The WSJ is out this morning with a piece based on a report recently broadcasted on the state-run China Central Television, quoting the iPhone location tracking feature as a “national security concern.” Nevermind the fact that you can turn off the feature.
As the largest market, one that is greatly untapped, China is a big bet for Apple, and just about any other company. With 6% of the Chinese smartphone market share, Apple is trailing behind the competition, most notably, Samsung, and Xiaomi, but it didn’t stop the Chinese broadcaster to make Apple the main target…
In its national noon broadcast, state-run China Central Television criticized the “frequent locations” function in Apple’s iOS 7 mobile operating system, which records time and location for the owner’s movements. The report quoted researchers who said that those with access to that data could gain knowledge of China’s economic situation or “even state secrets.”
CCTV doesn’t necessarily reflect the sentiment of Chinese leaders, but it’s still a very influential media that has had its run at Apple and various other companies in the past. Just last year, the same China Central Television accused the Cupertino company to be discriminating against Chinese consumers via its warranty policy, which led Tim Cook to publish an open letter apologizing.
Go read the full WSJ article here and come back here to tell us what you think.