Apple's uncomfortable China compromise

Outsourcing data storage to a state-run group is the painful price of access

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20180205_apple store beijing iPhone x

Too big a market to lose? The first iPhone X customer at a Beijing Apple Store shows off his purchase in November.

Apple's decision to transfer control of the cloud storage accounts of its Chinese customers to a state-owned company has triggered a global debate about the U.S. tech company's moral compass.

Apple's willingness to move its customers' iCloud accounts behind China's Great Firewall and place them under the country's cybersecurity laws has been seen by many overseas as a betrayal of the U.S. company's values and its commitment to an open internet.

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