Apple removed WhatsApp and Thread app from App Store, Chinese government gave order
China: In August, Meta made changes in the policy regarding WhatsApp and Thread, after which the government said that the company would have to change its policy, otherwise the apps would be banned.
Apple has taken Threads and WhatsApp off of its Chinese app store. Apple made this decision in response to a directive from the Chinese authorities. The government deemed these apps to be a threat to national security, even though Meta's other apps—Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram—remain available on the App Store.
Aside from this, users can still download foreign apps from the store, such as X and YouTube. These apps were ordered to be taken down from the China Store by the Cybersecurity Administration of China due to concerns about national security. Apple provided Reuters with this information via email.
"We are bound by the laws of the countries in which we operate, even if we disagree," the statement from Apple said, although Meta has not yet said anything on this issue. Apart from this, the Cyberspace Administration has also not given any official statement yet.
Well, this matter has been going on since August last year. In August, Meta made changes in the policy regarding WhatsApp and Thread, after which the government said that the company would have to change its policy, otherwise, the apps would be banned. For this, Meta was given time till April 1, 2024, but Meta did not change its policy.
In the year 2017 also, Apple took similar action following the government's order. During that time, The New York Times News app was removed from Apple's App Store and even today, after 6 years, the app has not returned to the App Store. Earlier last year, Apple had also removed AI apps like ChatGPT from the store.
