Apple is reportedly cracking down on the availability of ChatGPT-style apps in China amid regulatory scrutiny. A new report today says that Apple has removed “over a hundred” apps that “provide ChatGPT-style services” in China “ahead of forthcoming changes to regulations in the country.”
According to the South China Morning Post post, Apple has pulled a handful of apps in this category. In notices to affected developers, Apple says that the apps were removed “because they include content that is illegal in China.”
The apps were all pulled off the shelves from China’s iOS app store on Tuesday, according to data on Chinese mobile app analytics platform Qimai. Spark, an app developed by iFlyTek that provides ChatGPT-style services, was among the removed apps even though it had a high-profile launch on June 29.
Among the other apps pulled was the popular ChatGAi Plus, which provides chatbot, AI translation and writing services and was ranked 9th on the China iOS app store’s paid app chart before being removed on Tuesday afternoon, Qimai records show.
Apple’s crackdown on generative AI apps in the China App Store comes two weeks before new regulations are set to take effect in the country on August 15. The goal of the regulation is to “promote healthy content” while also “adhering to core socialist values” in the country.
Last month, China issued the world’s earliest and most detailed regulation on generative AI models, drawn up jointly by seven Chinese regulators including the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and the MIIT.
The regulation, slated to take effect on August 15, targets all generative AI content services, including text, pictures, audio and video. It requires firms that are hoping to offer their products to the general public to promote healthy content and “adhere to core socialist values”, and to not generate false information or any content that endangers national security.
Apple regularly pulls apps from the App Store in countries around the world in response to regulatory changes and requirements. Unsurprisingly, China is the market in which this happens most often. For example, Apple removed thousands of games from the App Store in China over the last several years due to rules that require game developers to receive approval from regulators in the country.
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