Skype removed from Chinese app stores

Microsoft-owned Skype has disappeared from several Chinese app stores, including those operated by Apple and Android. According to a Microsoft spokesman, the app has been ‘temporarily removed’ while Microsoft is ‘working to reinstate the app as soon as possible’. An Apple spokeswoman told the New York Times that the company was notified by the Ministry of Public Security that ‘a number of voice over Internet protocol apps do not comply with local law’. In response, Apple removed Skype from its app stores in China.