Tim Cook defends removing VPN apps in China

Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed the removal of VPN apps from the App Store in China during the presentation of the quarterly figures. He defends this move, pointing to the new stricter rules in China, which he believes meant that the company had no other choice.

Cook emphasizes in the explanation that Apple would rather not have removed the VPN apps, but that the company adheres to the law in all countries in which it operates. He emphasizes that there are still hundreds of VPN apps available, but outside of China. Cook hopes China will gradually ease strict rules on VPN connections.

A few days ago, it appeared that Apple had removed all VPN software from the Chinese version of the App Store. In a response, Apple already indicated that the software has been removed from the App Store, because connections via VPN are not allowed in China. That goes against the terms developers must agree to when offering their apps through the App Store.

At the beginning of this year, China already started hindering VPN providers for which the authorities have not granted permission. Earlier this month, the country asked ISPs to cut off customers connecting to VPN services from February 1, 2018. VPN connections allow internet users to bypass censorship in the country, something the authorities want to prevent.

Apple’s quarterly figures show that the company has shipped 14.8 percent more iPads in the past three months than in the same third quarter last year. The total number of iPads delivered amounted to 11.4 million. It’s the first time in years that Apple has seen an increase in iPad shipments in the year-over-year comparison, likely due in part to Apple’s first long-term introduction of new iPads in the spring. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was $45.4 billion. The profit amounted to 8.7 billion dollars, converted about 7.4 billion euros.