App Stores Forced to Remove Skype in China
Microsoft’s Skype app has quietly disappeared from some app stores in China. Skype is no longer available from Apple’s App Store on the iPhone, and the app is also unavailable from a number of Android app stores.
The exact reason behind the disappearance of Skype from these app stores is entirely unclear, but the Ministry of Public Security in China reportedly notified companies like Apple that a number of VoIP weren’t complying with the country’s law, forcing app stores to remove the Skype app, along with some other VoIP apps.
“We have been notified by the Ministry of Public Security that a number of voice over internet protocol apps do not comply with local law. Therefore these apps have been removed from the app store in China. These apps remain available in all other markets where they do business,” an Apple spokesperson told The New York Times.
Microsoft told Bloomberg that the software giant is working on resolving the issue, claiming that the removable of Skype from the app stores is only temporary.
The Ministry of Public Security blocking Skype isn’t a massive surprise — services like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are already blocked in the country, for example. Microsoft even makes a special version of Windows 10 for China to comply with the Chinese government’s needs, so there’s a decent chance of the company getting around the latest block imposed by the Chinese government.