Apple limited file-sharing for Chinese iPhone users Thursday, a month after
reports that anti-government protesters were using the function to share
digital leaflets with strangers.
اضافة اعلان
Under the update to the AirDrop function, users of smartphones sold by Apple
in
China can only opt in to receive files from non-contacts during a 10-minute
window before it automatically shuts off. The feature did not previously have a
time limit.
The update, rolled out in the operating system released overnight, makes it
virtually impossible to receive unexpected files from strangers.
The change follows widespread reports of people using AirDrop to spread
leaflets critical of the Chinese Communist Party in crowded public spaces,
partly inspired by a protest in Beijing in which a man hung banners calling for
the removal of President Xi Jinping.
Chinese censors quickly scrubbed online videos and posts referring to the protest,
while hundreds of users on the popular payment and chat app WeChat had their
accounts blocked after speaking about the rare act of rebellion.
Apple declined AFP's request for comment on the record but the company is
now understood to be planning a roll out of the feature across the globe.
Apple phones sold outside mainland China on Thursday did not appear to be
affected by the update, while iPhones sold in China displayed the limit
regardless of which country the user's App Store account was based in.
The description for users said the update "includes bug fixes and
security updates".
-'Less appealing'-
The California-based tech giant, which touts security and privacy
protections as key features of its devices, has previously faced criticism for
alleged concessions to Beijing.
China is seen by Western observers as becoming increasingly repressive as
President Xi Jinping embarks on his third term as the country's most powerful
figure.
"This is one small sample of a type of China cost...that's making China
much less appealing as a investment and manufacturing destination for many
global multinationals many global companies," Isaac Stone Fish, CEO of
Strategy Risks, told AFP.
"Apple has to understand the very real risks of being overly exposed to
China in 2022," he added.
Other apparent concessions included opening a data centre in China, as well
as removing an app in 2019 that allowed Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters to
keep track of police.
It has also faced boycott threats in China as it stands in the crossfire of
US-China tensions, with Beijing warning in 2020 that it could turn its citizens
against Apple if Washington blocked Chinese apps.
Some Chinese social media users on Thursday hailed the iPhone update as a
positive step in preventing unsolicited messages from strangers. One Weibo user
said the change would "greatly reduce the probability of iPhone users
being harassed".
A handful questioned why the function was only being rolled out on Chinese
iPhones, with one Weibo commenter joking about Apple CEO Tim Cook's
friendliness with Beijing: "So is Tim Cook a Party member or not?"
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