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Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store

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Re: Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store

#3

Post by ewoodrich »

From NBC News reporter @DylanByers on Twitter:

“We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps. We have learned that an app, HKmap.live, has been used in ways that endanger law enforcement and residents in Hong Kong. Many concerned customers in Hong Kong have contacted us about this app and we immediately began investigating it. 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. This app violates our guidelines and local laws, and we have removed it from the App Store.”

Re: Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store

#4

Post by bstar77 »

ewoodrich wrote: post #3

From NBC News reporter @DylanByers on Twitter: “We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps. We have learned that an app, HKmap.live, has been used in ways that endanger law enforcement and residents in Hong Kong. Many concerned customers in Hong Kong have contacted us about this app and we immediately began investigating it. The app displays police locations and we have verified with the…

That is some incredible spin.

Re: Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store

#6

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

product50 wrote: post #2

Courage. And user privacy. Tim Cook should just resign at this point with all his hypocrisy. I don't know how he looks himself in the mirror with a straight gaze these days.

I'm willing to bet the Ultra Large Container Vessel class boat-load of money Apple is making helps there.

Re: Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store

#7

Post by idlewords »

This move comes after Apple re-instated the app into the app store under public pressure. This comes after Apple told Senator Howley that the decision to block the app had been a mistake:

https://twitter.com/HawleyMO/status/1180214941867036672

It's important for the discussion that this app does not violate any local laws in Hong Kong. It is a safety tool. You can check out the web version here (click icons and paste text into Google translate if you can't read Chinese) https://hkmap.live/

In a nutshell, it shows where police are (puppy icons), police vehicles, concentrations of demonstrators (construction worker icon), sightings of the special riot squad called the raptors (dinosaur icon), and places where demonstrators can find safe transport (house icon).

There's a lot of rumor flying around Hong Kong that selective website blocking will be the next emergency measure after the mask ban, so it's very important to have a backup version of this site on the app store (and Google store) in addition to the web version.

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