Apple may have been under scrutiny recently but it's not backing away from China. In fact, it's taking more of its business into the country, turning to China Telecom to improve its iCloud service.
Apple started storing data on platforms maintained by the third largest wireless carrier in China last week with the intention of improving iCloud services for Chinese users. To ease worries about privacy and censorship, the company said it has security measures in place to prevent data mining.
Apple has been generally consistent with the encryption technology it uses for securing data but suspicion still clouds the move because of China's involvement. After all, the country has been suspected before of spying on foreign governments, accessing corporate servers to access information that should be off-limits to it.
Given China's reputation, it's understandable why many users would be concerned about Apple's decision to not just build a data center in the country but to actually rely on a state-owned company to run it. Apple, however, allays fears by saying that it uses encryption technology so thorough that even China Telecom won't be able to access it, assuring users that their privacy is heavily-guarded.
But many remain unconvinced, noting that if Apple wanted to do business with China, it would have to play by country's rules and these rules don't exactly prioritize user privacy. Can't Apple just ditch China? Probably not anytime soon. Or ever. Sales from the region accounted for 16 percent of the $37.4-billion revenue Apple recorded last quarter, with iPad sales jumping 51 percent and 39 percent more Macs being sold for the same period. But Apple isn't alone in thinking it can't do away with China. Challenging as it may be, the Chinese market is very lucrative for many technology companies in the U.S. so cutting ties may not be completely possible.
One did step up, though: Google. Citing concerns over privacy and censorship, the company refused to store data within China's borders and eventually moved its servers to Hong Kong to avoid search results from being censored.
Earlier in July, Apple products were reportedly banned from a procurement list drafted by the Chinese government, preventing local agencies from buying certain iPad and Mac models. Apple has denied claims by local media that its products make it possible for state secrets to be leaked.
