App Store Takedown Demands by Governments
Apple received a total of 80 requests from 11 countries to remove 634 apps from various App Stores in different countries. While Apple did not provide specific details on which apps it was asked to pull, requests from China made up the bulk of total takedown requests.
China asked Apple to remove 626 apps, and Apple ultimately pulled 526 of those. Apple also pulled a smaller number of apps at the request of Vietnam, Austria, Kuwait, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, and Turkey.
The transparency report, from the second half 2018, is here.
Previously:
- Apple Fixed Bug That Crashed Devices When Typing ”Taiwan”
- Apple Hasn’t Blocked Telegram App, But Won’t Allow Updates
- Skype Removed From Chinese App Stores
- Apple Pulls VPN Apps From China App Store
- Apple Removes LinkedIn App From Russian App Store
- Apple Removes New York Times Apps From Chinese App Store
2 Comments RSS · Twitter
@Chris
Yes! That's one of my biggest current issues with Apple devices. User choice is less important than ecosystem lock-in and I find this state of affairs to be particularly galling. Microsoft is opening up Windows to even more app choices with it's Windows Subsystem for Linux, Android has always(?) allowed side loading of apps, and even the crazy locked down Chrome OS (everything is a web app!) has opened up with officially sanctioned Linux app installation and Android app installation.
Shoot, even my Roku allowed for sideloading of channels. Apple is an outlier here and not in a good way.
I wish some government would force Apple to allow people to install their own software without needing to use App Store. At least it's still possible with macOS, though harder and harder. I suppose we'll see them refusing to 'notarize' apps soon enough! :(