Apple Pulls 25,000 Apps From China App Store Following State Media Criticism
August 19 2018 - 10:40PM
Dow Jones News
By Yoko Kubota
BEIJING-- Apple Inc. pulled illegal apps from its App Store in
China after coming under fire from state media for not doing enough
to filter banned material.
"Gambling apps are illegal and not allowed on the App Store in
China," Apple said in a statement Monday. "We have already removed
many apps and developers for trying to distribute illegal gambling
apps on our App Store, and we are vigilant in our efforts to find
these and stop them from being on the App Store."
The removals were earlier reported by Chinese state broadcaster
CCTV on Sunday, which said 25,000 apps were pulled. Apple didn't
confirm that number. It offers more than 1.8 million apps in China,
according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Removing 25,000 apps would amount to about 1.4% of that total.
Apple offers more than 1.8 million apps in China, according to
the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Removing
25,000 apps would amount to about 1.4% of that total.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company has recently been criticized
by Chinese state media for having illegal apps in its store, as
well as for not doing enough to filter banned content on its
iMessage service.
"Apple itself has set up the rules on how to allow apps onto its
store, but it didn't follow that, resulting in the proliferation of
bogus lottery apps and gambling apps," CCTV said in its report
Sunday.
The media attacks against Apple come at a sensitive time for
American companies operating in China, as concerns grow about the
fallout of a trade fight between the world's two biggest economies.
Trade experts say China could hurt U.S. companies either through
tariffs or other measures, including media-led campaigns against
American goods.
American-branded goods, including Apple's iPhones, continue to
be popular in China.
Apple occasionally cleans up its App Store in the U.S. as well,
removing outdated or spam apps. In China, Apple said it removed
nearly 700 virtual private networks, or VPN, apps from its App
Store last year in response to new local restrictions. VPNs are
used by individuals and companies to send secure emails, transmit
data and access websites that are blocked in China.
Yang Jie
contributed to this article.
Write to Yoko Kubota at yoko.kubota@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 19, 2018 22:25 ET (02:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024