So we already knew that the Chinese government would not allow the installation of Microsoft’s Windows 8 on government computers, but now it looks like that ban has extended to Apple as well. According to a report from Bloomberg, it seems that the Chinese government has prohibited government agencies from purchasing Apple’s hardware products.
Apparently this is due to security concerns, which in all honesty is hardly news. After all the Chinese government had reportedly expressed their desire to punish the likes of Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, and Google for alleged spying, so in a way it is not too surprising that they aren’t exactly huge supporters of Apple’s products.
Bloomberg goes on to state that the ban would be applied to all central and local agencies in China, with about 10 Apple products being omitted from a government procurement list. This includes the likes of the iPad and the MacBook laptops. The ban on Apple’s products follows a recent ban on the likes of security software from Symantec and Kaspersky.
Neither Apple nor the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission have commented on the matter yet, but if this true, it seems that Apple could be dealt a blow as they would have just lost out on potential purchases made by China’s government.
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