China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television has shut down Apple’s iTunes Movies and iBooks, a surprising move that may signal that the government is souring on the American tech giant.
The services were only introduced six months ago — with the Chinese government’s blessing — before being closed down last week.
“We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible,” an Apple spokeswoman told TheWrap.
The move is somewhat surprising, as Apple’s been able to penetrate the tough Chinese market, maintaining what appeared to be a fairly friendly relationship with the tricky government. The company was years ago accepted as one of eight “guardian warrior” American companies, ones too deeply established in the country’s core industries such as energy, communications, education and military to be banned.
There are serious financial implications at play here for the Cupertino, California. company: Beyond our own borders, China is actually Apple’s best market.
So, what happened?
Perhaps Apple grew too much in the Far East, as its products and services — particularly iTunes Movies and iBooks — compete directly with several Chinese companies. Or maybe it’s actually just Edward Snowden who is to blame.
The New York Times asserts that revelations of American cyber-espionage by the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor has China nervous — or at least cautious.
Meanwhile, Rhodium Group’s Daniel H. Rosen told the midtown-Manhattan paper of record that China has “sweeping goals” in its move against Apple. Rhodium specializes in the Chinese economy.
“They are interested in protecting the content that the Chinese people see, policing its national security and favoring indigenous giants such as Huawei, Alibaba and Tencent,” the New-York based advisory firm’s founding partner said.
And China “is strongly disinclined to accept the dominance of foreign players on the Internet, not least those from the United States,” he added.
Following the service shutdown, China President Xi Jinping reportedly held a Beijing meeting on his country’s restrictive Internet policies. Also present for the conversation was Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma.
“China must improve management of cyberspace and work to ensure high-quality content with positive voices creating a healthy, positive culture that is a force for good,” the local news service Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.
We’ll see what that means for Apple’s future over there, and if that could impact the other seven “guardian warrior” firms’ futures.
For now, other iPhone-parent-company services, such as Apple Pay, are still up and running — but those may soon be crushed as well.