San Jose, CALIFORNIA (dpa-AFX) - The Chinese government has ordered Apple
to remove WhatsApp and Threads from its Chinese App Store, the
US tech giant said.

The Chinese internet regulator cited national security concerns when
issuing the order to remove the two Meta-owned apps, the iPhone-maker
told the Wall Street Journal and other US media in a statement late
Thursday.

China's 'Great Firewall,' the term used to describe Beijing's system
of internet censorship, had already prevented the foreign apps from
being accessed domestically.

But users had been able to download the apps and then use VPNs -
which redirect data traffic so that it appears to come from outside
the country - to bypass the Chinese blocks.

Beijing's measure now closes one of the biggest loopholes in its
firewall.

Mobile apps have become a flashpoint in US-China relations.

A bill is advancing through the US Congress that would force a sale
of the wildly popular video-sharing app TikTok, which is owned by
China-based ByteDance.

In Washington, there have been fears for years about ByteDance's
access to user data. The latest legislation has support among both
Republicans and Democrats.

The legislation would lead to TikTok being banned from US app stores
if the service remains in the possession of ByteDance.


Copyright dpa