14 DAY TRIAL // New York Times reports on Tuesday that Chinese Ministry of Public Security forced Apple to remove Microsoft's Skype VoIP client from its Chinese App Store.
Skype is one of the most popular Voice over IP telephony applications that lets users make Internet phone calls and send messages to friends and family when overseas. But it looks like China doesn't want people to use Microsoft's Skype on their country as the app can no longer be downloaded.
The Chinese government is known to ban apps and services that use end-to-end encryption for communication, or if they do not comply with country's rules on monitoring and identifying users, so this shouldn't come as a surprise to many people. This is also the reason Skype was removed from Apple's App Store.
“We have been notified by the Ministry of Public Security that a number of voice over internet protocol apps do not comply with local law. Therefore these apps have been removed from the app store in China," said an Apple spokeswoman. "These apps remain available in all other markets where they do business."
Skype not totally banned in China, yet
While Skype isn't completely banned in China, as it continues to operate in the country, it appears that Microsoft is currently in talks with the Chinese officials to reinstate the application as soon as possible. If Microsoft doesn't succeed, Skype could soon join Whatsapp, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Telegram, and Gmail.
All these services are currently banned by government’s Great Firewall of China, which also offers limited access to similar messaging services. The Chinese government also recently blocked sales of Apple's latest Apple Watch Series 3 LTE models in the country over security concerns.
We'll update the story as more information becomes available, but we have a feeling that Skype will soon be banned in the entire country and won't make a comeback in Apple's App Store for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices, nor other app stores from where Microsoft's VoIP client could be downloaded.