According to a new report from The Information, Apple recently fired several members of its App Store team in China over “business misconduct.” Through a year-long internal investigation, Apple reportedly uncovered a variety of misdoings, including improper contact with mobile game developers, sexual assault, and more.
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The investigation, which concluded around the middle of this year, was prompted by an “internal audit” that uncovered “irregularities” in 2022. “More than half a dozen staffers” working on the App Store business team in China were involved in the investigation, today’s report says. At least five of them were fired based on the findings of the investigation.
The people worked across a handful of different App Store teams:
The employees swept up in the investigations worked across multiple departments that help developers get their apps approved to be listed in the store, give them advice on how to increase revenue from their apps, and decide which apps to feature on the App Store’s prominent home pages. Such placements can have an outsized impact on an app’s success.
One aspect of the investigation was reportedly communication between those employees and game developers and their consultants. The Apple employees reportedly accepted “complimentary meals and nightclub outings from these parties,” in exchange for potential exposure and editorial promotion in the App Store.
“While the full extent of the facts turned up by Apple’s internal investigation couldn’t be learned, none of the fired employees had the power to directly approve or reject apps from the App Store,” The Information’s report says.
“However, some of the fired employees held roles that could influence which apps were featured in the App Store, though it wasn’t clear if they featured apps of developers with which they had unsanctioned contact,” the report explains citing anonymous sources.
As the report explains, Apple has strict guidelines when it comes to this type of communication. For example, App Store review and editorial employees “aren’t allowed to meet with developers without prior approval.” Employees involved in “developer relations and business management” are allowed to meet with developers, but can’t “accept expensive gifts or meals.”
In addition to the business misconduct firings, The Information also reports that Apple fired one App Store employee last year who allegedly sexually assaulted an employee at Mihoyo:
Separate from the business misconduct probes, Apple also fired one App Store employee last year for allegedly sexually assaulting an employee at Mihoyo, a Chinese game developer known for its popular mobile game Genshin Impact, this person said. The fired employee didn’t respond to a request for comment, and spokespeople for the developer didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.
In a statement, Apple said:
Without commenting on the specific allegations of this report, Apple expects its employees worldwide to abide by its very strong ethics and business conduct policies. We thoroughly investigate reports of improper conduct and when appropriate will not hesitate to take immediate action up to and including termination.
Apple’s App Store business in China is a crucial component of its Services division. The company, however, often brushes up against regulations in the country. Apple has been forced to remove a number of apps in China, including thousands of unlicensed video game applications, over the years. Most recently, it was forced to pull another significant round of unregistered foreign apps, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter.
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