Why China Banned Apple's iTunes And iBooks: 'The Great Firewall Of China' Struck Again

The latest "Great Firewall Of China" victim in a series of attempts to filter Western influences from invading Chinese territory is Apple. It took iTunes and iBooks offline after its launch last year. 

Unlike other countries, China imposes a strict regulation when it comes to giving its citizens access to foreign websites. Yahoo said that three big names have experienced the sting of "The Great Firewall of China." These companies include Facebook, Google and Twitter. Now, even with a strong following in China over the iPhone, China dropped the bomb when it took iTunes and iBooks offline.

china banned apple from their country lol

— Lucas (@LucasMcStacy) February 26, 2015

Why China Took iTunes And iBooks Offline

China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television demanded the iTunes and iBooks shut down for reasons that remain unclear. The services have been running for less than eight months, and there was no reported prior notice of any intent to shut down the Apple services from the Chinese government.

"We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible," said a statement from Apple. DNA India reported that Apple, however, didn't divulge the reason behind the shutdown.

The Invaluable Chinese Market

Despite the strict censorship, Western companies are still going gaga over the Chinese market. With more than a billion people ready to embrace the technology being offered them, it's no wonder why top CEOs of tech companies clamor for even only a small portion of the Chinese market share.

Apple sees China as an important market. Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, previously declared that he monitors Apple's performance in China on a daily basis. Aside from Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg also went to China and courted the people by speaking Mandarin.

While the reason behind the recent iTunes and iBooks shut down remains a mystery, Apple clearly was not deterred in its attempts to capture the huge Chinese market. What will Apple do next? It's a wait and see game for many.