Apple Inc has announced that it is removing virtual private network (VPN) services from its app store in China, drawing criticism from VPN service providers, who accuse the US tech giant of bowing to pressure from Beijing.
VPNs allow users to bypass China's so-called "Great Firewall" aimed at restricting access to overseas sites.
In January, Beijing passed laws seeking to ban all VPNs that are not approved by state regulators. Approved VPNs must use state network infrastructure.
● Apple's move has drawn criticism from VPN service providers
In a statement on Sunday, an Apple spokeswoman confirmed it will remove apps that do not comply with the law from its China App Store, including services based outside the country.
Beijing has shut down dozens of China-based providers and it has been targeting overseas services as it bids to tighten its control over the internet, especially ahead of the Communist Party congress in August.
While personal VPN providers have been the subject of state-led attacks in the past, this marks the first time Apple has complied with requests to scrub overseas providers from its store, a move that VPN providers say is unnecessarily supportive of China's heightened censorship.
Apple has done much good for privacy and security in recent years, but actively assisting censorship crosses the red line of human rights.
Apple sends notices to providers
VPN provider ExpressVPN said on Saturday that it had received a notice from Apple that its software would be removed from the China App Store "because it includes content that is illegal in China".
Other major providers, including VyprVPN and StarVPN, confirmed they also received the notice on Saturday from Apple.
What to do?
A number of VPN apps were still accessible on the China App store on weekend.
If this rule will be really implemented, China users with billing addresses in other countries can still be able to access VPN apps from other branches of the App Store. So take it easy!
Source: Aljazeera
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