Social Media Apps May Disappear From Apple's App Store in China

pcmag.com:

Apple’s latest concern in China might not be over its actual phones but instead over the apps that run on them.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple has met with Chinese officials in recent months to discuss new rules that might prevent the company from making several apps, specifically those from Western countries, available in its App Store.

Chinese officials want Apple to ban unregistered foreign apps in the country, a move that Apple is worried will negatively impact its users in the country. 

Currently, Chinese iPhone users can download popular Western social media apps such as Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, and X even though web access to social media sites is blocked in the country. Chinese users have to use a virtual private network (VPN) to log into the apps. China also bans the unauthorized use of VPNs.

Over the past decade, the social media apps have reportedly been downloaded more than 170 million times in the country. X has also been used by Chinese citizens to share information, including videos of the protests against Covid restrictions in China late last year.

Thanks to new rules starting in July, Apple will no longer be able to offer apps in its App Store unless they have been formally registered with the Chinese government.

China also has strict data transfer and censorship requirements for apps in the country, so The Journal notes it is unlikely that many app creators will register their apps over a lack of desire to comply with those regulations. If an app chooses not to register with the country, then Apple would be required to remove it from the Chinese App Store or potentially face legal punishments from the government.

Apple has previously removed apps from its App Store in the