Apple will soon reveal more details about removing apps from the App Store: Report

Apple is said to have committed to improving disclosures about why it removes certain apps from the App Store, following claims that the tech giant’s secret decision-making process jeopardizes privacy. due to speech in countries like China and Russia. According to reports, activist investors purchased the pledge from Apple earlier this month. Nearly a third of shareholders approved a resolution calling for more transparency in the company’s interactions with foreign governments at its annual meeting last March. The call for increased transparency comes after many apps were removed from the App Store in countries like China and Russia.

According to one report by the Financial Times, petitioners filed by Azzad Asset Management, a U.S. faith-based investment firm, and British activist investment firm, Tulipshare, have requested Apple to explain why some apps were removed from the App Store after some Bible and Quran study tools were banned in China at the end of 2021 without any explanation.

The Cupertino company will now disclose how many apps each country has requested to be removed from the App Store, whether these requests focus on violations of the law, and whether Apple agrees to them. or not. The company will also notify its investors of the number of apps that have been removed in each country for violating App Store guidelines. Apple’s Transparency Report will reveal this information, according to the report.

It’s worth noting that Apple has previously removed apps based on government requests. China’s App Store does not include encrypted messaging apps or some social media apps, while a number of apps and games are also banned from the App Store in India, including PUBG Mobile and Garena Free Fire. The company has yet to issue a statement regarding the claims made in the report.

To comply with local regulations, 30,000 apps were also taken down from the China App Store in 2020. As before. report Apple also removed several key apps from the App Store for users in Russia last year. In the first six months of 2021, China cited 34 law violations and requested the removal of 89 apps, and based on the most recent report, Apple has not objected to any of those requests, as reported by Apple. FT.