Apple has adopted new rules for its Chinese App Store, requiring new apps to show proof of a Chinese government license in order to be listed on the App Store in China. Apple is making the move to join other app stores that adopted the policy years ago to meet ever-stricter Chinese state regulations.
Reuters reports that Apple last Friday began requiring an “internet content provider (ICP) filing” from developers when they submit new apps to be published on the local App Store. An ICP filing is the state registration system required for websites to operate legally in China.
In order to obtain a license, developers must have a company inside Chinese borders or work with a local publisher. This means quite a few foreign apps are left out of the app stores.
China is fiercely protective of its app markets, while also blocking the websites of several popular Western social media apps, including YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. However, those apps have been available to Chinese iPhone users, who have used unauthorized VPN services to enable downloading from the Western App Store.
Under new rules issued in July by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Apple will no longer be able to offer such apps in its China App Store from next July unless the app operators are registered with the government.
Chinese officials have reportedly told Apple to strictly ban unregistered foreign apps, closing the loophole used by Chinese iPhone users to download the apps. Chinese authorities reportedly told Apple that such rules are required to allow the government to crack down on pornography, online scams, and other information that violates China’s censorship rules.