Apple Implements Additional Verification for Apps in China as Beijing Strengthens Regulation

HONG KONG: Apple has started requiring new apps to show proof of a Chinese government license before they are listed on China’s App Store, joining local rivals who had adopted the policy years earlier to meet tightening government regulations.

Last Friday, Apple began requiring app developers to submit an “Internet Content Provider (ICP) Notice” when they publish new apps on its App Store, it said on its developer website.

ICP filing is a long-standing registration system required for websites to operate legally in China, and has been implemented by most local app stores, including those operated by Tencent and Huawei, since at least 2017.

In order to obtain an ICP archiving license, developers must have a company in China or work with a local publisher, which has been an obstacle for many foreign applications.

Apple’s lax ICP policy has allowed it to offer far more mobile apps than local app rivals and helped the US tech giant boost its popularity in China, its third-largest market after America and Europe.

Apple’s decision comes after China further tightened its controls on mobile apps in August by issuing a new rule requiring all app stores and app developers to submit an “app application” containing company information to regulators.

Last week, Chinese regulators released the names of the first mobile app stores to complete the apps, but Apple’s App Store was not on the list.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

Apple’s compliance could affect the availability of hundreds of thousands of apps on its Chinese App Store, including popular foreign apps such as X, formerly known as Twitter, and Telegram, which became popular amid protests against COVID-19 lockdowns last year.

Apple also has other problems in China as Beijing focuses more on security, such as some government agencies banning employees from using the iPhone, as Reuters reported last month.

Rich Bishop, CEO of AppInChina, an app publishing company, said requiring ICP notifications from developers brings Apple one step closer to full compliance in China.

The expanded rule, published in August, effectively requires the app’s backend to be hosted in China, which became a condition last month for apps to appear in local Android app stores.

Many developers have taken to social media to express their concerns over Apple’s decision, fearing that it may tighten the rules even further to fully comply with China’s regulations.

In an X message, Jinyu Meng, an independent developer, said, “If my apps can’t be launched in China without app filing, I will remove my apps [there].”

Some Chinese iPhone users posted on the X that they may have to start using Apple accounts from other countries to access their favorite apps.

Under the new rule, apps without proper notification will be penalized after a grace period that ends in March next year, while new apps will have to comply with the rule starting in September.