Apple Review Reject: Guideline 5 - Legal

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Guideline 5 - Legal

As you may know, the Chinese government has been tightening regulations associated with deep synthesis technologies (DST) and generative AI services, including ChatGPT. DST must fulfill permitting requirements to operate in China, including securing a license from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) if the services are provided while connected to the Internet.

Based on our review, your app appears to be associated with ChatGPT, which does not have requisite permits to operate in China. Specifically, your app’s metadata includes the following references to ChatGPT and/or OpenAI: ChatGPT, GPT.

Accordingly, pursuant to local Chinese law, this functionality must be deactivated in the version of your app that you make available on the China App Store and all references to ChatGPT or OpenAI must be removed from metadata fields such as app name, subtitle, promotional text, app description, and screenshots.

Next Steps

Since this app cannot be approved with ChatGPT functionality and/or metadata references in China, it would be appropriate to make the necessary changes, update the Review Notes to confirm you’ve suppressed this functionality, and resubmit the app for review.

If you do not wish to make these changes, you can choose to not distribute this app in China by deselecting the China mainland storefront in the Availability settings in App Store Connect.

If you believe you are already in compliance with the above-mentioned local law, you may reply to this message in App Store Connect and provide additional information. Apps with ChatGPT functionality or metadata references can continue to be used in apps outside of China.

To offer your app in China with this functionality, please seek professional advice on compliance with the Administrative Provisions on Deep Synthesis of Internet-based Information Services.

Resources

  • See how to change your app’s Availability setting in App Store Connect.
  • Learn more about legal requirements for apps on the App Store in App Store Review Guideline 5.
How to fix?

Just remove mainland China from the list of countries and regions where [it] is available for sale on the AppStore.



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