Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Feed Link: https://www.engadget.com/
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Title: Apple says it was ordered it to remove WhatsApp and Threads from China
App Store

Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2024 06:14:41 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/apple-says-it-was-or...

Apple users in China won't be able to find and download WhatsApp and Threads
from the App Store anymore, according to The Wall Street Journal and The New
York Times. The company said it pulled the apps from the store to comply with
orders it received from Cyberspace Administration, China's internet
regulator, "based on [its] national security concerns." It explained to the
publications that it's "obligated to follow the laws in the countries where
[it operates], even when [it disagrees]."

The Great Firewall of China blocks a lot of non-domestic apps and
technologies in the country, prompting locals to use VPN if they want to
access any of them. Meta's Facebook and Instagram are two of those
applications, but WhatsApp and Threads have been available for download until
now. The Chinese regulator's order comes shortly before the Senate is set to
vote on a bill that could lead to a TikTok ban in the US. Cyberspace
Administration's reasoning ΓÇö that the apps are a national security concern
ΓÇö even echoes American lawmakers' argument for blocking TikTok in the
country.

In the current version of the bill, ByteDance will have a year to divest
TikTok, or else the short form video-sharing platform will be banned from app
stores. The House is expected to pass the bill, which is part of a package
that also includes aid to Ukraine and Israel. President Joe Biden previously
said that he supports the package and will immediately sign the bills into
law.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/apple-says-it-was-or...
threads-from-china-app-store-061441223.html?src=rss

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