What just happened? Apple has once again kowtowed to the Chinese government by removing Meta’s WhatsApp and Threads apps from the mainland China App Store. Apple said it was ordered to do so at the request of the Cyberspace Administration of China, which claimed the demand was related to national security concerns. Telegram and Signal were also deleted from the store.
The four apps are some of the many Western services and products already blocked by China’s Great Firewall, but users can bypass these restrictions using VPNs. Reuters writes that other Meta apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, were still available on the App Store in China, as were other Western apps such as YouTube and X.
Apple said in a statement, “We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree.”
China’s Communist Party has long kept a tight rein on what the population sees and does on the internet. The government monitors communications and censors sensitive topics such as the Tiananmen Square protests on social media.
Although iPhone sales fell in China by around a quarter during the first six weeks of 2024, the country remains a large and important market for the Cupertino firm. CEO Tim Cook praised China in March 2023, calling its relationship with Apple “symbiotic.” As tensions between Beijing and the US kept on rising, Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang told Cook in October that the country remained committed to its relationship with Apple.
Washington hasn’t eased the pressure on China this year, adding more export restrictions on certain US-made chips – the use of Intel’s Meteor Lake CPUs in Huawei’s recent MateBook X Pro drew plenty of criticism from Republican lawmakers. There’s also the potential of a TikTok ban that appears more likely every day. But despite the animosity between the two nations, Cook emphasized Apple’s commitment to China in March and his own personal feelings toward the country.
“I love China, I love being here, I love the people and the culture. Every time I come here, I am reminded that anything is possible here,” Cook said.
A report from 2021 claimed that Cook signed a secret five-year deal in 2016 worth $275 billion with Chinese officials that would see Apple invest in the country’s economic and technological development. In exchange, Apple’s operations and services wouldn’t face the same extensive regulatory scrutiny Chinese agencies often heap on foreign companies.
