New | Apple launches first Chinese iCloud centre, but eyebrows raised over state firm’s role
Internet giant dismisses privacy concerns over state-owned company's 'deep involvement' in the project
Apple has established its first iCloud data centre in mainland China – using a state-owned telecoms company’s storage service, prompting concerns about government censorship and monitoring.
The unprecedented move was meant to soothe Chinese consumers who have been complaining about the slow speed of iCloud connectivity, according to Apple.
It also sought to dismiss concerns over the deep involvement of a Chinese state-owned company in the initiative.
“We have added China Telecom to our list of data centre providers to increase bandwidth and improve performance for our customers in mainland China,” Apple said in a statement to the South China Morning Post on Friday.
The company denied that the change would compromise the security and privacy of user data.
”Apple takes user security and privacy very seriously. All data stored with our providers is encrypted. China Telecom does not have access to the content,” it said.