Apple removed WhatsApp and Threads from its app store in China on Friday after the country’s government ordered it to do so, the same week House lawmakers revived legislation that could ban TikTok in the U.S.
Apple said Beijing’s internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration, ordered it to remove the apps, citing national security concerns, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree,” a spokesperson for the company told the Journal.
Other Meta apps, including Facebook and Instagram, were still available, Reuters reported, as were other popular apps including YouTube and X.
The tit-for-tat could add fuel to an international technology spat between the United States and China. The House of Representatives revived its effort to force the sale of TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, this week, citing their own national security concerns. The proposal could be included in a foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
Lawmakers are expected to vote on the package on Saturday, which, if passed, could head to the Senate next week. President Joe Biden has said he would sign the TikTok measure if it reaches him.
China has long banned access to certain Western tech, but many users are still able to download such apps from Apple’s app store and use them with a virtual private network, or VPN. Reuters noted the order to remove WhatsApp and Threads could stem from a new rule in China that requires all apps to be registered with the government.
The deadline to do so passed on April 1.
