Apple informs Chinese customers of iCloud service handover in late February
Apple will be passing control of its iCloud services covering mainland China to a Chinese company starting from late February, a message to customers in the country reveals, with the shift in operations made to comply with local cybersecurity and data protection laws.
Racks of Apple's iCloud servers in Maiden, NC
According to the message, the changeover will take place on February 28, reports the BBC, with Apple partnering with Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry Co. Ltd. The message from Apple claims the partnership will enable us to continue improving the speed and reliability of iCloud and to comply with Chinese regulations.
As part of the transfer of operations, affected users will have to agree to a new set of terms and conditions if they wish to continue using the services. The new terms include a clause stating that both Apple and GCBD will have access to data stored on the servers.
Customers based within mainland China have the option to terminate their account before the end of February, if they do not wish their data to be handled by GCBD. Those based outside mainland China remain unaffected by the changes.
The handover of iCloud services to a China-based firm may be of concern to privacy advocates, considering previous efforts by the country's government to censor or control its citizen's use of the Internet. There is also the suggestion that the rules make it easier for the government to perform surveillance on individuals in the country, and to access their personal data.
Apple advised that despite the changeover, it had strong data privacy and security protections in place, and no backdoors will be created into any of our systems.
Apple activated its first data center in China with GCBD in July last year, one month after the new laws were ratified, with the project receiving close scrutiny by the Guizhou provincial government via a working committee. The rules mandate certain data protections for Chinese citizens, including forcing foreign firms operating in China to store sensitive data on domestic servers, and requiring the same companies to pass security reviews before being allowed to transfer the data out of the country.
Racks of Apple's iCloud servers in Maiden, NC
According to the message, the changeover will take place on February 28, reports the BBC, with Apple partnering with Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry Co. Ltd. The message from Apple claims the partnership will enable us to continue improving the speed and reliability of iCloud and to comply with Chinese regulations.
As part of the transfer of operations, affected users will have to agree to a new set of terms and conditions if they wish to continue using the services. The new terms include a clause stating that both Apple and GCBD will have access to data stored on the servers.
Customers based within mainland China have the option to terminate their account before the end of February, if they do not wish their data to be handled by GCBD. Those based outside mainland China remain unaffected by the changes.
The handover of iCloud services to a China-based firm may be of concern to privacy advocates, considering previous efforts by the country's government to censor or control its citizen's use of the Internet. There is also the suggestion that the rules make it easier for the government to perform surveillance on individuals in the country, and to access their personal data.
Apple advised that despite the changeover, it had strong data privacy and security protections in place, and no backdoors will be created into any of our systems.
Apple activated its first data center in China with GCBD in July last year, one month after the new laws were ratified, with the project receiving close scrutiny by the Guizhou provincial government via a working committee. The rules mandate certain data protections for Chinese citizens, including forcing foreign firms operating in China to store sensitive data on domestic servers, and requiring the same companies to pass security reviews before being allowed to transfer the data out of the country.
Comments
The US should implement the same laws, any company wishing to do business in the US has to store US customer data on servers owns and operated by a US company.
Everyone is focusing on the fact this allows the Chinese government control over the data, but this could have been achieved by simply telling Apple data mush be stored on servers in china which Apple owns and operates., This law also forces Apple to pay a Chinese company to operation and maintain the systems & data for Apple. It is China's ways of making sure Chinese companies make money of US companies. Out stupid Law makers in the country fail to see and understand this, yes globalization is good as long as everyone play by the same rules. This means People in the US just lost the chance to have a high paying job since Apple was forced to outsource its operations to another company in another country.
So as of February at least 20% of the entire iOS user base will no longer have their iCloud accounts safe from intrusion and inspection by "authorities". That's significant. It would seem that the pursuit of profits can trump user privacy even at Apple. If they were truly one of the staunchest protectors of privacy I believe we are all on that downward slope now, with the line that determines how firm that commitment is a bit better defined today.
That is my point those Jobs were once done by Apple employees, and I would beat some are US based, i doubt anyone lost their job in the US, but conceivably, as Apple business grow in China more American would be hire to help manage that growth, that will not happen now. This law is more than about Chinese Citizens "Privacy" it is also about creating jobs in China and Chinese companies making money from US companies.
Start using local iTunes backup ,if you are in China.
As for Apple losing employees in China to Chinese technicians, what's wrong with that? Apple is a multi-national company using local people to staff sales, service, and operations around the world. Apple is not a reborn England trying to colonize the entire world with Americans, that's the US military's job. (/s)
But there are easy ways to get VPNs, just by changing the App Store country.
Apple also allows you to use iTunes backup ,for more privacy.If you live in China & you do not trust Apple use iTunes.
This is not the same thing as wanting individual device Backdoor.
Stop trying to hype this up.
It would have been an earthquake for the current flagship duopoly of Apple and Samsung.
The day before the announcement, the Wall Street Journal revealed that AT&T had backed out of the deal, literally at the last minute, thwarting the planned rollout.
Hours later other media signalled potential US government pressure had been applied to force AT&T to change their plans, supposedly on (national) security grounds.
However, the US government seemingly has no issue with Huawei shipping phones into the US via regular retailers (mostly on line).
From a security perspective this just doesn't make sense. Are the phones a threat or not (we are not talking about backbone infrastructure)? If they are, the US should put some evidence on the table (something it hasn't been able to do over the last five years) or just let the players compete commercially.
Operation Shotgiant of course has already put the US government in a politically embarrassing position.
Now, there is a lot to feed on in this situation and conspiracy theorists on both sides are going to have a field day with all this, but if we are going to bring the WTO into it I can't see any real reasons for thwarting Huawei from within Government (assuming the rumours are true) unless it is some kind of protectionism.
Are they saying 'you are free to sell in the US as long as you aren't a commercial threat?' Because if security was at issue I don't see why they just don't ban them outright and put the evidence on the table.
How does selling phones via AT&T differ (from a security perspective) from via Amazon and Best Buy?
Or did AT&T just have a change of heart?
Futhermore, twenty per cent of the iOS user base does not mean that twenty per cent of the user base are active iCloud users. The vast majority of the Chinese use WeChat instead of Messages for example.
What Apple needs to clarify is how they're granting access to the government, and how can they guarantee that whatever method they’re using will not compromise their customers not living in China.
Update from the BBC.
Okay, so Apple says it’s not a back door. That was my main concern, because a backdoor would be found. Now what about that decryption key?
Under Article 20 of China's State Cryptography Administration Encryption Law now in effect Apple (like other providers of encryption services in China) is obligated to provide "decryption technology support" in order for Chinese authorities to access that encrypted data as needed for broadly defined and in essence open-ended "criminal investigations". Under Article 37 if Apple refuses to do so or fails to keep the "investigation" confidential they are subject to unspecified monetary fines and individual Apple employees can be jailed for upwards of 15 days. Article 33 also provides for fines if Apple maintains any encrypted services not accessible to authorities within China.
That does not mean Apple has no option. They do, just not a very profitable one down a path they are very unlikely to take.