Apple is ceding to pressure from the Chinese government and cracking down on non-Chinese iPhone apps in its territory, a change that could limit the availability of hundreds of thousands of apps, including Facebook, X, and YouTube.
The Big Tech company told app developers last week that they had to provide an "internet content provider (ICP) filing" if they wanted their product to reach Chinese markets, according to Reuters. An ICP is a registration form provided by the Chinese government to website owners or developers for legal operation in its borders. If a user wants to get an ICP, they must have a company in China or work with a Chinese publisher. The Chinese government introduced new regulations in August that required all app stores and app developers to submit "app filings" that detail their businesses to regulators, an attempted crackdown on access to the internet outside of China's borders.
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Apple's choice to comply has implications for major U.S. apps. Non-Chinese apps like Facebook offered Chinese citizens access beyond the "Great Firewall," the Chinese government's set of tools for restricting access to websites outside of those that China approves. Some Chinese citizens learned how to breach the firewall through a virtual private network, which allows users to view the internet as it might appear in a different country. The companies have not stated whether they will seek an ICP, although analysts expect them to decline.
Apple has always had a complicated relationship with China. The country accounts for a significant portion of its annual sales and is its primary manufacturer. This has forced the company to abide by the country's restrictive regime. It also made a secret $275 billion deal over several years to evade the country's technological restrictions.
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The country cracked down on the use of iPhones by government employees in early September.
The company has also been forced to suppress information about protests over Chinese President Xi Jinping's zero-COVID strategy. Western apps like X have also proven integral for protesters since they offered an uncensored platform to post videos and images of the protests without fear of the Chinese government taking the posts down.