Report claims Apple hosts apps run by sanctioned Chinese organization

Source: Joe Keller / iMore

A damning new report from The Information claims that Apple may have hosted apps on its App Store created by a Chinese organization sanctioned in the U.S. over links to the persecution of Uyghurs.

From the report:

Apple’s App Store has been distributing more than a dozen apps created by a Chinese organization sanctioned by the U.S. for human rights abuses against Muslim minorities in China’s Xinjiang region, The Information has learned.

The apps, which provide news, offer information about government services and help small businesses manage orders for e-commerce, ride hailing and home repairs, were created by various units of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a paramilitary organization in charge of the region’s economy and security. Several Western governments and human rights groups have accused the Corps of detaining and physically abusing or sterilizing up to 2 million Uyghurs, the ethnically Turkic residents of northwestern China. Chinese officials have repeatedly denied the allegations.

The report claims apps on the App Store made “by various units” of the Corps included apps for news, government services, and ride-hailing.

The remainder of the report is paywalled, however, according to AppleInsider it contains a statement from Apple which says Apple “had reviewed the apps, and concluded each complied with US law.”

Apple was recently reported to have dropped an iPhone supplier from its supply chain over allegations of forced Uyghur labor.