Apple's film and book services shuts by china

shut down Apple's online book and
movie services In China as it imposes strict rules
governing what can be published on the net.

Regulations were unveiled in March that
outlawed foreign ownership of online
publishing services.

The rules also required that all content shown
to Chinese people must be stored on servers
based on the Chinese mainland.
Apple said it hoped access to the services
would be restored soon.

Online threat
Currently, anyone in China who visits the
iBooks store or tries to use iTunes Movies
service is greeted with a message in Chinese
saying the services were "unusable", reports
Reuters. Both services have only been
available in China for about six months.

The move has widely been seen as a blow to
Apple which is keen to ensure its products
are popular and sell well in China, because
the region is the second biggest market for its
products. The shutdown comes only days
before Apple reports its second quarter
financial results.

The services were shut down on the orders of
China's media watchdog - the State
Administration of Press, Publication, Radio,
Film and Television. The action is believed to
be part of a wider attempt by China's
government to consolidate its control over the
internet and media organisations.
China has defended the restrictions saying
online publishing had to be monitored to
combat terrorism and foreign ideas that could
prove harmful.

The strict rules are also seen as a way to
foster the success of indigenous net Chinese
firms such as Huawei, Alibaba and Tencent.