Apple will hand over iCloud data for all China-based users to state-owned firm next month
A local company owned by the Guizhou provincial government will soon have access to all data stored on the iCloud in China
Continuing its policy of bowing to the will of Chinese authorities, Apple has announced that its iCloud services in mainland China will be operated by a local, government-controlled company, starting at the end of next month.
The Silicon Valley tech giant contacted customers based in mainland China earlier this week, notifying them of a new set of terms and conditions, which included a clause stating that both Apple and a Chinese internet services company based in Guizhou would have access to all data stored on iCloud.
Apple said that those who did not want to have their iCloud data managed by the Chinese firm should deactivate their account on February 28th when the change takes place.
While Apple has said that iCloud accounts that were registered outside of mainland China will not be affected by this change, TechCrunch and other media outlets have found that a number of users whose iCloud accounts were opened in the US will have their data managed by Guizhou-Cloud Big Data (GCBD), a tech firm that is owned by the Guizhou provincial government.
If it makes you feel any better, GCBD has assured the Global Times that it will “obey the rules and regulations of the country and safeguard the security of users’ data.”
“We’ve fully communicated with Apple about this cooperation. While Apple provides technical support, GCBD is responsible for the management,” the company told the state tabloid. “The two sides will strictly follow the rules and regulations, and protect users’ privacy and data security.”
Apple first announced this move back in July of last year as part of its $1 billion plan to build a new data center in Guizhou to comply with Chinese law, which forces foreign companies to store their information within China’s borders.
Along with complying with Chinese regulations, Apple said that this new “partnership” would help improve the “speed and reliability” of iCloud services, adding that it has “strong data-privacy and security protections in place and no backdoors will be created into any of any our systems.”
Of course, the Chinese government doesn’t exactly need a backdoor when it can simply walk in through the front.
Amnesty International’s China Researcher Patrick Poon has called the move “extremely worrying,” arguing that it likely means that Chinese activists who use iPhones will be “exposed to more risk of being targeted” and suggesting that “everyone in China should probably stop using iCloud.”
Meanwhile, here’s how the People’s Daily tweeted about the news:
Apple was criticized last year for its apparent willingness to kowtow to Chinese censors in order to gain official favor and shore up sliding sales in its second biggest market, removing the New York Times app, VPNs, and even Skype from its China app store to comply with government regulations.
In November, the company justified its decision to remove the VPN apps in a letter to the US Senate, arguing that by doing so it was actually promoting freedom of expression.
“We believe that our presence in China helps promote greater openness and facilitates the free flow of ideas and information. We are convinced that Apple can best promote fundamental rights, including the right of free expression, by being engaged even where we may disagree with a particular country’s law,” Apple said.
The following month, Apple CEO Tim Cook gave the keynote address at China’s annual World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, an incredibly ironic gathering that China uses to promote its own vision for the internet.
“The theme of this conference — developing a digital economy for openness and shared benefits — is a vision we at Apple share,” Cook said in his address. “We are proud to have worked alongside many of our partners in China to help build a community that will join a common future in cyberspace.”
