Apple’s App Store in China, Long a Moneymaker, Faces Scrutiny
Apple has also removed a number of apps from its Chinese app store at the request of the government, including VPN software
that can help internet users evade censorship, and news apps created by The New York Times.
So why are these young Chinese software developers who also want to pursue the ‘Chinese Dream’ of becoming entrepreneurs
and improving their families’ quality of life through honest work any different?" Lin Wei, a lawyer at Dare & Sure, said the firm had not received a response from either the National Development and Reform Commission or from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the two government agencies with which the complaint was lodged.
A statement from Dare & Sure Law Firm, a Beijing-based firm
that said it had filed the complaint on behalf of 28 app developers, said, "Steve Jobs and Apple’s ‘American dream’ have inspired the people.
The latest came this week, when a law firm representing more than two dozen app developers asked the Chinese
authorities to investigate whether Apple’s app store policies violated local pricing and antitrust laws.
Ben Thompson said that Apple has been more successful in China than any Western tech company because their business model — selling devices
that integrate software and hardware — couldn’t be copied and couldn’t be blocked,
Apple said in a statement that, "We continue to expand our local developer relations team in China and are working hard to help developers be successful on the App Store," adding
that its guidelines applied "equally to all developers in every country where we operate." Whether any official action will be taken is unclear.
