Apple pulls WhatsApp, Threads and Signal from app store in China ( www.washingtonpost.com )

Apple has complied with the Chinese government's request to remove several popular communication apps from its app store, including WhatsApp, Threads, Signal, and Telegram, due to national security concerns. This action was taken following a directive from the Cyberspace Administration of China. These apps have been crucial for political dissidents globally, especially in China where political expression is heavily regulated. Despite previous reliance on VPNs to access these platforms, they are now unavailable for download in China through the official app store. This move by Apple comes amidst increasing tensions between the U.S. and China in the realm of consumer technology, with discussions in the U.S. Senate about the future of TikTok, a popular social media app owned by a Chinese parent company

tal ,
@tal@lemmy.today avatar

I'm guessing that the US is gonna do the TikTok ban too, then.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splinternet

The splinternet (also referred to as cyber-balkanization or internet balkanization) is a characterization of the Internet as splintering and dividing due to various factors, such as technology, commerce, politics, nationalism, religion, and divergent national interests. "Powerful forces are threatening to balkanise it", wrote the Economist weekly in 2010, arguing it could soon splinter along geographic and commercial boundaries. 

Stillhart ,
@Stillhart@lemm.ee avatar

You know with Android, you can just sideload any app you want. Still not sure why anyone buys Apple products, but hey at least you get different colored chat bubbles!

dvdnet62 ,
@dvdnet62@feddit.nl avatar

on IOS we can do that as well with trollstore and signalous/maplesign

huginn ,

Aka if you void your warranty and crack your phone OS - something that Apple fights at every turn. If you run your phone in unsafe and unfriendly ways then you can do something Android supports natively by default.

See! They're totally the same guys! Buy iPhones 🤡

raptore39 ,

The ability to sideload apps looking real important right about now

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