Google Suspends China's Pinduoduo App Due to Malware Issues

A view of a sign above the entrance of the Google office, ahead of presentation of the detailed investment plan for Germany, in Berlin, Germany, August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
A view of a sign above the entrance of the Google office, ahead of presentation of the detailed investment plan for Germany, in Berlin, Germany, August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
TT
20

Google Suspends China's Pinduoduo App Due to Malware Issues

A view of a sign above the entrance of the Google office, ahead of presentation of the detailed investment plan for Germany, in Berlin, Germany, August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
A view of a sign above the entrance of the Google office, ahead of presentation of the detailed investment plan for Germany, in Berlin, Germany, August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

Alphabet Inc's Google suspended the Play version of PDD Holdings Inc's Pinduoduo app after malware issues were found on the Chinese platform, a Google spokesperson said on Tuesday.

"The Off-Play versions of the e-commerce app that have been found to contain malware have been enforced on via Google Play Protect," the spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the Play version of the app has been suspended for security concerns.

Google Play Protect scans all of the apps on Android phones and works to prevent the installation of malicious apps.

This comes soon after various efforts by the US government to bolster its cyber defenses amid a steady increase in hacking and digital crimes targeting the country.

The government recently announced a new cybersecurity strategy that named China and Russia as the most prominent cybersecurity threats to the United States.

PDD did not respond to Reuters request for comment.



Musk Says He Plans to Sue Apple for Not Featuring X or Grok Among Its Top Apps 

Elon Musk is seen with a bruised eye that Musk claimed he received at the hands of his son, X Æ A-12, as he attends a press conference with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)
Elon Musk is seen with a bruised eye that Musk claimed he received at the hands of his son, X Æ A-12, as he attends a press conference with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20

Musk Says He Plans to Sue Apple for Not Featuring X or Grok Among Its Top Apps 

Elon Musk is seen with a bruised eye that Musk claimed he received at the hands of his son, X Æ A-12, as he attends a press conference with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)
Elon Musk is seen with a bruised eye that Musk claimed he received at the hands of his son, X Æ A-12, as he attends a press conference with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)

Billionaire SpaceX, Tesla and X owner Elon Musk says he plans to sue Apple for not featuring X and its Grok artificial intelligence chatbot app in its top recommended apps in its App Store.

Musk posted the comments on X late Monday, saying, “Hey @Apple App Store, why do you refuse to put either X or Grok in your ‘Must Have’ section when X is the #1 news app in the world and Grok is #5 among all apps? Are you playing politics? What gives? Inquiring minds want to know.”

Grok is owned by Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI.

Musk went on to say that “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action.”

He gave no further details.

There was no immediate comment from Apple, which has faced various allegations of antitrust violations in recent years.

A federal judge recently found that Apple violated a court injunction in an antitrust case filed by Fortnite maker Epic Games.

Regulators of the 27-nation European Union fined Apple 500 million euros in April for breaking competition rules by preventing app makers from pointing users to cheaper options outside its App Store.

Last year, the EU fined the US tech giant nearly $2 billion for unfairly favoring its own music streaming service by forbidding rivals like Spotify from telling users how they could pay for cheaper subscriptions outside of iPhone apps.

As of early Tuesday, the top app in Apple's App Store was TikTok, followed by Tinder, Duolingo, YouTube and Bumble. Open AI's ChatGPT was ranked 7th.