Apple Silences WhatsApp and Threads in China: A Closer Look at Apple’s Compliance with Chinese Law

Apple has removed WhatsApp and Threads from its application store in China following a request from the authorities. The Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these applications for national security reasons, according to Apple. Despite this, users in China still face restrictions on accessing foreign websites, applications, and social networks without tools like VPNs.

While Apple, the CAC, and the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Technology have not responded to requests for comment, apps like Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Threads were not available in the Chinese version of the App Store on Friday. However, these apps remain downloadable from App Stores outside of mainland China.

Despite the absence of WhatsApp in China, WeChat remains a popular messaging app that offers other features such as online payments. Threads faces competition from Weibo, which has been around since 2009 for posting content.

Apple products are popular in China where the company refrains from taking positions on sensitive issues or offending Chinese authorities. In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook has had meetings with senior Chinese officials in the past.

In addition to the removal of WhatsApp and Threads from the App Store in China, recent content provided after the initial article covers various topics such as robotics, virtuality, financial responsibility, online gambling and more. The content covers a wide range of topics that may be of interest to readers.

Overall it is clear that Apple is complying with Chinese laws despite not necessarily agreeing with them and users must continue to find alternative means to access restricted content.