Apple Accused of Granting Chinese Government Control over User Data

Apple allows a Chinese state-owned company to host its data, exposing millions of users to severe consequences

According to the New York Times, Apple Inc. hosts data from its Chinese customers on servers owned by a Chinese state-owned company. The company has the potential to make it easy for the government to gain access to the information. 

The Times reported on Monday that the data contract is one of many concessions the iPhone maker has made over the last 5 years to do business in China. According to the newspaper, the regulation for Chinese customers contrasts with the stricter privacy requirements for users in the United States.

As reported by the Times, the company complied with the Chinese laws and did everything possible to keep customers' data secure.

Apple is being criticized for its policies 

Human rights activists and some lawmakers have criticized Apple for the measures. Moreover, they are accused of censoring news to avoid violating laws that govern information distribution within China.

Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, stated “Apple is giving Beijing the keys to peer into the lives of millions of Chinese users. By doing so, Apple is possibly putting the lives of many, including human rights activists, at risk”.

Representative Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican, chastised Apple in December following news that the company had withdrawn some video games from its website in China.

Apple announced in 2017 that it plans to create a data center in China to speed up services like iCloud for local users and to comply with laws requiring global companies to store data in the country. At the time, the company states that it would develop and operate the data center in collaboration with an organization co-founded by the province of Guizhou.

According to the New York Times, Apple proactively bans applications from its App Store in China that managers fear would elicit criticism and pushback from Chinese authorities. According to the newspaper, tens of thousands of applications have vanished from Apple's Chinese App Store in recent years, This is worrisome much more than was previously thought.

Then again, Apple has previously conducted large-scale content purges before. In China, the company pulled over 30,000 players, 90% of which were games, from its iPhone App Store.