Apple will work with a government-owned company to establish the data centre

Apple is building its first data centre in China, in a move that will allow it to comply with the country’s cybersecurity laws — but also relinquish partial control over its data.

According to the statement to Reuters, Apple said the new data centre will allow it to “improve the speed and reliability of its products and services, while also complying with newly passed regulations.” This includes enabling Chinese iCloud customers to upload and access data such as photos and videos more quickly.

This is not the first time Apple has kowtowed to China’s state authorities. In 2014, Apple partnered with state-owned telecom provider China Telecom to store some data in their facilities, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Also Read: How to protect your business from spying competitors

The Silicon Valley company will be partnering with Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry Co Ltd (GCBD) — a government-owned data management firm — for this new venture. Apple made assurances that it has a strong encryption framework in place to ensure all data is secured and private. The company also said its systems will have no backdoors.

However, under China’s new Cybersecurity Law — designed to tackle cyber attacks and terrorism —  Apple will not be allowed to transmit data from China to other countries, unless there is a “genuine business need” and only after a security assessment.

The data centre will be located in the Guizhou province. Apple said this is part of a plan to inject US$1 billion worth investments into the province.

Guizhou aspires to become China’s data centre hub. One of the data centre projects in the province is a US$23 million radio telescope data centre. Other major tech companies such as Qualcomm and Foxconn have also made investments in Guizhou, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Other foreign tech enterprises with cloud businesses, including Microsoft and Amazon have already established data centres in China.

—

Image Credit: Apple

 

 

The post Apple to build first data centre in China to comply with cybersecurity laws appeared first on e27.