A Microsoft spokesman said that Skype had been “temporarily removed” from Apple’s store and that the company was “working to reinstate the app as soon as possible.” But the spokesman did not address Skype’s absence from a variety of major third-party Android app stores. To stay in China’s good graces, Apple has taken down apps from its Chinese app store in the past. Last year, it said it had complied with a request from the Chinese authorities to remove apps created by The New York Times from its China app store. While the rules do not specifically ban foreign messaging apps, they do include general language that could be used to justify crackdowns. In that case, as in this one, it said that the apps violated Chinese rules and that it had taken them down to comply.

Source: New York Times November 21, 2017 10:33 UTC