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Apple occasionally cleans up its App Store in the U.S. as well, removing outdated or spam apps.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.
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