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.
- 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