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    Apple is building its first China-based data center per new cybersecurity law

    Apple is building its first China-based data center per new cybersecurity law

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    Promises that ‘no backdoors will be created’

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    Apple is building a new data center in China in order to comply with new cybersecurity laws passed last year that, among other restrictions, require companies to store data for Chinese users on servers located in China, via The Wall Street Journal.

    The data center will be located in the province of Guizhou as part of a $1 billion investment by Apple in the area. As Bloomberg reports, the new data center will be operated by Guizhou-Cloud Big Data — which was co-founded by the government of Guizhou — in partnership with Apple, since the new regulations require that the data centers be managed by Chinese company.

    Apple will be storing iCloud data for Chinese customers in the new data center

    Apple will be storing iCloud data from customers in the new data center, with the company set to migrate users’ existing data — which includes backups, cloud file storage, and photos — in the coming months to the new Guizhou location.

    In a statement to Bloomberg, Apple reassured customers that the new data center will allow the company to offer improved speed and reliability in the area, and that “no backdoors will be created into any of our systems.” The WSJ notes that Apple will keep control over the encryption keys at the new data center, although it’s unclear whether or not the company will have access to user data itself.