Apple removes WhatsApp, Threads from App Store in China after demand by Beijing over security concerns
NY Post
Apple on Friday removed WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China after being ordered to do so by the Chinese government, which cited national security concerns — raising new worries over censorship by Beijing’s Communist regime.
Two other popular foreign messaging apps — Telegram and Signal — were also removed from the app store on Friday, according to app tracking firms Qimai and AppMagic.
The removal of the four apps suggests growing intolerance on the part of China’s central government towards at least some foreign online messaging services that fall outside of its control. It also signals less leeway for Apple in China, the tech giant’s most important market outside the US.
“The Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these apps from the China storefront based on their national security concerns,” Apple said in an emailed statement.
“We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree,” the statement said.
China’s Cyberspace Administration, the governmental regulatory arm of the Chinese government, asked Apple to remove the apps because they contain political content that includes negative sentiment toward President Xi Jinping.
