Regulation

China demands WhatsApp and Threads to be pulled from App Store

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China demands WhatsApp and Threads to be pulled from App Store

Apple has complied with an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China to pull WhatsApp and Threads from the Chinese version of the App Store.

Reuters reported that other western-developed apps, including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram as well as Google’s YouTube, remained available to download. In a statement to the news agency, Apple said that it is “obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate”.

Since no direct reason was given for the order, it is likely to be viewed as a retaliatory move after the US House of Representatives passed a bill in March that would prevent TikTok’s US assets from being owned by a Chinese company – effectively forcing developer ByteDance to divest.

The bill has yet to be approved by the US Senate, but further complicating its progress is the requirement for any sale to be approved by regulators in China. The two countries are locked in a standoff over technology solutions; last week, China ordered domestic operators to remove US chips from their networks completely by 2027, echoing similar moves in the US.



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