Apple Limits File-sharing For Chinese IPhone Users After Anti-govt Protest - Barron's

The update, rolled retired successful the operating strategy released overnight, means iPhone users volition person to deliberately crook AirDrop connected soon earlier a record is shared to person it.

This makes it virtually intolerable to person unexpected files from strangers.

The alteration comes aft radical utilized AirDrop to spread leaflets captious of the Chinese Communist Party successful crowded nationalist spaces aft a man hung banners connected a span successful Beijing past period that called for the removal of "dictator and nationalist traitor Xi Jinping" and an extremity to China's zero-Covid policy.

Chinese censors rapidly scrubbed online videos and posts referencing the protest, portion hundreds of users connected the fashionable outgo and chat app WeChat had their accounts blocked aft speaking astir the uncommon enactment of rebellion.

Apple did not instantly respond to AFP's petition for comment, and did not springiness a crushed for this circumstantial change, but said successful its update statement for users that the operating strategy present "includes bug fixes and information updates".

Apple phones sold extracurricular of mainland China did not look to beryllium affected by the update, portion iPhones sold successful China displayed the bounds careless of which state the user's App Store relationship was based in.

The California-based tech elephantine has previously faced disapproval for appearing to marque concessions to China's authoritarian government, including opening a information centre successful the state arsenic good arsenic removing an app successful 2019 that allowed Hong Kong pro-democracy protestors to support way of police.

On Thursday immoderate Chinese societal media users hailed the iPhone update arsenic a affirmative measurement successful preventing unsolicited messages from strangers, with 1 Weibo idiosyncratic saying the alteration would "greatly trim the probability of iPhone users being harassed".

Only a fistful questioned wherefore the relation was lone being rolled retired connected Chinese iPhones, with 1 Weibo commenter making a gag astir Apple's CEO Tim Cook's friendliness with Chinese authorities: "So is Tim Cook a Party subordinate oregon not?"