Apple enforces new check on apps in China as Beijing tightens oversight
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[October 03, 2023] By
Josh Ye
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Apple has started requiring new apps to show proof
of a Chinese government licence before their release on its China App
Store, joining local rivals years that had adopted the policy years
earlier to meet tightening state regulations.
Apple began last Friday requiring app developers to submit the "internet
content provider (ICP) filing" when they publish new apps on its App
Store, it said on its website for developers.
An ICP filing is a longtime registration system, required for websites
to operate legally in China, and most local app stores including those
operated by Tencent and Huawei have adopted it since at least 2017.
To get an ICP filing licence, developers need to have a company in China
or work with a local publisher, which has been an obstacle for a large
number of foreign apps.
Apple's loose ICP policy has allowed it to offer far more mobile apps
than local app rivals and helped the U.S. tech giant boost its
popularity in China, its third-largest market behind the Americas and
Europe.
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The decision by Apple comes after China further tightened its oversight
over mobile apps in August by releasing a new rule requiring all app
stores and app developers to submit an "app filing" containing business
details with the regulators.
Chinese regulators last week released names of the first batch of mobile
app stores that have completed app filings, but Apple's App Store was
not among those on the list.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Apple's compliance status could affect the accessibility of hundreds of
thousands of apps on its App Store in China, including popular foreign
apps like X, formerly known as Twitter, and Telegram, which became
popular during protests against COVID-19 lockdowns last year.
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![](../images/100323PIX/busine81.jpg)
People line up while waiting at an Apple Store as Apple's new iPhone
15 officially goes on sale across China, in Shanghai, China
September 22, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File photo
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Apple is also facing other troubles in China as Beijing focuses more
on security, such as some government agencies banning employees from
using iPhones, as Reuters reported last month.
Rich Bishop, CEO of app publishing firm AppInChina, said demanding
ICP filings from developers brings Apple one step closer to being
fully compliant in China.
The expanded rule issued in August effectively requires the backend
of an app to be hosted in China, which last month became a condition
for apps to be featured on local Android app stores.
Many developers have taken to social media to voice concerns over
Apple's decision, fearing it may further tighten rules to fully
comply with China's regulations.
In a post on X, Jinyu Meng, an independent developer, said, "If my
apps can't be launched in China without app filing, I will take down
my apps [there]."
Some iPhone users in China posted on X saying that they may need to
start using Apple accounts from other countries to access their
favourite apps.
Under the new rule, apps without proper filings will be punished
after the grace period that will end in March next year, while newly
developed apps need to comply with the rule from September.
(Reporting by Josh Ye; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Jamie Freed)
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