Apple Blocks US Users From Downloading ByteDance's Chinese Apps (wired.com) 25
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: While TikTok operates in the United States under new ownership, Apple has deployed technical restrictions to block iOS users in the United States from downloading other apps made by the video platform's Chinese parent organization ByteDance. ByteDance owns a vast array of different apps spanning social media, entertainment, artificial intelligence, and other sectors. The leading one is Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, which has over 1 billion monthly active users. While most of those users reside in China, iPhone owners around the world have traditionally been able to download these apps from anywhere without using a VPN, as long as they have a valid App Store account registered in China.
That's not true anymore. Starting in late January, iPhone users in the U.S. with Chinese App Store accounts began reporting that they were encountering new obstacles when they tried to download apps developed by ByteDance. WIRED has confirmed that even with a valid Chinese App Store account, downloading or updating a ByteDance-owned Chinese app is blocked on Apple devices located in the United States. Instead, a pop-up window appears that says, "This app is unavailable in the country or region you're in." The restriction appears to apply only to ByteDance-owned apps and not those developed by other Chinese companies.
The timing and technical specifics suggest the restriction is related to the deal TikTok agreed to in January to divest Chinese ownership of its U.S. operations. The agreement was the result of the so-called TikTok ban law passed by Congress in 2024, which also barred companies like Apple and Google from distributing other apps majority-owned by ByteDance. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act states that no company can "distribute, maintain, or update" any app majority-controlled by ByteDance "within the land or maritime borders of the United States."
The law was primarily aimed at TikTok, which has more than 100 million users in the U.S. and had been the subject of years of debate in Washington over whether its Chinese ownership posed a national security risk. But ByteDance also has dozens of other apps that at some point were also removed from Apple's and Google's app stores in the U.S.. Now it seems like the scope of impact has reached even more apps that are not technically designed for U.S. audiences, such as Douyin, the AI chatbot Doubao, and the fiction reading platform Fanqie Novel.
That's not true anymore. Starting in late January, iPhone users in the U.S. with Chinese App Store accounts began reporting that they were encountering new obstacles when they tried to download apps developed by ByteDance. WIRED has confirmed that even with a valid Chinese App Store account, downloading or updating a ByteDance-owned Chinese app is blocked on Apple devices located in the United States. Instead, a pop-up window appears that says, "This app is unavailable in the country or region you're in." The restriction appears to apply only to ByteDance-owned apps and not those developed by other Chinese companies.
The timing and technical specifics suggest the restriction is related to the deal TikTok agreed to in January to divest Chinese ownership of its U.S. operations. The agreement was the result of the so-called TikTok ban law passed by Congress in 2024, which also barred companies like Apple and Google from distributing other apps majority-owned by ByteDance. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act states that no company can "distribute, maintain, or update" any app majority-controlled by ByteDance "within the land or maritime borders of the United States."
The law was primarily aimed at TikTok, which has more than 100 million users in the U.S. and had been the subject of years of debate in Washington over whether its Chinese ownership posed a national security risk. But ByteDance also has dozens of other apps that at some point were also removed from Apple's and Google's app stores in the U.S.. Now it seems like the scope of impact has reached even more apps that are not technically designed for U.S. audiences, such as Douyin, the AI chatbot Doubao, and the fiction reading platform Fanqie Novel.
who cares. They're used to getting shafted. (Score:2)
It's apple users.
They're used to getting shafted.
who cares.
The letter of the law (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple is following the law as written. So... Why is this a headline now?
Re: (Score:3)
And why is this? It is absolutely ridiculous that people are so clueless that they even still TRY to use the Chinese apps. Even if spun off to American "ownership" the main people in the company are extensions of the CCP. It has been proven that even with just the app itself in "normal" mode that the data is used in negative to find areas of interest. Any area where no GPS tracking comes from their app (because it is disallowed in certain areas) causes them to dig into it to find out if it is something wort
Re: The letter of the law (Score:1, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Obviously, this is another ignorant American posting. Apparently not confident enough to post under user; so maybe there is some hope for this one... usually Americans are so confidently ignorant; like a chatbot and also living in a hallucination.
Re: (Score:2)
We're seeing a widening disjunction between de facto and de jure law. It is a clear sign of corruption, and it matters.
It also matters when laws suddenly start becoming enforced. Against whom and why? Selective enforcement is deeply corrupt and corrupting, and the first thing bad actors say to defend it is, "What's the problem? We're just
Re: The letter of the law (Score:1)
Because cheeto-man baaaad, and the mafia-esque CCP clans of Saruman have only ever been our friends and allies!
Re: (Score:2)
Apple is following the law as written. So... Why is this a headline now?
This is about page view revenue. When all is said and done, "follow the money", and posting a story that will increase the site's revenue is all that matters (to the owners of the site).
TT now Oracles' surveillance tool (Score:5, Informative)
That is the point of view on most discussion sites now:
'2d ago I dumped the (US) app once they decided you couldnt turn off your precise location and introduced the local tab with no opt out - its pretty clear Oracle views this as a surveillance tool rather than a social media app and old TikTok is gone for good.'
In related iOS news ... (Score:2)
Apps from very recent startup BitePrance, including their "TockTick" app are okay.
Good. (Score:1)
Enemy combatants software and nation-state spyware and infowar-psyops should not be allowed so easily - guess what the CCP is enforcing and heavily cracking down on..
TikTok US and TikTok World (Score:2)
Now, will the US owned TikTok or the Chinese owned TikTok win the competition.
I hope US tiktok gets banned here since I think the US just has too much influence on youth outside of the US
Re: (Score:2)
The Chinese version is quite different than the us version and they protected their kids; still do and we do not at all. We sacrifice them to the firearms gods of reading incomprehension every school shooting.
decades old, biggest fraud ever continues to kill [youtu.be]
It's all going to plan (Score:2)
This kind of action combines with the new "Age Verification" laws. These laws mandate you have to use an OS that "verifies" your age, so that it can be passed onto an app store. Soon the law will change to be, the OS can *only* install apps through the app store. You will only be able to run programs Apple, Google, and the Government let you. And if you circumvent it to install a random program, you're breaking the law.
If you think this is crazy, remember we already had DMCA passed, which prevented you from
Re: (Score:2)
Before, they had "think of the children". Now they have "Russia" and "China".
They really never needed any reason to assert control over people. They only needed the excuse.