In a surprising move, Apple has agreed to remove several widely used communication platforms from its app store in China, following a request from the Chinese government. The government cited national security concerns as the reason for the removal of these apps. Although Apple did not specify which apps were removed, analytics company Appfigures identified WhatsApp, Threads, Signal and Telegram as some of the apps no longer available in the app store.
Meta, the owner of WhatsApp and Threads, redirected inquiries to Apple. These apps are popular for exchanging information and sharing documents on a large scale, making them valuable to political dissidents worldwide. In China, where political expression is tightly regulated and opposition to the ruling Chinese Communist Party is prohibited, users are limited in their access to these apps. While the Chinese government firewall already blocks access to the WhatsApp network, users previously could still access them through virtual private networks. Now, with the removal of these apps from the app store, they will no longer be available for download.
This move by Apple comes at a time of escalating tensions between the United States and China regarding consumer technology. The US Senate is currently considering a bill that targets TikTok, a popular social media app owned by a Chinese parent company that could result in a sale or ban. As