Apple’s China App Store is putting pressure on games

The Chinese government began to require video games to be licensed four years ago before release, but developers were able to get around the requirement in Apple’s app store. Apple hasn’t said why the loophole existed or why the company started closing it this year. Foreign software developers regret the change and say it is difficult to get approval in China for their games.

The app store purge comes as China has stepped up efforts to monitor its internet, tighten content controls and censorship, including a requirement to remove TripAdvisor and more than 100 other apps from the country’s Apple store. The Chinese Cyberspace Administration called the apps illegal without describing the violations committed by TripAdvisor or the other apps, most of which come from Chinese developers. Tripadvisor declined to comment.

The Cyberspace Administration of China, which regulates cybersecurity, and the National Radio and Television Administration, which approves video games, did not respond to requests for comment.

In China, Apple’s App Store research highlights the delicate balance the Cupertino, California-based company must strike to reach Chinese consumers while meeting official requirements.

Earlier this month, Apple told developers in a memo that premium games and games with in-app purchases had until Dec. 31 to submit proof of government license.

“As far as we can tell, only a small fraction of these games will actually be licensed,” said Rich Bishop, CEO of ChinaInApp, which is working with Western companies to get their apps in China.

Trade tensions between China and the US and other countries have made it more difficult to get those licenses, he said.

Apple had 272,000 games in its China App Store last year, according to Sensor Tower, a company that tracks app activity worldwide. For 2020, it found at least 94,000 removals from the Chinese store, far more than the 25,000 game apps removed last year.

While the full extent of the software purge remains unclear, game sales growth appears to have slowed in Apple’s Chinese store, even as the segment has accelerated its pace globally. Sensor Tower estimates that game revenues in China are up 14% this year through November to $ 13 billion. That compares with a 21% increase in China over the same trajectory in 2019 and a 26% increase worldwide this year.

Apple’s app store has caught fire in various parts of the world. It faces accusations by rivals of anti-competitive behavior – which Apple has disputed – and regulatory oversight in the US and Europe.

Critics have questioned Apple’s decision to comply with some of China’s demands, saying they run counter to Chief Executive Tim Cook’s stated desire to stand up for freedom of expression, privacy and human rights.

New research from the Campaign for Accountability, an advocacy group in Washington, DC, has identified more than 3,000 apps that are not in the China App Store, but appear in other countries. The group, which includes David Magerman, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and Craig Newmark Philanthropies, has campaigned against major technology companies such as Google and Apple.

Nearly a third of the apps absent from the Apple Store in China were related to what the advocacy group termed ‘popular human rights’ topics such as Tibetan Buddhism, Hong Kong protests, and gay or transgender rights or themes, while 5% related to pornography or gambling. Another big part was games.

“When it comes to political pressure, the company needs to explain why and what they would lose if they didn’t,” said Katie Paul, director of the campaign’s Tech Transparency Project. “This veil of secrecy surrounding why they are removing this information makes it even more concerning.”

She acknowledged that the disparity in Apple’s offerings in China could be due in part to developers censoring themselves knowing they would be approved in the country.

Apple faces rebuke from two sides: from Chinese state media for not doing enough to filter banned content, and complaints from outside mainland China that it is leaning towards state censorship. The company has said it complies with local laws.

In a statement on Monday, Apple reiterated that its app stores are subject to local rules and sometimes field requests to remove certain apps.

“Apple studies these requests carefully when we receive them, and we often dispute and disagree with them,” said a company spokesperson. “While the final decisions may sometimes conflict with our wishes, we believe that our customers will be best served if we remain in the country and provide them with access to products that promote self-expression with world-class privacy protections.”

Both Apple and Google removed apps related to the anti-government protests in Hong Kong, including a crowdsourced map service that tracked police activity. The People’s Daily newspaper, which is run by the Chinese Communist Party, called the app “toxic software.”

Apple said the map app violated guidelines and local laws, and Mr. Cook defended the company’s actions in a memo to staff, noting the difficulties. “National and international debates will outlive us all, and while important, they do not determine the facts,” he wrote. “We believe this decision best protects our users.”

In its most recent disclosure reports, Apple said it received 103 requests from Chinese authorities last year for the removal of 399 apps for legal violations, most of which were related to pornography and illegal content. Apple said it honored most of those requests and removed 381 apps. In addition, in response to government requests in China during that period, Apple said it had removed 129 apps for alleged platform violations, such as illegal gambling.

—Yoko Kubota contributed to this article.

Write to Tim Higgins at [email protected]