The Chinese government has prohibited its employees from using Apple Inc’s iPhone and other foreign-branded devices while on the job, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the situation.
Instructions were given to staff at “some” central government regulatory bodies through chat groups and meetings, directing them to stop bringing such gadgets into the workplace, according to the Journal report. The extent to which these orders were issued is unclear, the report said.
Apple remains highly popular in China, its biggest international market, despite growing resentment towards American attempts to constrain the country’s technology industry. iPhones are among the top-selling smartphones in the country and are widely used in both government and private sectors.
However, foreign devices have long been discouraged in sensitive agencies, particularly as China has ramped up efforts in recent years to reduce reliance on technology from the US, its geopolitical rival.
In 2022, Beijing mandated that central government agencies and state-backed corporations replace foreign-branded personal computers with domestic alternatives within a two-year timeframe, marking one of the most aggressive campaigns to remove key overseas technology from its most critical organs. – Bloomberg
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
