The Chinese government compelled Apple to eliminate VPN applications from its App Store back in 2017, and now the company is facing a similar requirement in India.
Currently, a limited number of VPN applications have been taken down to adhere to a recent anti-privacy regulation prohibiting anonymous usage, but it is anticipated that many more will be removed soon…
Numerous VPN Apps Eliminated in China
The Chinese authorities have long prohibited VPN apps, which many citizens relied on to evade government scrutiny of their online behaviors.
In 2017, Apple was pressured to withdraw hundreds of VPN applications from the Chinese App Store. At that time, CEO Tim Cook expressed that the firm had to comply reluctantly with the law.
We would certainly prefer not to remove these apps, but as in other nations, we comply with the laws wherever we conduct business. We are committed to engaging in markets and providing advantages to our customers. We remain hopeful that these restrictions will be eased over time.
Initial VPN Apps Removed in India
India enacted a new law in 2022 that effectively prohibits anonymous VPN usage and bans services like NordVPN, which do not maintain logs of user activity.
Although the law’s implementation faced delays due to various objections and was eventually introduced without enforcement, it is now being enforced. TechCrunch reports that Apple has begun to remove VPN apps from the Indian App Store.
The regulations require VPN providers and cloud service operators to maintain detailed records of their users, including names, addresses, IP addresses, and transaction histories for a duration of five years.
Several VPN applications, including Cloudflare’s popular 1.1.1.1, have been removed from both India’s Apple App Store and Google Play Store after government intervention, as reported by TechCrunch.
The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs issued orders for the app removals, according to a document seen by TechCrunch and a disclosure from Google to Lumen, Harvard University’s database tracking global government takedown requests.
The government appears to be identifying non-conforming apps on a case-by-case basis, suggesting a prolonged process ahead. The likely outcome may mirror that of China, with hundreds of apps being removed, as no reputable VPN will adhere to this law.
DMN’s Perspective
This situation clearly conflicts with Apple’s commitment to privacy; however, the company finds itself in a challenging predicament. It must adhere to local regulations in each nation where it operates, even when these laws are regressive and imposed by authoritarian regimes.
While it could, in principle, take a moral stance and exit these markets, the reality is that China is its primary manufacturing base, and India has emerged as its second-largest production hub, making withdrawal from these regions impractical.
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