No WhatsApp in China, no TikTok in the US, and the return of Llama

This time, the company had bowed to orders from the Chinese state to remove WhatsApp and Threads, two of the last Meta apps still available in the country. Apple confirmed it had withdrawn the two apps – both owned by Meta, also the owner of Facebook – under instruction from the Cyberspace Administration of China, which regulates and censors China's highly restricted internet and online content. "The Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these apps from the China storefront based on their national security concerns," Apple said in an emailed statement to Reuters. "We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree." The reader, perhaps, is intended to infer a final clause in that statement, and conclude that Apple does indeed disagree with the order.