The technology cold war between the United States and China does not seem to stop with both sides arguing over what technology is allowed to be used or not in these countries.
Not long after the controversy over the banning of the TikTok application started again, the Chinese government, through their government body Cyberspace Authority, has told Apple to remove the messaging application WhatsApp and also threads from the iOS App Store in the country's market.
Not many details are known about this directive, but it has been reported that the reason given is that it affects the cybersecurity of the country. This is not the first time Meta apps have been banned in China. Facebook and Instagram have been banned before, and the only way to access them in the country is through a VPN service.
Public expectation is that this order was issued as ByteDance, the developer behind the simple video app TikTok, is facing an injunction from the United States government forcing them to sell TikTok to companies in the United States to allow it to remain operational in the country.