“Great Chinese Firewall”
Apple has to delete WhatsApp from the App Store in China
April 19, 2024, 7:54 a.m
So far, the meta products Whatsapp and Threads can only be used in China via VPN. But now they are also being removed from the country’s app store. Local authorities are citing alleged national security concerns.
The Chinese government has had Apple remove the chat application Whatsapp from the App Store in China. Apple emphasized that you are forced to follow the laws of the countries in which you are active. The app Threads from the Facebook Group, which competes with Elon Musk’s Twitter successor X, was also removed from the download platform. When issuing the order, the Chinese Internet regulatory authority referred to concerns about national security, the iPhone company told the Wall Street Journal, among others.
In any case, WhatsApp and Threads can only be used in China via VPN services that redirect data traffic so that it appears to come from another country. Western communication apps are blocked in the country itself. However, some of them, such as Whatsapp, have so far been able to at least be downloaded to the devices from the App Store. If they are removed, a loophole will be closed in the so-called “Great Chinese Firewall”, with which the government in Beijing controls access to information on the Internet.
The relationship between the USA and China is currently tense – also when it comes to apps. A law is on the way in the US Congress that would force a change of ownership of the popular video app Tiktok. The parent company Bytedance is viewed in the USA as a Chinese company with headquarters in Beijing. Tiktok rejects this – and points to a majority share of international investors. At the same time, the Chinese government was outraged by the political pressure for a change of ownership. The corresponding US law passed the House of Representatives and is now in the Senate as the second chamber of Congress, where it could also be adopted soon.