CHINA: Apple yanks off 25,000 gambling apps

As much as 25,000 apps which are deemed unlawful have been yanked off by Apple from its Chinese App Store on account of offering scores of user’s access to illegal lottery apps.

Per Reuters, Apple confirmed that it has recently removed the apps, without giving out a number or the timeline for the removals.

“We have already removed many apps and developers for trying to distribute illegal gambling apps on our App Store, and we are vigilant in our efforts to find these and stop them from being on the App Store,” Apple said in a statement.

Read also: US govt to force Facebook to decrypt Messenger

Apple has been facing criticism from state-operated media for a while now, the report notes. CCTV on Sunday criticized Apple for allowing gambling apps in the App Store, which are banned in China. That’s the second time in the past month that the broadcaster took hits at Apple.

Apple’s iMessage app was also criticized by state media recently. Apple’s refusal to break encryption and allow access to intelligence agencies and police is well known in the US and other western markets. China, meanwhile, criticized Apple for its refusal to monitor communications, the report notes.

Apple in the past removed VPN apps from the App Store in China when regulators demanded it. VPN services would allow Chinese iOS device users to bypass the Great Firewall of China and access information that would otherwise be censored.

 

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