Apple might soon have to remove some of the App Store’s most popular apps in China. A new report from the Wall Street Journal today says that Apple will be forced to “strictly implement rules” that ban unregistered foreign apps on the App Store. Most notably, this could impact social media apps including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter (currently known as X).
The policy changes were first announced in July, and today’s WSJ report explains that Apple has been meeting with Chinese officials in the months since then. According to the report, Apple representatives have met with those officials to discuss its concerns with these rules. “Apple employees expressed concern over how the rules would be implemented and affect its users,” the report says.
China, however, has emphasized to Apple that it “must strictly implement” these rules. The changes are reportedly being put into place to “crack down on online scams, pornography and the circulation of information that violates China’s tough censorship rules.”
As it stands today, apps including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, and Twitter are available via the App Store in China. The country’s so-called “Great Firewall” blocks access to the services, but users are able to use VPNs to circumvent the blocks. These VPNs are considered unauthorized by the Chinese government, but are commonly used particularly among younger people, the report explains.
In total, the App Store reportedly has over 1,000 unregistered foreign apps that would be affected by this change. Those apps would need to be removed from the App Store entirely to comply with the policy. Apple could also encourage developers to complete the registration process, but that process isn’t available to a number of those apps.
The changes go into effect in July, at which point Apple will be forced to remove the unregistered apps from the App Store in China or face legal repercussions. In the past, Apple has been forced to remove a number of apps in China, including thousands of unlicensed video game applications.
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