China once again demonstrated its strictness by expanding its crackdown on foreign services that do not comply with its regulations, leading to the removal of WhatsApp, Threads, Telegram, and Signal apps from the Chinese App Store. Apple confirmed the move on Friday (19) in accordance with the Chinese Cyberspace Administration’s directives citing the need to safeguard national security.

WhatsApp, Threads, Telegram, and Signal have been taken off the App Store.

Apple has acknowledged adhering to the regulations set by the Chinese government, emphasizing the importance of obeying the laws of the countries in which it functions, despite any disagreements. Observers suggest that this government move in China is linked to the non-compliance with a recent regulation that mandates applications operating in the country to register and disclose data to the authorities.

For the Chinese, the removal of WhatsApp and Telegram is not very important as they have access to local messaging services like WeChat. Additionally, even if they are on the App Store, accessing WhatsApp and Telegram in China requires a VPN due to the country’s strict internet censorship.

Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, did not comment on the ban, while Telegram and Signal did not respond to Reuters’ inquiries.

Throughway