Apple Removes VPN Apps From China App Store

Apple's removal of VPN apps from its app store in China could signal a difficult road ahead for companies doing business there. In March 2017, we posted a summary of China's new cyber security law (Law) that went into effect on June 1, 2017. Now, less than one month later, Apple announced over the weekend that it had "been required to remove some VPN apps in China that do not meet the new regulations," according to Carolyn Wu, Apple's China spokeswoman.

Many entities in China turned to virtual private networks (VPN) to get around what is commonly referred to as the "Great Firewall," to access sites and content banned by the government. It is unclear whether this move by Chinese regulators is a direct result of the provisions in the Law that allow the government to conduct security reviews of technology products that could affect national security. Requiring Apple to remove VPN apps does, however, indicate that stricter internet controls will likely persist and may make doing business in China increasingly difficult.

Apple's statement clarified that users who have billing addresses outside of China still have the ability to download the banned VPN apps from other territories' app stores. It also placed some of the blame on software developers, noting that the Chinese government announced earlier this year that all...

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