Apple has removed two Meta apps from the App Store in China at the request of the Chinese government. WhatsApp and Threads are now no longer available on the App Store, meaning people can no longer download these messaging and social apps.
Apple's action was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday night US time. According to the report, Chinese internet regulators requested Apple to remove the Threads and WhatsApp apps from the App Store in China due to national security concerns.
Apple informed 9to5Mac that they must comply with the laws of the countries in which they operate, even if they disagree. The Cyberspace Administration of China cited national security issues as the reason for removing these apps from the Chinese App Store. However, these apps are still available on the App Store in other countries.
Threads has been available in China since July last year and has been one of the top apps there. Despite China's ban on Meta services, Threads has persisted for almost a year. WhatsApp has also been available there for a long time.
However, Meta services can still be accessed through VPNs that change the user's location. iPhone users can still access these services using a VPN if the app was downloaded previously.
Apple sometimes has to remove apps from the Chinese App Store in accordance with legal demands, including VPN apps, news, and social media.
This development is interesting because Apple CEO Tim Cook recently visited China for a routine visit. Although the TikTok divestment bill did not proceed in Congress, the removal of WhatsApp and Threads may respond to concerns about national security.
WhatsApp and Threads may only be the beginning of similar app bans by China in the near future. The deadline for foreign apps not registered in China will soon take effect, and this may affect many other apps.
That's the content about the removal of WhatsApp and Threads from the App Store in China by Apple, hope it's useful.
via 9to5mac, emka.web.id
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