The head of Apple defended the tech giant’s removal from its App Store an app that allows Hong Kong protesters to see the location of police.
Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees in a letter on its internal website the decision to pull the app, HKmap.live, from the App Store wasn’t easy, but instead was done after a thorough review of how it was being used.
“It’s no secret that technology can be used for good or for ill. This case is no different,” Cook wrote.
The Apple chief noted that HKmap.live allows users to crowdsource the location of police, tear gas, protest hotspots, and other information that is denoted on a map by emojis. While that information is “benign” on its own, he said, Apple received “credible information” from the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau and from users in Hong Kong that the app was being used “maliciously” to target police officers and people where there is no law enforcement presence.
Those uses put HKmap.live in violation of Hong Kong law, as well as the App Store’s guidelines prohibiting personal harm, Cook said.
“National and international debates will outlive us all, and, while important, they do not govern the facts,” he told employees. “In this case, we thoroughly reviewed them, and we believe this decision best protects our users.”
Apple announced late Wednesday it would be removing HKmap.live from the App Store, a move that came after the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party lambasted the Cupertino, California-based company for making it available for download.
The article in People’s Daily accused Apple of “providing a gateway for ‘toxic apps’”and aiding Hong Kong protesters.
Apple’s decision led to fierce backlash from U.S. lawmakers, who accused the company of prioritizing profits over human rights.
“.@apple’s decision to cave to Communist China’s demands is unacceptable,” Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, tweeted. “Putting profits above the human rights and dignity of the people of #HongKong is wrong. No ifs, ands or buts about it.”
.@apple’s decision to cave to Communist China’s demands is unacceptable.
Putting profits above the human rights and dignity of the people of #HongKong is wrong. No ifs, ands or buts about it. https://t.co/dSwcpFsE31
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) October 10, 2019
“An authoritarian regime is violently suppressing its own citizens who are fighting for democracy. Apple just sided with them,” tweeted Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat.
An authoritarian regime is violently suppressing its own citizens who are fighting for democracy. Apple just sided with them. https://t.co/CmWGXqcK9k
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) October 10, 2019
Apple is the latest U.S. corporation to land at the center of tensions between Beijing and the Hong Kong protest movement.
Google pulled from its Google Play store a mobile game that let players act as a protester in Hong Kong, the Wall Street Journal reported. The app, “The Revolution of Our Times” violated Google’s policies for “sensitive events.”
Both the NBA and video game developer Blizzard Entertainment have also been under fire for punishing supporters of the Hong Kong protest movement.
