Apple removes Hong Kong map app following criticism

BEIJING: Apple removed a smartphone app that allows Hong Kong activists to report police movements from its online store after an official Chinese newspaper accused the company of facilitating illegal behaviour.

The Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily said on Wednesday the HKmap.live app “facilitates illegal behaviour”.

The newspaper asked, “Is Apple guiding Hong Kong thugs?”

Apple said in a statement that HKmap.live was removed because it “has been used to target and ambush police” and “threaten public safety”.

It said that violated local law and Apple guidelines.

HKmap.live allows users to report police locations, use of tear gas and other details that are added to a regularly updated map. Another version is available for smartphones that use the Android operating system. “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 victimise residents in areas where they know there is no law enforcement,” said the Apple statement.

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

The mainland is Apple’s second-biggest market after the United States but CEO Tim Cook says it eventually will become No. 1.

Apple, headquartered in Cupertino, California, also is an important asset for China. Most of its iPhones and tablet computers are assembled in Chinese factories that employ hundreds of thousands of people. Chinese vendors supply components for Mac Pro computers that are assembled in Texas.