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| Apple removes app that Hong Kong protesters used to track police movements following vandalism, attacks on officers | Apple removes app that Hong Kong protesters used to track police movements following vandalism, attacks on officers |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The maker of the iPhone has removed an app that allowed rioters in Hong Kong track where police are located after reports that it was used to ambush officers and vandalize communities where law enforcement was not present. | The maker of the iPhone has removed an app that allowed rioters in Hong Kong track where police are located after reports that it was used to ambush officers and vandalize communities where law enforcement was not present. |
| Following the suit of other companies taking sides in ongoing tensions in China's autonomous city, Apple allowed HKmap.live to appear in its app store. The 'noble' goal of helping rioters praised in the Western media has brought the opposite result. | Following the suit of other companies taking sides in ongoing tensions in China's autonomous city, Apple allowed HKmap.live to appear in its app store. The 'noble' goal of helping rioters praised in the Western media has brought the opposite result. |
| "The app displays police locations and we have verified with the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau that the app has been used to target and ambush police, threaten public safety, and criminals have used it to victimize residents in areas where they know there is no law enforcement," the company said in a statement. | "The app displays police locations and we have verified with the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau that the app has been used to target and ambush police, threaten public safety, and criminals have used it to victimize residents in areas where they know there is no law enforcement," the company said in a statement. |
| The move also came after a rebuke from Beijing. On Wednesday, the Chinese People's Daily published an op-ed titled “Is Apple guiding Hong Kong thugs?” It warned that the map app “facilitates illegal behavior" and that Apple is hurting its reputation among Chinese consumers by “mixing business with politics and commercial activity with illegal activities.” | |
| Apple manufactures most of its products in China and the country is its second-largest market for Apple products. | Apple manufactures most of its products in China and the country is its second-largest market for Apple products. |
| Initially the company rejected the app – which displays not only police movements, but also whether tear gas has been used in particular areas, among other protester-specific features – but decided to reconsider the move after an appeal. The demonstrations that started over now-shelved extradition bill in March have turned into weekly riots with radical groups of protesters vandalizing properties, beating people for supporting Beijing and attacking police. | |
| While rejecting the government's suggestion for negotiations, the protesters became darlings of Western media who describe them as "pro-democracy" and enjoyed open support of US and European politicians and celebrities despite repeated calls from Beijing not to interfere its internal affairs. American companies soon followed the suit. | |
| Both Vans, the American shoe company, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) have also become embroiled in Hong Kong’s unrest, with Vans incurring the ire of protesters after scrapping a shoe design favorable to the demonstrations. Some in the city are now calling for a boycott of the company. For its part, the NBA’s trouble began with a single tweet from Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey, who voiced support for the protesters. The post has since blown up into an outright conflict between the sports association and Beijing, which has stopped airing games on its largest state broadcaster. | |
| Companies like Apple are no stranger to political controversy, especially in the Trump era, when seemingly every corporation must signal their virtue on a range of touchy issues, from LGBT and new, transgender-friendly pronouns, to any protests that might erupt somewhere on Earth. However, even with Beijing a half a world away from Cupertino, Apple may find that alienating a customer base 1.4 billion people strong is not helpful to its bottom line. | |
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