Apple has assured to disclose more details about why it removes certain apps from its App Store, according to a report by Financial Times. The company’s assurance comes at a time when activists are questioning the brand’s position on freedom of expression in countries like China and Russia.
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As part of this commitment, Apple will give investors more detail about apps that are being taken down from its App Store in its Transparency Report. It will share whether the request for take down is based on a legal violation, the paper said. Currently, the company informs investors about how many apps each country has requested to be removed.
Apple has agreed to publish the legal basis for removal requests by each government in its next report, along with a breakdown by country and app category. However, it will not explain why individual apps have been taken down, as originally requested by the petitioners.
The Cupertino-based company will also disclose how many apps it removes for violating App Store or developer licence agreement guidelines by country.
Apple has long been criticised for agreeing to countries’ requests of removing certain apps from the Appstore. Encrypted messaging tools WhatsApp and Signal are not allowed in China’s App Store, for instance, nor are The New York Times or some social media apps.
Tulipshare asked Apple to generate details on why certain apps were pulled from the App Store after some Bible and Koran study tools were inexplicably banned from China in late 2021.
