No more WhatsApp and Threads on iPhones in China: the government asks, Apple obeys

On the one hand, the American government seems intent on moving forward block of TikTok in the United Stateson the other hand, the Chinese government is asking Apple to WhatsApp and Threads removal from the App Store.

And if the first thing is still a long way to come (the vote in the Senate is expected By the end of Aprilthe ban could be triggered in October), the second is practically already done and operational.

“Risks to national security”

According to revealed by the Wall Street Journal (here), the two well-known Meta apps have already been removed from the Apple online store and therefore can no longer be downloaded on iPhones sold in China; as far as we know, the same fate also befell Signal and Telegrammessaging apps known for their attention to the confidentiality of communications.

It must be said that these apps were already usable with great difficulty in China (and also that those who have them already installed on your iPhone and iPad you will still be able to continue using them), because it was necessary to do it through a VPN; what happens now is that for those who don’t have them yet and want to download them, it was added a further complicationrelating to the simple fact of finding them.

Instead, and quite surprisingly, they remain still available in China other very popular and similar apps and always of Western origin, such as (for example) Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, YouTube and Twitter.

Apple confirmed what happened, with a terse and lapidary comment: “La Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these apps from the China Store based on national security concerns. We are obliged to follow the laws of the countries in which we operate, even when we disagree”.

@capoema

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