WhatsApp and Threads Removed From China’s Apple App Store - 1

WhatsApp and Threads Removed From China’s Apple App Store

  • Written by Deep Shikha Content Writer
  • Fact-Checked by

Apple has recently removed several high-profile messaging apps from its App Store in China, including WhatsApp and Threads. The decision was made following directives from the Cyberspace Administration of China, which expressed concerns over national security.

Reuters reported that Signal and Telegram were also no longer available on Apple’s App Store in China, with app tracking firms Qimai and AppMagic confirming the removals. However, Apple has not yet acknowledged these specific takedowns.

Meta confirmed the removal of WhatsApp and Threads to TechCrunch . However, the company directed further inquiries to Apple.

Signal’s president, Meredith Whittaker, explained to TechCrunch that Signal was already inaccessible in China due to the Great Firewall. She noted that while the app could be downloaded in the past, users in China couldn’t register or send messages.

Whittaker pointed out that this restriction makes it less impactful whether Signal is available on the App Store. Despite this, there was a time when Signal functioned normally in China without needing a VPN, as reported by TechCrunch in 2021, but restrictions have tightened since then.

TechCrunch also pointed out China’s inconsistent censorship practices, highlighting the removal of WhatsApp and Threads. WhatsApp provides end-to-end encrypted messaging, while Threads functions as a microblogging platform. Both apps serve distinct purposes but faced similar censorship actions.

Threads, launched in early July last year, was quickly blocked by China’s Great Firewall. Despite this, many users in China used VPNs to bypass the block and download it, making Threads one of the top 5 apps on Apple’s China App Store last summer, according to TechCrunch.

Due to its popularity, Threads attracted more scrutiny from China’s state censors, who may have pressured Apple to remove the app from the store to limit its use.

According to Reuters, the removal of WhatsApp, Threads, Signal, and Telegram from Apple’s China App Store indicates China’s increasing unwillingness to tolerate foreign messaging apps that it cannot control. This also shows that Apple has less flexibility in operating within China.

“We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree,” Apple said in an email to Reuters.

Despite the removal of some apps, Facebook and Instagram, both owned by Meta, remain available on Apple’s China App Store. This reflects China’s complex and selective rules about app availability. Also, there is a significant difference between apps that are actively blocked by government firewalls and those not listed on the App Store, adding even more complexity to digital access control in China.

Baidu Announces New Tools to Promote AI Application Development - 2

Baidu Announces New Tools to Promote AI Application Development

  • Written by Shipra Sanganeria Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
  • Fact-Checked by

Baidu CEO Robin Li introduced a range of AI tools and development kits during the Baidu AI Developer Conference held on April 16th, 2024. The aim of the new tools is to empower individuals with varying technical expertise to create artificial intelligence applications.

“In China today, there are 1 billion internet users, strong foundation models, sufficient AI application scenarios, and the most complete industrial system in the world,” Li said in his opening speech at Baidu’s 2024 Developer Conference themed, “Everyone is a Developer.’’

Highlighting the growing significance of natural language as the new programming language, Li introduced new additions to ERNIE, Baidu’s ChatGPT-like bot.

Since its launch in 2023, ERNIE amassed a total of 200 million users, with its API managing 200 million daily queries. Li also highlighted the success of Qianfan, the Baidu AI Cloud platform, which has been used by more than 85,000 enterprise clients to create 190,000 AI applications.

With the new additions to ERNIE, including ERNIE 4.0 and Lightweight LLMs like Speed, Lite, and Tiny, the company unveiled three new AI development toolkits. With the new AgentBuilder, AppBuilder, and ModelBuilder kit, coders can quickly and effectively leverage any model customized to suit the complexity of the task.

In addition to its AI tools and vision foundation model for autonomous driving, Apollo VTA (Vision Takes All), the company also announced the launch of the second ERNIE Cup Innovation Challenge. The competition, with a reward totaling RMB 50 million ($7 million USD), aims to inspire visionaries to create and develop new products or applications within the realm of generative AI.

Another notable trend highlighted by Baidu CEO Li during his speech was MoE or “mixture of experts”. According to Li, the future development of AI-based applications will depend on a mixture of different models, the use of small models for certain tasks, and agents that are based on foundation models.

With these new innovations, Baidu aims to drive the adoption of AI and foster a more inclusive technological future. “AI is catalyzing a revolution in creativity. In the future, developing an AI application will be as straightforward as creating a short video. Everyone can be a developer and create,” said Li during the conference .