Chinese cyber regulations have been making life miserable for internet users in the country. Companies aren"t much happier, as rules have forced numerous apps to be pulled from the app stores. For its part, Apple CEO Tim Cook hopes to see his company"s apps back soon.
“My hope over time is that some of the things, the couple of things that’s been pulled, come back. I have great hope on that and great optimism on that,” Cook said at the Fortune Forum in Guangzhou, China.
Whether Cook"s comments are based purely on glorious optimism or behind-the-scenes negotiations between Apple and the Chinese government is unclear, but the company has been taking heat from users inside the country for kowtowing to what many view as China"s overbearing rules. The "Great Firewall of China" laws have forced companies such as Apple to remove VPN apps from its store, as well as communications apps such as Skype. Despite the crackdown, China has maintained that it does not plan on going to a purely Intranet system.
Cook said he was happy with iPhone X sales in the country, which is a huge market for the Apple devices. Unfortunately, the iPhone has seen a sales decline in recent years, with the iPhone 8 being heavily discounted in China because of low demand. Companies such as Huawei has continued to cut into Apple"s market share.
While Cook is optimistic, there have been few, if any, signs that the tight cyber regulations in China will let up anytime soon.
Source: Reuters