Apple's privacy credentials took a fresh hit this week after the company announced it would withhold its newly unveiled Siri AI from European Union users, citing data protection concerns under the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA). The announcement, made during the WWDC 2026 keynote on Monday, drew immediate scrutiny, not only from EU regulators, but from observers pointing to a longstanding arrangement in China, where Apple has for years stored iCloud data on servers operated by a state-owned partner with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
The gap between Apple's stated position in Europe and its actual practice in China has reignited debate about whether the tech giant's privacy arguments are principled or simply expedient.
