2023-10-03 12:26:28
Last week, we commented that the Apple would be in contact with the Chinese government to analyze the best way to adapt to the country’s new rules that affect App Store. In short, local legislation began to require, last August, that developers have physical headquarters in the country so that their apps would not be removed from stores operating in the region.
The conversation between Apple and China, however, did not change the course of things much, as the Cupertino giant is now requiring new (and existing) applications to present a license from the Chinese government to be (or continue) distributed on the App Store.
More precisely, developers must issue an ICP licenseInternet content provideror internet content provider.”>1 for your applications. This is an old type of registration in China, required for websites to operate legally in the country — and most local app stores, including those operated by Tencent and Huawei, have adopted it since 2017.
To obtain registration, developers need to have a company in China or work with a local publisher, which has been an obstacle for a large number of foreign applications.
In this sense, the measure could affect hundreds of thousands of applications in China — including some well-known ones. Many developers even took to social media to express concerns about the decision, with one developer threatening to remove their apps from the country:
If my apps cannot be released in China without app registration, I will withdraw my apps from there.
—Jinyu Mengindependent developer.
Some iPhone users in China have also shared that they may need to start using Apple accounts from other countries to access their favorite apps.
Under the new rule, applications without proper registration will be punished after the grace period — which will end in March next year — while new applications will need to comply with the rule a little later, starting in September.
Apple has not yet publicly commented on the decision — but it is no exaggeration to say that it must be very uncomfortable with the new requirement.
via Archyde.com
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