In the news: iTunes' books and movies get blocked, AMD signs China chip-making JV, Alibaba and Baidu help struggling SOEs and outbound M&A figures top charts

April 26, 2016 | BY

Katherine Jo &clp articles

This week Apple's online content services were halted by regulators, AMD locally licensed its x86 chip IP, top internet firms helped SOEs get tech-savvy and China spent $101.6 billion overseas in the first three months of 2016

Apple's iTunes Movie, iBooks Store blocked in China

The blocking of its mobile entertainment services in China creates new challenges for Apple as the company prepares to report its first-ever drop in iPhone sales. On Thursday, Apple's iBooks Store and iTunes Movie services had gone dark in China, its second-largest market by revenue, just over six months after their launch. iTunes Music, however, appears to be running without issue. It wasn't made public exactly why regulators asked the company to halt these services. Many have pointed to the recent online publishing regulations, which required companies with servers in the country to have a license to post online content in China, and included books and movies in their scope. But the decision seems to be more cultural-related. Apple began working with state-owned China Telecom last August to store Chinese customer data in onshore relay servers, a move that Apple said was for improving the speed and reliability of its iCloud service. This probably includes Apple ID information (all users need an Apple ID to access Apple's services, such as the App Store, iTunes, iCloud, iMessage and FaceTime). The company has a strong track record of working with local officials and even launched its Apple Pay service in China two months ago. The government has largely been tolerant of Apple, but this move shows there are lines that can't be crossed, regardless of how well-behaved a company is. As The New York Times said, Apple may just be “immune no more”.

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