MainAll NewsTechnology & HealthApple withdraws Hong Kong police-tracking app
Apple withdraws Hong Kong police-tracking app
Apple removes app used to track police amid protests, asserting that it was used to "ambush police" and "victimize residents."
Tags: App Hong Kong
Arutz Sheva Staff , Oct 10 , 2019 12:07 PM
צילום: iStock
Apple Inc on Wednesday removed from its app store an app that had been used to show the locations of street closures and police operations amid protests in Hong Kong, claiming that it "endangered law enforcement and residents."
Apple removed HKmap.live, a crowdsourced mapping app widely used in Hong Kong, after already rejecting the app from its app store earlier this month and reversing the decision several days later.
In a statement, Apple said that the app has been used to "ambush police" and "victimize residents" in areas without law enforcement.
"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 statement said.
"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."