Apple removed news apps created by The New York Times from the company's official app store late last month. Apple said that the move was part of its compliance with a request from Chinese authorities.

Both the Chinese-language and English-language apps of The New York Times were removed from Apple's app store on Dec. 23, according to the BBC. This was only effective in China, and no other regions have reported the same removal so far. Apps from other international publications like The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times are still available on Apple's official app store.

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In a statement acquired by The New York Times, Apple spokesman Fred Sainz said, "For some time now the New York Times app has not been permitted to display content to most users in China, and we have been informed that the app is in violation of local regulations."

Sainz added that should the current regulations will be changed, the Apple China App Store will once again offer the New York Times app in China. Sainz refused to comment on what specific regulations the New York Times apps violated. The New York Times bureau based in Beijing said that it had been contacted by the Chinese government regarding the issue at hand.

The New York Times said that it had asked Apple to reconsider the decision of pulling out its apps on its app store.

This is not the first time that Apple had pulled down apps from its official app store. Previous reports claim that Apple had removed some less prominent media apps out from its China store. It is still unclear how Apple evaluates requests from the Chinese government with regards to taking down apps. Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously said that Apple complies with all local laws in each country which the company is operating.