iCloud on mainland to be run by Chinese firm

Screenshot of the iCloud logo on a tablet screen. [Photo: IC]

Apple's iCloud service in the Chinese mainland will be operated by a Chinese company, reports thepaper.cn.

From February 28, Guiyang-based Guizhou-Cloud Big Data will be in charge of the iCloud service in the Chinese mainland. iCloud users will have to accept legal and financial obligations with that company, rather than Apple.

"We hope to make it transparent to our customers that we have made these changes. We will remind our customers of it by sending emails and push notifications in the coming seven weeks starting from January 10," said Apple in an interview with the People's Daily.

Apple claims the cooperation will improve iCloud users' experience by improving the speed and reliability on the mainland. Apple is obligated to partner with a Chinese firm under China's Cybersecurity Law, which stipulates that iCloud service in the mainland market have to be run by a Chinese company.

In July, 2017, Apple's first data center in China was established in Guizhou Province.

Under the agreement, Guizhou-Cloud, will have exclusive rights to operate iCloud services on the mainland.

Chinese users data will be stored in the data center.