Police Location App Used By Hong Kong Protesters Deleted
Apple has removed an app that protesters in Hong Kong have used to track police movements and tear gas use, saying the app violated its rules. The company said the app, HKmap.live, had "been used in ways that endanger law enforcement and residents".
China’s state media had accused Apple of endorsing and protecting “rioters” in Hong Kong’s increasingly violent protests by listing an app on its app store that tracks the movement of police in the city. The condemnation, by the People’s Daily, a Chinese Communist party mouthpiece, appears to be China’s latest move to pressure foreign companies to toe the line.
The app HKmap.live, which crowd-sources the location of police and anti-government protesters, was approved by Apple on 4 October and went on its App Store a day later.
The app displays hotspots on a map of the city that is continuously updated as users report incidents, hence allowing protesters to avoid police.
The headline of the People’s Daily commentary carried by its official microblog on Wednesday 9th October said: “Protecting rioters – Has Apple thought clearly about this?.... Allowing the ‘poisonous’ app to flourish is a betrayal of the Chinese people’s feelings.”
The HKmap.live is reportedly the most downloaded app under the travel category in the iOS App Store for Hong Kong. Without specifically naming the app, the People’s Daily commentary said it allowed “Hong Kong rioters to openly commit crime while openly escaping arrests”.
It said Apple’s approval of the app made it an “accomplice” in the protests because it “blatantly protects and endorses the rioters”. It questioned what the company’s intentions were.
It also criticised Apple for allowing Glory to Hong Kong, an unofficial anthem frequently sung by protesters during the ongoing anti-government movement, to be available for download in the Apple music store.
Peoples Daily: Straits Times: Guardian: BBC:
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