
Apple on Friday announced that its users in China won’t be able to download or find Meta’s WhatsApp or Threads anymore from the App Store in compliance with Cyberspace — China’s internet regulator.
The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported that the Cupertino-based tech giant said that the company is “obligated to follow the laws in the countries where [it operates], even when [it disagrees].”
Over the years China’s internet regulator has blocked several websites, technologies, and apps within the country; however, people still access them by using VPN.
Previously, Meta’s Facebook and Instagram were blocked while WhatsApp and Threads were available.
The Chinese internet regulator's order comes ahead of a US Senate vote, which could result in a ban on TikTok, whose parent company is Chinese.
China and America’s reasons for banning the apps are the same: they are a threat to the nation’s national security.
The current bill has allowed TikTok's parent company ByteDance a year to divest the video-sharing platform. If it fails, TikTok will be banned from app stores.