China Tells Apple to Remove Ride-Hailing App Didi Chuxing From App Store for Data Violations

Apple has been informed by China's cyberspace regulator that it must remove the Didi Chuxing ride hailing app from the Chinese App Store following concerns about the Uber rival's possible misuse of personal data.

Tim Cook Beijing Didi Chuxing

Apple CEO Tim Cook with Didi Chuxing president Jean Liu in 2016

The app in question is owned by Didi Global, which Apple has $1 billion invested in. Bloomberg reports that the ban was announced on Sunday by the Cyberspace Administration of China, citing serious violations on the company's collection and usage of personal information, without going into detail.

The regulator on Sunday ordered Didi to rectify its problems following legal requirements and national standards, and take steps to protect the personal information of its users.

The decision means that Apple and other app store operators on other platforms will have to remove the Didi Chuxing from their listings. The "unusually swift" decision is said to have come just two days after the regulator said it was conducting a cybersecurity review of Didi Global Inc.

The ban was effective immediately, but users who downloaded the app before Sunday are still able to order rides and other services. Didi said it had already halted new user registrations as of July 3 and was now working to rectify its app in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Apple in 2016 invested $1 billion in the Chinese ride-hailing company. The move was described by CEO ‌Tim Cook‌ at the time as a "strategic investment" that would help Apple better understand the Chinese market. Following its investment, Apple was given a Didi Chuxing board seat.

It's unclear what impact the ban could have on Apple's stake in Didi, but the decision follows broader moves by Beijing to curb the influence of China's largest internet corporations and tighten the ownership of the personal data of hundreds of millions of users held by the likes of Alibaba, Tencent, and others.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News 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.

Top Rated Comments

gvanvoor Avatar
29 months ago
I can't but wonder if the "misuse of personal data" can be interpreted as not enough sharing of the information with the Chinese government...
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArPe Avatar
29 months ago
US and European government should have the balls to tell Apple to remove Facebook, Clubhouse, Twitter, Parler, all these places full of theft, scams, lies. The worst people in the world using these apps to destroy the mind of so many people with no consequences and making money from it.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
abhibeckert Avatar
29 months ago
The move was described by CEO ‌Tim Cook‌ at the time as a "strategic investment" that would help Apple better understand the Chinese market.
Well I'd sat they got what they paid for.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Onexy Avatar
29 months ago
China doesn’t care about privacy. This is purely political.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scaramoosh Avatar
29 months ago
What Ricky Gervais said at the Golden Globes was so true.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Psychicbob Avatar
29 months ago

China and privacy is an oxymoron. :D
Actually, they keep citizens data private, to themselves
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Multi Display CarPlay 1

All-New Apple CarPlay Launching Later This Year With These 5 New Features

Friday September 29, 2023 11:29 am PDT by
At WWDC 2022 last year, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, personalization options, and more. Apple said the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience would be announced in late 2023, but it has still not shared any additional...
BMW Logo iPhone 15 Pro

Warning: BMW Wireless Charging May Break iPhone 15's Apple Pay Chip

Sunday October 1, 2023 6:14 am PDT by
If you have an iPhone 15 and drive a BMW, it might be best to avoid charging the device with the vehicle's wireless charging pad for now. Over the past week, some BMW owners have complained that their iPhone 15's NFC chip no longer works after charging the device with their vehicle's wireless charging pad, according to comments shared on the MacRumors Forums and X, formerly known as Twitter. ...
iPhone 15 Pro lineup

Apple to Address iPhone 15 Pro Overheating Issue With iOS 17 Update

Saturday September 30, 2023 9:28 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an iOS 17 update to address a bug that may contribute to the reported iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max overheating issue, according to a statement the company shared today with MacRumors and Forbes reporter David Phelan. Apple also says some recent updates to third-party apps have overloaded the system and contributed to the overheating issue. The report notes that...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Details: Action Button, USB-C Port, Face ID, and More

Wednesday September 27, 2023 1:34 pm PDT by
Significant changes are expected to arrive with Apple's fourth-generation iPhone SE, in terms of both design and hardware, MacRumors has learned. The iPhone SE 4, known internally under the codename Ghost, is expected to receive a new design derived almost entirely from the base model iPhone 14. According to our sources, the iPhone SE 4 will use a modified version of the iPhone 14 chassis...
iPhone 16 Side Feature

iPhone 16 and 16 Pro: Preliminary Weights and Dimensions

Friday September 29, 2023 12:34 pm PDT by
MacRumors has obtained preliminary information on the weights and dimensions planned for the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The information corroborates previous reports suggesting that the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max will feature larger displays. iPhone 16 and 16 Plus Current information suggests that the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will maintain the same...
CarPlay SharePlay

CarPlay Not Working for Some iPhone 15 Users, Possibly Because of USB-C Cables

Friday September 29, 2023 2:27 pm PDT by
CarPlay is not working as expected for some iPhone 15 users, an issue that is likely linked to the transition to USB-C. There are multiple complaints from MacRumors readers and Reddit users who are unable to get CarPlay to work with their new devices. Cable type and available port options are a common theme in the CarPlay reports, with many of the functionality problems linked to USB-A to...
iOS 17

Everything New in iOS 17.1 Beta 1

Wednesday September 27, 2023 1:57 pm PDT by
Just a week after releasing iOS 17, Apple has seeded the first beta of iOS 17.1 to developers. iOS 17.1 adds some features that Apple promised were coming to iOS 17 in the future, plus it refines and improves some existing features. This guide covers everything new in the first iOS 17.1 beta. Apple Music Favorites You can favorite songs, albums, playlists, and artists in the iOS 17.1...