Apple once again gives in to China and again withdraws the application used in the Hong Kong protests

Unless you live in a glass bubble isolated from the world news, you have surely heard the problems of the Hong Kong authorities with their citizensCitizens who do not want China to have power over this country, on which it depends in part.

A few days ago, Apple withdrew the HKMap application, an application that is designed so that the citizens of the country know at all times where demonstrations are being held to avoid them when they go back home or to work. The problem is that users were using it to find out where the demonstrations are and to go en masse.

After withdrawing the application, a few days later it was available again in the App Store, something that as expected has not done any grace to the government of the country, who said through People Daily that Apple made a reckless decision and you had to think about the consequences of your decision.

Hong Kong protests

Apple looks like he does not want to see his business in China jeopardized and has quickly retired the application from the App Store. To try to justify this decision, and that people do not think that they are afraid of what the Asian giant could do to them, Apple has issued the following statement:

We have created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover applications. We have learned that one application, HKmap.live, has been used in a way that endangers the security forces and residents of Hong Kong.

Many concerned customers in Hong Kong have contacted us about this app and we immediately started researching it. The app shows police locations and we have verified with the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Tech Crime Bureau that the app has been used to attack and ambush police, threaten public safety, and criminals have used it to victimize residents in areas where they know there is no law enforcement.

This app violates our local laws and guidelines, and we have removed it from the App Store.

Despite having withdrawn the application, Hong Kong citizens can know at any time where are the demonstrations through this website.

Apple again gives in to requests from China

It is not the first time, nor will it be the last, everything seems to indicate that Apple gives in to the requests / demands that come from the Chinese government. Previously, We have seen how Apple:

Despite the fear that Apple may have from the Chinese government, this government knows it has much more to lose since if Apple stops manufacturing in the country, shortly after will the rest of the manufacturer and many millions of employees will be on the street.

Google has been the only one at the moment it has stood up to the demands of the Chinese government. When he was told in 2009 that he had to filter the results, he said no. And logically it abandoned its expansion plans in the country.

Apple is a company that is to make money like all companies and it is logical to think that it looks after its interests. But being a standard bearer of privacy You shouldn't give in to this kind of blackmail.


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