Apple has announced it is setting up its first China data center in partnership with a local internet services company, in accordance with the country's new cybersecurity laws introduced last month.

Apple told Reuters on Wednesday that the data center would be built in the southern province of Guizhou with data management firm Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry (GCBD) as part of a planned $1 billion investment in the province.

Apple Data Center

"The addition of this data centre will allow us to improve the speed and reliability of our products and services while also complying with newly passed regulations," Apple said in a statement. "These regulations require cloud services be operated by Chinese companies so we're partnering with GCBD to offer iCloud," it said, referring to its online data storage service.

According to Reuters, Apple is the first foreign tech firm to announce amendments to its data storage arrangements in China after a new cybersecurity law was implemented in June which requires foreign firms to store data within the country. Other tech firms with data centers in China include Microsoft and Amazon, which will also need to comply with the new rules.

Overseas business groups have been critical of the law's strict data surveillance and storage requirements, which they say are overly vague and burden companies with excessive compliance risks, threatening proprietary data. Authorities say the law is not designed to put foreign firms at a disadvantage and was introduced as a response to the threat of cyber attacks and terrorism.

Apple assured reporters it had strong privacy and security protections in place. "No backdoors will be created into any of our systems," said a company spokesman.

Earlier this week, Apple announced it was building a second data center in Denmark run entirely on renewable energy. The company said a planned data center in Athenry, Ireland, announced in 2015, had yet to begin construction and is awaiting judicial review.

Tag: China

Top Rated Comments

makitango Avatar
97 months ago
For as long they only host local user data there, I'm fine with that. But I do not appreciate having my data lying around in overly-analyzing-user-data-China, may Apple have an interest in my privacy or not. Other countries may do the same but they also have some watchmen watching the watchmen.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AZ63 Avatar
97 months ago
Hmmm… China may start a trend. All countries can now force Apple and other companies to have server farms in their countries that must be used to backup/store online user data for those in that country. This would simplify governments getting access to user data. No longer would governments who have a warrant to review a person's data need to go through international organizations because the data would no longer be stored in a different country.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
flameproof Avatar
94 months ago
I'm no expert in network systems but how is Apple going to avoid Chinese interfering in their servers if they are physically there? Specially with Chinese tight control.
Easy, they don't.

A Local Chinese Government Will Oversee Apple’s New iCloud Data Center

The Guizhou government said on its website that the Apple iCloud working committee would be made up of around 10 members, such as Guizhou's Executive Vice Governor Qin Rupei, Deputy Secretary-general Ma Ningyu and other officials.



http://fortune.com/2017/08/14/apple-china-icloud-data-center/
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
miknos Avatar
97 months ago
I'm no expert in network systems but how is Apple going to avoid Chinese interfering in their servers if they are physically there? Specially with Chinese tight control.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Plutonius Avatar
97 months ago
As this data center is for storing Chinese user data. It should not affect outsiders.
I think the key word is "should not".

Do we really know what will be on the servers ?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
canny Avatar
97 months ago
I don't want why data available to the Chinese government.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...