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Apple Pulls WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, and Threads From App Store in China Following Order

Apple on late Thursday into Friday removed the popular messaging and social media apps WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, and Threads from its App Store in China at the request of the Chinese government, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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In a statement shared with several media outlets, Apple said China's national internet regulator ordered the removal of the apps from the App Store in the country due to unspecified "national security concerns." Apple said it is "obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree."

Apple has complied with similar App Store removal orders from the Chinese government in the past for apps related to VPNs, news, and more.

Note: The discussion thread for this topic is located in our Political News forum, where posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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Top Rated Comments

clayj Avatar
28 months ago
Time for Apple to finish the job and withdraw from China completely.
Score: 93 Votes (Like | Disagree)
laptech Avatar
28 months ago
Look at the crap Apple has been giving the EU for the past months/year over it's DMA (Digital Markets Act) requirements, they have moaned, complained, gone to court, still moaned and complained, rumoured to leave the EU if Apple was forced to comply with certain rulings and yet when China tells Apple to comply with it's rulings/law, Apple complies with nothing more than 'we comply with the law even if we disagree'. That is not exactly how Apple behaved with the EU was it. Just goes to show how important China is to Apple because when China say's 'jump' Apple replies with 'how High'. When the EU tells Apple to 'jump', Apple replies with 'F off, we'll see you in court'.
Score: 52 Votes (Like | Disagree)
28 months ago
Time to make the decision, keeps kissing up to CCP or do the right thing?
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
markfc Avatar
28 months ago
Don’t worry. The EU will sort this. 😂
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
28 months ago

When the EU tells Apple to 'jump', Apple replies with 'F off, we'll see you in court'.
Sure. Because there's a chance the courts in the EU will side with Apple. No such chance here.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Robert.Walter Avatar
28 months ago
I wonder how iMessage escaped.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)