Apple added an explanatory page to its Chinese website in response to recent news stories of Chinese citizens being electrocuted while answering their charging iPhones.
One, a flight attendant, even died.
According to a source I talked to at Apple, the problem seems to be unsafe third-party chargers made by counterfeiters who, especially in China, make very Apple-like parts. That’s not a problem the company can easily fix, but still has the potential for bad press — especially in China, which Apple has had an uneasy relationship with over the past year due to its differing product warranty standards.
So Apple has published a new page explaining how to tell genuine Apple parts from fake ones:
“Apple always puts user’s safety first, so all of our products are subject to stringent safety and reliability testing, and designed to meet government safety standards around the world, including for the iPhone and iPad USB power adapter,” the site says.
The challenge, of course, is that while the site points to language on Apple power adapters that marks them as genuine Apple products, nothing stops 
third-party manufacturers from printing that same language on their unofficial chargers. So ultimately the only way to know for sure, especially in China, that you’re getting real Agpple accessories is to buy them direct from Apple.
To combat this, it’s likely that Apple will double down on its efforts to install authentication into accessories via DRM-style technology, which could theoretically make it impossible for third-party accessories to exist.
That’s an unpopular strategy with users, who are happy to be able to buy Lightning-to-USB cables on Amazon for $1.95, compared to Apple’s $19. But now Apple could with some legitimacy claim that the program is intended to save users’ lives — and protect its own brand from negative backsplash due to pirate products.
The only problem with that strategy, of course, is that the hackers and crackers are always only one step behind.
Filed under: Business, Gadgets, Health, Mobile, Security
John Koetsier 25 Jul, 2013
enclosure: http://venturebeat.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/large_4944418892.jpg?w=160
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Source: http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/25/apple-to-china-avoid-electrocution-by-using-our-chargers/
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