US media reported on April 19 that Apple has removed two social networking applications WhatsApp and Threads, both owned by Meta, from the App Store in China.
According to Bloomberg, Apple made this move at the request of China's Internet regulator. Apple's announcement also emphasized that the company "must comply with the laws in the countries where Apple operates."
Apple said the Cyberspace Administration of China had asked Apple to remove the apps from its Chinese app store due to national security concerns. However, Apple said WhatsApp and Threads remain available in app stores in other countries.
Meta, the Cyberspace Administration of China and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China have not yet commented on the above information.