Mac Format - UK (2019-12)

16 | MACFORMAT | DECEMBER 2019 macformat.com @macformat

offered very similar features to HKMap.live and

hadn’t been taken down. A web-based version

of HKMap.live was also still available online,

and accessible via Safari.

Within days, Apple was hit by controversy

again when it was revealed that it was passing

iOS user data to Chinese internet company,

Tencent. Now, Tencent is one of the companies

Apple uses to help ensure that Safari’s

Fraudulent Website Warning features works

correctly. However, Tencent has previously

been accused of passing user details on to the

Chinese authorities (it also powers China’s

WeChat messaging service and the QQ web

browser). While Apple swiftly issued a robust

rebuttal, it’s hardly the first time Apple has been

accused of acquiescing to Chinese authorities.

Last year, Apple moved its Chinese iCloud

service to China, along with the encryption keys

that keep Chinese users’ data safe – teaming up

with Guizhou-Cloud Big Data (GCBD), which

has close ties to the Chinese government and

the Communist Party. In recent months, Apple

has also removed 517 apps from its Chinese App

Store, including those that help protect privacy,

such as VPNs. It also changed its user T&Cs to

grant both it and GCBD access to users’ data. So

is Apple adhering to one privacy policy in China

and another at home? It certainly looks like it.

The question is why.

Play in the market

Like most Western companies that do business

in China, Apple sometimes has to make some

uncomfortable compromises – it obviously has

to comply with local laws, even when those laws

sometimes contravene its (and many liberal

Western) values. It also has to be sensitive to the

needs of its customers, and respect the cultural

norms – for example in 2018, Apple apparently

told creators developing programming for its

Apple TV+ service to avoid portraying China

Is Apple

adhering to one

privacy policy

in China and

another at

home?

r
Top 10 app removal requests July to December 2018 >

Although the HKmap.live app has been pulled from the App Store, HKMap.live is still available online and accessible via Safari.

1. China
   Requests received 56
   Apps specified in
   requests 626
   Requests challenged in
   part or rejected in full 2
   Requests where app
   removed 55
   Apps removed 517
   2. Vietnam
   Requests received 3
   Apps specified in
   requests 29
   Requests challenged in
   part or rejected in full 3
   Requests where app
   removed 1
   Apps removed 9
   3. Austria
   Requests received 1
   Apps specified in
   requests 5
   Requests challenged in
   part or rejected in full 0
   Requests where app
   removed 1
   Apps removed 5
   4. Kuwait
   Requests received 1
   Apps specified in
   requests 6
   Requests challenged in
   part or rejected in full 1
   Requests where app
   removed 1
   Apps removed 5
   5. Lebanon
   Requests received 1
   Apps specified in
   requests 1
   Requests challenged in
   part or rejected in full 0
   Requests where app
   removed 1
   Apps removed 1
   The vast majority relate to illegal
   gambling or pornography
   Relate to illegal gambling and/or
   unlicensed gaming apps
   The vast majority relate
   to illegal gambling
   The vast majority relate
   to violation of privacy law
   The vast majority relate
   to violation of privacy law