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Apple Removes WhatsApp, Threads, Telegram, and Signal from China App Store, says it complied with orders from the Chinese government (arstechnica.com)

submitted 6 months ago by ForgottenFlux@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Apple said it complied with orders from the Chinese government to remove the Meta-owned WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China. Apple also removed Telegram and Signal from China.

The New York Times similarly wrote that "a person briefed on the situation said the Chinese government had found content on WhatsApp and Threads about China's president, Xi Jinping, that was inflammatory and violated the country's cybersecurity laws. The specifics of what was in the content was unclear, the person said."

"These apps and many foreign apps are normally blocked on Chinese networks by the 'Great Firewall'—the country's extensive cybersystem of censorship—and can only be used with a virtual private network or other proxy tools," Reuters wrote.

"For years, Apple has bowed to Beijing's demands that it block an array of apps, including newspapers, VPNs, and encrypted messaging services," The New York Times noted yesterday.

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[–] capital@lemmy.world 95 points 6 months ago (2 children)

This just in - companies that want to continue doing business in country must follow country’s laws. More at 10.

[–] macrocephalic@lemmy.world 33 points 6 months ago (2 children)

If only the phone operating system allowed you to load applications from somewhere other than the official app store. Someone should make a phone that does that.

[–] simplejack@lemmy.world 5 points 6 months ago

Yes, but play that tape forward as someone living in China. Lets pretend you wanted to use Signal

you can’t download Signal’s APK directly from their site. It’s behind the great firewall
you can’t VPN to their site or services via popular local VPN services. Chinese VPNs are regulated and monitored by the state.
western VPN services get thrown behind the great firewall and or obscured from search because the government censors Baidu.

Etc etc.

There a ways to pull it off, but China does not make it easy. Android is over 80% of phone sales in China. Censoring comms on Android is the state’s priority.