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China famously blocks censors the internet within the country, preventing its citizens from accessing websites such as Facebook or Google, and has pushed companies to register their App stores with government regulators or remove content that it deems illegal. Now, it appears that Apple has purged its Chinese App store of major VPN apps, according to The New York Times.
As a result of the country’s online censorship, many citizens and visitors have turned to Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) as a means to access the sites and content that have been banned by the government. Today, several companies have reported receiving notifications from Apple stating that their Apps have been pulled from the Chinese store.
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ExpressVPN wrote in a blog post that Apple explained that its products violated Chinese law, and said that they found that “all major VPN apps for iOS ave been removed” from the store. Another company, Star VPN, also reported receiving the notice.
We’ve reached out to Apple for comment, and will update if we hear back.
