China tightens its grip on foreign and independent app developers

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion

China's government has announced that all App Store developers must be based in China or partner with a local publisher, and provide business details including an address.




Following one new law banning ChatGPT-like apps, and games requiring an official license, China has announced strict new requirements for all app developers.

According to Reuters, China's Ministry of Industry and Information (MIIT) has announced that mobile app developers must file business details. The requirement appears to be effective immediately, but there is a grace period that expires in March 2024.

Following the end of that transition period, the government will reportedly punish developers. It is not clear whether that means forcing Apple to remove the apps from the App Store, levying fines, or possibly both.

It's tantamount to giving the Chinese government the power to approve apps, or require their removal under legal grounds, as Apple has complied with before. The rule may make it particularly hard for small and independent developers, or those with political apps, to continue.

More, the new rule applies not only to apps, but also to companies "engaged in internet information services through apps in such fields as news, publishing, education, film and television and religion..." Firms in these fields "should also submit relevant documents."

Consequently, this requirement may also be an attempt to block social media services such as Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook. Apps for these services are currently available in the local App Store, but this may mimic how Russia decreed in 2021 that technology firms must open local offices.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    rezwitsrezwits Posts: 889member
    ridiculous...
    (based in China? no crypto?), wtf...
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 8
    xyzzy-xxxxyzzy-xxx Posts: 189member
    Probably China should just preinstall their own propaganda apps on all phones and disable all other apps – this would be more honest than this *@#!
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 8
    waveparticlewaveparticle Posts: 1,497member
    China is copying US requirement on TikTok. 
    williamlondon
  • Reply 4 of 8
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,623member
    China is copying US requirement on TikTok. 
    The only ban currently in effect is Biden's Executive Order 14034. It doesn't ban all foreign software on all US smartphones. Have you read it? When you remove the fluff, Biden's order says: 
    If persons who own, control, or manage connected software applications engage in serious human rights abuse or otherwise facilitate such abuse, the United States may impose consequences on those persons in action separate from this order.
    Do you oppose "consequences" on "persons who engage in serious human rights abuse"? Or are you trying to suggest that China thinks the US is a serious human rights abuser?
    darkvaderwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 5 of 8
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,077member
    waveparticle said:
    China is copying US requirement on TikTok. 

    All governments at their core are the same when it comes to their security, or I should say those in power at the top are. You will own nothing and be happy.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 8
    waveparticlewaveparticle Posts: 1,497member
    22july2013 said:
    China is copying US requirement on TikTok. 
    The only ban currently in effect is Biden's Executive Order 14034. It doesn't ban all foreign software on all US smartphones. Have you read it? When you remove the fluff, Biden's order says: 
    If persons who own, control, or manage connected software applications engage in serious human rights abuse or otherwise facilitate such abuse, the United States may impose consequences on those persons in action separate from this order.
    Do you oppose "consequences" on "persons who engage in serious human rights abuse"? Or are you trying to suggest that China thinks the US is a serious human rights abuser?
    Does US government need to prove the case? No! LOL 
    williamlondon
  • Reply 7 of 8
    FileMakerFellerFileMakerFeller Posts: 1,561member
    waveparticle said:
    22july2013 said:
    China is copying US requirement on TikTok. 
    The only ban currently in effect is Biden's Executive Order 14034. It doesn't ban all foreign software on all US smartphones. Have you read it? When you remove the fluff, Biden's order says: 
    If persons who own, control, or manage connected software applications engage in serious human rights abuse or otherwise facilitate such abuse, the United States may impose consequences on those persons in action separate from this order.
    Do you oppose "consequences" on "persons who engage in serious human rights abuse"? Or are you trying to suggest that China thinks the US is a serious human rights abuser?
    Does US government need to prove the case? No! LOL 
    Sometimes, if the consequences of an action are severe enough it is worth enforcing the ban while the details are discovered and an informed judgement made. If a mistake has been made, it's rare that monetary compensation is insufficient to restore the harm done by the false accusation - at least in Western societies. In Eastern cultures, reputational damage is viewed as a much more significant blow and those who made the false accusation must compensate in non-monetary ways; it's more likely that the alleged behaviour will be allowed to continue while the facts are being determined.
    watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 8 of 8
    FileMakerFellerFileMakerFeller Posts: 1,561member
    To me this is no different from China's existing rules about conducting business in the country. For decades there has been a requirement to "partner with" an indigenous company to reach the local population; now the digital realm is being subjected to the same restrictions.
    watto_cobrajony0
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