On the heels of severely tightening restrictions on mobile games, China is mandating that companies like Apple start monitoring mobile app users, Bloomberg reports. The new regulations posted Tuesday by China’s Cyberspace Administration require Apple to establish user’s identities, monitor their posts and report items that contain banned content to the Chinese government. The legitimacy of developers must also be verified, and app stores are now require to log each user’s activity for 60 days.
The provisions also contain a nod to privacy, requiring that Apple seek each user’s consent before collecting personal information, location data and contact list items, although it’s unclear whether those opting out of data collection will be allowed to use some apps given the new monitoring restrictions. Anything from critiques of the Communist party to pornography are covered in content slated for reporting, which expands existing rules on app stores to developers and app operators for the first time. Apple had no immediate comment.
