There will be no more WhatsApp and Threads available for download from the App Store for Apple customers in China, as reported by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. The business claimed that it removed the apps from the store in accordance with directives from China’s internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration, “based on [its] national security concerns.” The publications were informed that it is “obligated to follow the laws in the countries where [it operates], even when [it disagrees].”
Many foreign apps and technology are blocked in China by the Great Firewall, forcing citizens to use VPNs in order to access any of them. Two of those apps are Facebook and Instagram from Meta, but up until now, Threads and WhatsApp have been downloadable. The ruling from the Chinese regulator comes just before a Senate vote on a bill that would result in the US banning TikTok. The Cyberspace Administration’s justification, citing the applications as a national security risk, is similar to the one put up by US politicians to prohibit TikTok within their borders.
According to the present bill, ByteDance will be prohibited from removing TikTok from app stores after a year of having to sell the short form video-sharing platform. The bill, which is a part of a package that also includes funding to Israel and Ukraine, is anticipated to pass the House. Prior to now, President Joe Biden declared that he would sign the bills into law right away and that he supports the package.
