Some Chinese government employees banned from using Apple devices: Report

Some Chinese government bodies have banned their employees from using Apple’s iPhone at work, reported WSJ.

Some Chinese government bodies have banned their employees from using Apple’s iPhone and other foreign devices for work purposes, reported Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, citing anonymous sources.

The extent of the policy is not yet clear, but it reportedly applied to some central government agencies where employees were told not to even bring foreign branded devices to work.

Apple shares fell by around 3.6% in a day. The premium gadget maker not only manufacturers the majority of its iPhones in China, but also enjoys a strong customer base there.

The new policy comes as more and more government bodies in the U.S. clamp down on the Chinese-owned short video app TikTok and ban employees from accessing it at work, claiming it poses national security concerns.

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Republican lawmakers especially believe that TikTok is used to spread pro-China propaganda and that it potentially enables American people’s data to be accessed by the Chinese Communist Party.

TikTok has denied these allegations and claimed that it is free of pressure from the CCP.