Apple has been ordered by the Cyberspace Administration of China to remove Meta-owned applications WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China due to unspecified “national security” concerns. This move comes as the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could force TikTok to sever ties with its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. The removal of WhatsApp and Threads from the China App Store highlights the ongoing tensions between the Chinese government and foreign technology companies.
China is a critical market for Apple, and while WhatsApp and Threads are not widely used in the country, Tencent’s WeChat dominates the messaging service market. The “Great Firewall,” China’s internet censorship system, typically restricts foreign apps like WhatsApp and Threads, making them accessible only through virtual private networks (VPNs) or other proxy tools. However, tech-savvy Apple users in China can still download these apps if they have iCloud accounts set outside the country. At the time of publication, other Meta-owned social communications platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, as well as popular Western apps such as YouTube and X (formerly Twitter), were still available on the App Store in China.
The Cyberspace Administration of China, founded in 2011, is responsible for internet regulation and content censorship in the country. It is part of the Central Cybersecurity and Informatization Commission, a top-level decision-making body chaired by Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The commission involves various key state parties, including the People’s Bank of China and the People’s Liberation Army, in digital policymaking. Some experts speculate that the order to remove WhatsApp and Threads could be linked to a rule issued last August, which requires all apps available in China to register with Beijing or face removal. This registration process necessitates developers establishing a local company or using a local publisher with the app’s backend hosted in China. It is estimated that many apps will be removed once Apple begins enforcing this rule.
The removal of WhatsApp and Threads from the China App Store coincides with lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives voting on a bill that could compel TikTok to sever ties with ByteDance or risk losing its ability to operate in the United States. The bill, known as the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” has bipartisan support and is awaiting a Senate vote. Concerns over national security have long surrounded TikTok, as the platform’s data on American users could potentially be accessed by the CCP. Although TikTok claims to store U.S. user data on servers in the United States, Singapore, and Malaysia, it has been banned on government devices in several countries.
The removal of WhatsApp and Threads from the China App Store and the potential divestment of TikTok from its Chinese parent company reflect the increasing scrutiny faced by foreign technology companies operating in China. As geopolitical tensions continue to rise, the relationship between foreign tech giants and the Chinese government is likely to remain complex and fraught with challenges.
