China requires all app publishers to apply for licenses

The announcement, made by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on August 9, represents Beijing’s latest effort to tighten its grip on the software sector, with companies that fail to comply after a grace period ends in March 2024 facing penalties.

Analysts say the move by authorities will limit the number of applications released to the Chinese market, as well as severely impact small developers.

To comply with the new regulations from the regulator, developers are required to have a company in China or work with a local app publisher.

You Yunting, a lawyer at Shanghai-based DeBund Law Firm, said the rule means apps must obtain MIIT approval. While it is primarily aimed at preventing online fraud, it will affect all apps on the mainland.

Meanwhile, Rich Bishop, co-founder of software development firm AppInChina, said the new regulation was a “blow” to foreign app developers who had grown accustomed to easily publishing software through Apple’s app store without having to submit information to the Chinese government .

Apple declined to comment on the new rules. Last week, the iPhone maker removed hundreds of artificial intelligence apps from its App Store in response to Beijing’s request to regulate artificial intelligence apps there.

MIIT also noted that entities “engaged in Internet information services via applications in areas such as news, publishing,education , film, television or religion must also submit relevant documents.”

Apps like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram are also expected to be affected, despite their use being completely banned in China. This is because users can still download the apps from their app stores and use them while traveling abroad.

China has previously required mobile game developers to obtain a license before releasing their games in the country. In 2020, authorities removed tens of thousands of unlicensed games from app stores.

(According to Reuters)

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