Chinese authorities will gain access to iCloud, a data storage service operated by Apple, posing a serious threat to users' data privacy, a human rights group says.
As announced by Apple's Chinese partner, the Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry (GCBD) will start operating iCloud for users in China from Wednesday.
This change led to data stored on iCloud, including photos, videos, and documents as well as content backups - being subject to the new terms and conditions of the data storage service now operated by GCBD.
"When the authorities come to GCBD requesting information about an iCloud user for the purposes of a criminal investigation, the company has a legal obligation to provide it and few, if any, viable legal avenues to challenge or refuse the request," Amnesty International said in a statement.
Although Apple is known as an advocate of information privacy and online security, the situation in China is different.
The US tech giant faced harsh criticism for blocking its Chinese users' access to some telecommunication applications such as Skype and for removing VPN applications from the Apple Store in China, which is the only technology allowing people residing in China to avoid the government's internet censorship.
"The changes being made to iCloud are the latest indication that China's repressive legal environment is making it difficult for Apple to uphold its commitments to user privacy and security," Amnesty added.
The group warned the Chinese government has been given virtually unlimited access to user data stored inside the country "without adequate protection for users' rights to privacy, freedom of expression or other basic human rights."
Apple informed clients the move will help the company "comply with Chinese regulations".
