Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store

#11

Post by idlewords » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 4:28 AM UTC

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…

These are pure lies, top to bottom.

Re: Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store

#12

Post by Nerdfest » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 4:29 AM UTC

gigatexal wrote: post #9

edwincheese wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They just decided to take it down again after the People's Daily wrote about it.

Wtf Apple

This is a company that restricts what you can and can't install on your own device and you're surprised they're okay with authoritarianism?

Re: Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store

#13

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 4:30 AM UTC

headsupftw wrote: post #10

For AAPL, revenue from Mainland China is far greater than Hong Kong. I, as a shareholder with fewer than 100 shares, applaud Apple's decision on this issue.

[deleted]

Re: Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store

#14

Post by nneonneo » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 4:33 AM UTC

idlewords wrote: post #7

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…

Using a dog icon for the police isn’t exactly a great look if you’re trying to be neutral. It’s roughly equivalent to using a pig to represent the police in the US. I don’t see why they couldn’t have just used one of the standard emoji for police there - it’d be a lot less likely to offend.

Re: Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store

#15

Post by s3r3nity » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 4:35 AM UTC

>Yesterday, English-language state media outlet China Daily blasted Apple’s decision to allow HKmap.live onto the App Store. “Providing a gateway for ‘toxic apps’ is hurting the feelings of the Chinese people, twisting the facts of Hong Kong affairs, and against the views and principles of the Chinese people,” the op-ed argued.

Wow...this type of language - "toxic apps," "hurting the feelings of the Chinese people," etc. - sounds disturbingly similar to SJW rhetoric in the States.

EDIT: In case it's not obvious - I am against censoring apps & speech.

Re: Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store

#16

Post by tru3_power » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 4:36 AM UTC

Woah this is crazy. I don’t buy their excuse. You mean to tell me they didn’t investigate the app the first time it was removed, or when they decided to reinstate it? Come on, give me a fucking break...

Re: Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store

#17

Post by cageface » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 4:37 AM UTC

It may be quite comfortable in that walled garden but it can turn into a jail with a twist of the key.

Re: Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store

#18

Post by hesarenu » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 4:38 AM UTC

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #6

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.

Doesn't apple have around 100 billion cash reserve. How much more do they require?

Re: Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store

#19

Post by imglorp » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 4:41 AM UTC

headsupftw wrote: post #10

For AAPL, revenue from Mainland China is far greater than Hong Kong. I, as a shareholder with fewer than 100 shares, applaud Apple's decision on this issue.

At what point would shareholder value be considered blood money?

Re: Apple Removes HKmap.live from the App Store

#20

Post by nneonneo » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 4:43 AM UTC

idlewords wrote: post #11

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…

These are pure lies, top to bottom.

And how exactly would you know that? There is a great deal of animosity towards police right now in HK. A very small minority of protestors have demonstrated willingness to apply violence, and police (including off-duty officers) have been attacked in the open on more than one occasion. So I don’t think it’s inconceivable that the availability of a crowdsourced map might increase such incidents.

Of course, this is going to end up being a pretext to ban the website too, which is going to introduce China-style internet censorship to HK. Nobody wants that. The way things are going, though, I don’t see how else this can go.