Apple removes 25,000 apps from the Chinese App Store

Apple confirms to remove illegal gambling apps from the App Store, in response to reports in Chinese media that the company has removed 25,000 apps. Chinese state media previously criticized the presence of illegal apps.

The Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported last weekend that Apple has removed 25,000 illegal apps. It would be gambling apps and applications for fake lotteries. Apple would not confirm the number to the Wall Street Journal, but said in a statement that “gambling apps are illegal and not allowed in the App Store in China.”

“We have already removed many apps and developers for distributing illegal gambling apps in our App Store and we are determined to find them and prevent their presence in the App Store,” the statement reads.

The large-scale removal follows criticism in Chinese state media that Apple refused to enforce its rules for the App Store. A search for the words “lottery” and “gambling” would already reveal a list of hundreds of illegal apps, according to CCTV earlier and a sample would show that in many cases they were scams. Even after the removal from the app store, illegal, already installed apps would remain on iPhones and still receive updates, is the criticism.

Apple was previously under fire in China for offering illegal apps. A year ago, the company removed VPN apps from its software store, because these types of apps are not allowed under Beijing regulations.