials cracked down on gaming software without a government license.
This is a developing story with updates to come.
--Aaron Tilley contributed to this article.
Write to Raffaele Huang at raffaele.huang@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 18, 2024 21:38 ET (01:38 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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