Apple has reportedly taken off over 700 apps from its App Store in China. It cited that the reason for it action was to purge apps and its creators for violating company policy, and was not due to the Chinese government exerting pressure on the brand in any way.
According to sources, the more than 700 apps that were removed had supposedly been pushing updates directly to the apps, and not through the proper channel that is the official App store. For those that don’t know, Apple treats such action as a blatant violation to both store policy and security. Of the hundred of apps taken off, popular apps in the list include Sogou – a Chinese version of Google – and online retailer Pinduodo.
Clearly, this isn’t the first time that Apple has removed apps from its digital market place. Earlier this year, the fruit company removed more than 25000 apps after the Chinese government accused it of allowing “banned” content on iOS. Of the 25000, 4000 of them were found to be gambling-related apps.
Prior to that, Apple was also coerced by the Chinese state to remove several popular VPNs. An exercise by the Chinese government to stop its citizens from circumventing the “Great Firewall of China”.
Be that as it may, China is responsible for nearly 40% of Apple’s App store revenue, so it’s little wonder why the company from Cupertino would bow down to the country’s stringent laws on online content.
(Source: Techspot via The Telegraph)
