Ahead of the anticipated launch of the iPhone 15 series on September 12, new reports are stating that China want to ban the use of iPhones by government officials over potential security risks. According to reports by Bloomberg, several government agencies in China has instructed their staff to not bring their iPhones to work, further confirming early reports by the Wall Street Journal regarding the iPhone ban in China.

While the ban may sound ridiculous, it is said to be part of the Chinese government’s larger plan to cut its reliance on foreign technology and to further prevent any confidential information from leaking outside of China. According to the instructions told to Chinese government officials, they are also prohibited to do any work related tasks on their iPhones or any devices from foreign brands.

In its push to become self reliant, both reports from Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal state that the iPhone ban in China will extend further to government-backed agencies and state-run companies as well. Despite China being one of the biggest markets of Apple, the new measures is also viewed as their counter response to the US’ bans on Huawei and ZTE, and its impending ban with TikTok.