China earlier this week banned the use of Apple’s iPhone and other foreign smartphones by government officials for work. Chinese officials also cannot bring such devices to government offices. Now, Bloomberg reports that the government is expanding the ban to multiple state agencies and companies, telling those workers to cease bringing their iPhone to their jobs.
The restrictions against non-Chinese devices are expected to expand to other government-controlled organizations in the future, as China works to block foreign technology from the country. While foreign devices have long been discouraged for use in sensitive government agencies, now China appears to be taking a firmer stance. China has a large number of state-owned enterprises in power generation, seaport construction, mining, manufacturing, education, and investment markets.
China is one of Apple’s larger markets for the iPhone, and the ever-widening ban could force Chinese customers to opt for Chinese-made smartphones due to not being able to use their personal iPhones for the majority of their day. Bloomberg suggests that the bans could vary from company to company, as some may simply ban the iPhone from the workplace, while others may ban the use of Apple devices outright.
Apple stock has been dropping the last day or so, and at the time of this article, it is down nearly 5 ½ points.