Apple is locking down the iPhone App Store to comply with a new law in China
Illustration: The Verge
Apple’s iPhone App Store in China is getting a whole lot more locked down. China recently updated an existing online software regulation to lay out strict criteria for app stores and apps in the country, and after looking for ways around it, Apple has started to comply. For users in China, it’s about to get way harder to watch YouTube on iPhones.
Apple, as of Friday of last week, requires app developers hoping to publish apps on its App Store in China to provide their Internet Content Provider (ICP) filing number from the Chinese government. Last month, China announced it would require an ICP license in order for apps to be listed in all mobile app stores. Now, as Apple honors the regulation, it closes a loophole that had let iPhone…
