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Apple has officially added China Telecom as a data center provider in China, reports The Wall Street Journal. The move comes after 15 months of "stringent tests and evaluation" by the Fuzhou city government, as Apple states that all data stored on the servers is encrypted. According to Reuters, Apple says the new data center will help improve the speed and reliability of iCloud and the iTunes Store in the region.
"Apple takes user security and privacy very seriously. We have added China Telecom to our list of data center providers to increase bandwidth and improve performance for our customers in mainland China," it said.
The move could also help ease tensions between Apple and China as of late, as the country recently deemed iOS' location tracking services a "national security concern." Apple responded to those claims reiterating its commitment to privacy and stating that its Location Services exist to aide navigation features.
China has become an important market for Apple, as the company has looked to improve its presence in the country as of late. Late last year, the company started selling the iPhone on China Mobile, the country's biggest carrier, and opened more retail stores throughout the region. CEO Tim Cook has also made a number of visits to China, meeting with Bejing's mayor and the Chinese Vice Premier to discuss opportunities.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)Privacy, my ass...
I just discovered Privacy > Location > Services > Popular Near Me.
What does that do? It sends off your location to Apple each time you launch an app. Why? So Apple can sell that app to other people near you.
I call BS they care about your privacy. I turned it off because it's been killing my 4S's battery by firing up my GPS every time I swap apps.
It's for the app store's popular near me section... its hardly violating your privacy since it only shows a list of popular apps in the area if a lot of users are using that app.
$ > ethics.
This makes me laugh. Privacy in China. Hell has to freeze over first. Not sure that will happen anytime soon. We will see how soon the first complaint will come that the data was breached.
You are totally wrong. Unless you are a high-profile figure, you have a much much better chance to have privacy in China than in the US. The US NSA is much much more capable than the Chinese one, they are as immoral as each other, and as willing to invade everyone's privacy as each other.
how is that too different from NSA?
It's not.
Knowing what we know about civil liberties and state surveillance in China, this is basically the same as Apple just handing over its Chinese customers' phones to the government.
$ > ethics.
mm...what? how is that too different from NSA? :confused:
at least, the customers will now be spied by chinese people :D
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It's for the app store's popular near me section... its hardly violating your privacy since it only shows a list of popular apps in the area if a lot of users are using that app.
yep. the GPS never fires off...
and it very useful! thats how i found my local taxi has a really cool app! and now its one of my most fav apps :)