Apple Removes VPNs due to illegal content

[Len]

Apple starts to ban any VPN apps from its App Store in China. The company stated that these apps contain illegal content in the country. Thus, they violate its policies. VPN providers are not happy about the censorship efforts.

For several years, Apple rejected dozens of apps from its App Store. It’s known to follow rigorous policies in reviewing apps. For example, if your app mentions a word associated with piracy, don’t expect the company to approve it.

The Chinese government prevents its users from accessing some sites and services. It implements a Great Firewall. However, VPN services can bypass it. Other encryption tools can also work around the wall.

For Chinese authorities, these tools and services are a pain. And Apple is helping them by limiting their availability.

Apple started to remove most-used VPN apps from its Chinese App Store. VPN providers received an email stating that their apps are illegal in China, thereby, not in compliance with the review guidelines.

Of course, VPN providers and users complained about its action. But the effort from Apple isn’t a complete surprise. The Chinese government cracks down non-authorized VPN vendors in the past few months.

In January, for example, the Chinese government launched a more than a year campaign to crack down local unauthorized Internet platforms. That said, if VPN providers wanted to continue their services in China, they have to seek approval from the government.

This month, Bloomberg reported that the said government ordered telecom carriers to block their users from accessing VPNs. Although the government denied it, it’s obvious that these services are one of the primary targets.

Because of Apple’s action, VPN users can no longer access sites banned by the Chinese government. They can still search VPN apps and see results. 
However, most of these apps are fake.

It’s not the first time that the company removed apps because the Chinese government requested it. But it’s a reminder that the tech giant is beholden to Beijing.

The deletion signals that China wants to control the Internet in its country. The Great Firewall is using technology to disrupt VPNs. It also aimed to launch a cyber attack on foreign sites with codes that can circumvent the filters.

But this effort is also a signal that China can use its influence with big tech platform to fight against software makers. Internet crackdowns peak every five years. But these efforts indicate that stricter controls of things related to the Internet will persist.

The country also partially blocked the messaging app, WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook.

China is the largest market for Apple outside the US. That makes the company more vulnerable than other American technology firms to a Chinese campaign.

Apple made several moves to assure the government that it’s on its side. Last year, it agreed to remove the news app, The New York Times, from its China app store.

Then, this month, Apple announced that it’s going to open its first data center in China. The reason for this is to adhere to the country’s new law that requires foreign companies to store their data in the said country.