“It’s been nearly a year since Apple began removing all VPN apps from the App Store in China, and now the iEmpire is bringing down the hammer on another type of app,” Lulu Chang reports for Digital Trends.
“Following the enforcement of new regulation from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Apple is removing apps that use the CallKit framework,” Chang reports. “This allows developers to integrate their calling services with other call-related apps, providing the calling interface but allowing developers to handle the back-end communication with their own VoIP service.”
“Apple has begun notifying developers who use this framework that they cannot use this functionality as per new government regulations. In order for their apps to be displayed in the app store, they’ll have to remove any CallKit features,” Chang reports. “While it’s not entirely clear why the Chinese government is disallowing CallKit, it’s likely due to the VoIP functionalities, which are generally not permitted in the nation. When Skype was removed from the app store last summer, it was for a similar issue. These VoIP services could allow users to dodge censorship and surveillance, as they make it difficult for government officials to monitor communication.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Why can’t Chinese citizens be trusted with freedom?
Withholding information is the essence of tyranny. Control of the flow of information is the tool of the dictatorship. ― Bruce Coville
Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. — Potter Stewart
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