Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has defended the company’s take on China’s demand over removal of virtual private network (VPN) service from its App Store in the country.
The VPNs allow users to bypass China’s ‘Great Firewall’ which aims at restricting access to overseas sites.
Apple on July 29 confirmed removal of apps that don't comply with the law from its China App Store, including services based outside the country. The US-based tech giant was later criticised for its decision. It was also accused of “aiding Chinese censorship efforts”.
In response, Tim Cook expressed the company’s disagreement with China’s position, but said it had to comply with the country’s law. He said, “We follow the law wherever we do business.” “In the case of the US, the law in the US supported us. I was very clear. In the case of China, the law is also very clear there. Like we would if the US changed the law here, we’d have to abide by them in both cases. That doesn’t mean that we don’t state our point of view in the appropriate way, we always do that,” Cook said.
He added the company believes in “engaging with governments even when we disagree.” “In this particular case, we are hopeful that over time the resections we’re seeing are loosened, because innovation requires freedom to collaborate and communicate.”
--with inputs from Reuters
