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Apple May Allow Product Security Inspections by Chinese Government Officials

Friday January 23, 2015 4:48 am PST by Kelly Hodgkins
Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly consented to security inspections of the company's products by Chinese government officials, reports The Beijing News [Via ITworld]. The inspections will look for backdoors that provide third-party access to sensitive and private data stored on Apple devices.

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These spot inspections were part of an agreement forged between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Lu Wei, director of China's State Internet Information Office. The pair met last year to talk about the security of Apple's products, including the upcoming Apple Watch. Wei expressed concerned that Apple's devices may compromise the security of the Chinese government and the privacy of Apple device owners in China.

During their conversation, Cook reportedly told Lu that Apple's devices do not contain a backdoor to share data with government entities or other third-party services. Despite these assurances, Wu supposedly insisted on these security assessments so the Chinese government can examine Apple's products firsthand.

China increasingly is an important market for Apple with sales in the Asian nation projected to continue to rise in the coming years. Apple recently confirmed plans to open five new retail locations in China over the next five weeks. The company has been heavily promoting these grand openings, making retail head Angela Ahrendts available for interview by Chinese media sources and hiring renowned calligrapher Wang Dongling to design a mural for the upcoming West Lake store in Hangzhou.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: China
[ 47 comments ]


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Ledgem
57 months ago

I don't understand what China is getting here. Closer inspection? Why not just pick up a phone at the store and play with it all you want (like they have not already done that...)? Why not just go to the factories and do a "safety" inspection?

They want to make sure that there are no backdoors. That means examining things like hardware design and software code. It's invasive and, given China's lax regard for copyright, risky for Apple.

The saddest thing about this is that, as an American, I'd find it kind of reassuring if China were to conduct its audits and decide that Apple's products were safe to use. I don't have "anything to hide," nor am I worried about the government spying specifically on me, but I think that some massive overreach has occurred and continues to occur.

Who would have thought that I, as a citizen of the self-proclaimed freest country on earth, would want to find verifications of privacy and freedoms on my electronics through the audit by a repressive foreign government? This is a pretty sad state of affairs.
Rating: 20 Votes
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vito
57 months ago
next we'll hear about China wanting to add a backdoor for "security reasons"
Rating: 13 Votes
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brendu
57 months ago
Come on guys. After all the NSA leaks I think it's completely fair for another country to want to ensure that they aren't being spied on this way. Just as we want to be sure Chinese technology isn't being used to spy on us. If I was Chinese I would expect my government to do these kinds of checks. Good on apple for allowing it to backup their stance that they don't allow their products to be used for spying.
Rating: 11 Votes
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JHankwitz
57 months ago
Ha! No doubt China wants a close look and details so they can figure out how they can break into our devices.
Rating: 10 Votes
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marioguarneros
57 months ago



China increasingly is an important market for Apple with sales in the Asian nation projected to continue to rise in the coming years. Apple recently confirmed plans to open five new retail locations in China over the next five weeks.


English is not my first language so please ignore me if I am mistaken but wouldn't it be better to write it as follows?:

"China is an increasingly important market…"
Rating: 8 Votes
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2457282
57 months ago
I don't understand what China is getting here. Closer inspection? Why not just pick up a phone at the store and play with it all you want (like they have not already done that...)? Why not just go to the factories and do a "safety" inspection?

Unless I am missing something, this seems to be nothing more than a political move to show that China is in charge and that Apple cannot just do whatever they want. Otherwise, I am not seeing anything that China actually gets by this demand.
Rating: 7 Votes
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Tankmaze
57 months ago
Apple will do everything in their power to keep the chinese government happy... Their population unmistakably $$$$ in apple's pocket.
Rating: 6 Votes
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RobertMartens
57 months ago

You just don't ******* with China :D. They do what they want, how they want and when they want.


Hmmm seven letter long swear word attributed to China

I give up, wait... is it FREEDOM?

----------

English is not my first language so please ignore me if I am mistaken but wouldn't it be better to write it as follows?:

"China is an increasingly important market…"


You are cute, and don't let anyone pick on you about your English.
And yes, your suggestion is accepted and a much nicer way to say it.

But you are much to busy to correct this site. It would be a full time job. (For no pay)
Rating: 6 Votes
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mac1984user
57 months ago

The inspections will look for backdoors that provide third-party access to sensitive and private data stored on Apple devices.


So...what about those security holes the Chinese government finds and doesn't tell Apple about? Oh well, such is the dominance of the 'free market'......
Rating: 5 Votes
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retroneo
57 months ago
Microsoft has long allowed China to inspect Windows source code for back doors:

http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/china-gets-a-peek-at-microsoft-source-code/d/d-id/1089702

Hopefully the Chinese iOS software stays the same as the international version, giving the whole world all a bit more confidence there are no back doors.
Rating: 5 Votes

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