ByteDance apps from China blocked in US Apple Store
The sale of TikTok to a US consortium is complete. A kind of geoblocking now prevents American citizens from downloading Chinese apps.
Smartphone with TikTok logo in front of Chinese flag.
(Image: Boumen Japet / Shutterstock.com)
Apple no longer allows US citizens to access Chinese ByteDance apps. The decision was apparently made as part of the takeover of the US version of TikTok by American investors, reports the tech magazine Wired. This is apparently also a problem for Chinese users: they cannot update their apps from ByteDance if they are in the USA.
It worked without a VPN before
According to the report, it was previously possible to download or update apps like Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, in the USA. The only requirement was an App Store account registered in China. Apple usually sets country restrictions based on the origin of the App Store account. For ByteDance apps, this apparently no longer applies, at least in US territory: a VPN (apparently for China) is now required to initiate the download. In the USA, download and update attempts state that the app “is not available in the country or region where you are located.”
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Neither Apple nor ByteDance commented on the report. It is conceivable that Apple is trying to comply with US law. The so-called Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act explicitly prohibits apps that are predominantly controlled by ByteDance. The US version of TikTok is operated by the joint venture TikTok USDS, which includes investors and Oracle, among others. ByteDance still holds a 15 percent stake.
The American Firewall
Chinese users typically use a VPN to access Western apps that are blocked within the People's Republic thanks to the “Great Firewall.” In the USA, it is now the other way around for ByteDance apps. In addition to Douyin, apps like Doubao (AI chatbot) and the novel reading platform Fanqie Novel are no longer accessible.
Last year, Apple still had a support document on its website explaining why TikTok and other ByteDance apps had disappeared from the store – but in the US version. TikTok (the US version), CapCut (editing software), and the social media platform Lemon8 are now available again in the American App Store. The fact that the Chinese App Store is partially blocked in US territory is a new development.
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