Wed, 08:32 Apple services vogAnyone who wants to offer apps for mobile devices – i.e. essentially iPhones and Android smartphones – in China has been confronted with tightened rules for a few days. The country’s government requires developers to be included in a state register (see ). Officially, the measure aims to curb Internet fraud; However, observers suspect that it is intended to serve as a far-reaching content control. Applications that are already available in the app stores of Apple and other providers enjoy a grace period until March 31, 2024. For apps submitted for the first time, however, the registration obligation has been in effect since the end of August of this year.
Platforms bow to the rule – except for Apple
For app store operators, this means that they are not allowed to publish applications in their software stores if the developers do not provide proof of their state registration. All platforms for Android apps that are active in China, such as Tencent, Huawei and Xiaomi, submitted to the new regulation punctually on the deadline of August 31 and informed the developers about the tightened requirements. The Google Play Store is not available in China. Apple, on the other hand, according to a report by technology/tencent-others-begin-enforcing-chinas-new-oversight-move-apps-2023-09-04/” title=”Link zu www.reuters.com”>Reuters passed the deadline and has not yet taken the measures required by the government.
Apple does not yet verify registration status
Even a few days after the new regulation came into effect, Apple will not check the registration status of affected developers. According to Reuters, this was the result of an evaluation by AppInChina. The Californian company has not yet commented on the process at the request of the news agency, and there is also no statement from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It is noteworthy that Apple did not implement the new regulation in a timely manner. The company has repeatedly emphasized in the past that it complies with the laws of the countries in which it is active. It can therefore be assumed that the tightening for app providers will also apply to the App Store in the future. It remains to be seen what impact this will have on small independent developers who are not based in China.
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