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U.S. Lawmakers Call Apple's Move to Remove HKMap Live App 'Deeply Concerning'
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I'm guessing you don't live in post 2016 Trump getting elected USA... Of course it's political. People in China have national pride. One can debate whether that's a good thing or not.
US lawmakers seem to have double standards because when Israel ask them to do things like ban Israeli protests on US campuses they seem to oblige and I don’t hear anyone here complaining about it. This is hypocrisy to say the least . What would happen to an app if an app was created and listed on the Apple store to where Campus protests were taking place in the US against Israeli policies? Who would bet that such an app would never be allowed to list..? Both China and Israel would argue that such a map adds fuel to protests. Israel would argue that it fuels anti-semitism, China would argue it fuels hatred of China, and Hong Kong would argue that it restricts freedom of speech and right to protest.![]()
U.S lawmakers on Friday sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook expressing concern over Apple's decision to remove the HKMap Live app from the App Store after complaints from the Chinese Government.
The letter [PDF] calls Apple's removal of the HKMap Live app "disappointing" and points out a prior quote from Tim Cook that reads "At Apple, we are not afraid to say that our values drive our curation decisions."
![hkmap-live-800x508.jpg]()
The HKMap Live app, which was used by protestors in Hong Kong to crowdsource information about street closures and police presence, was pulled from the App Store in early October.
Apple later reversed course and approved the app, allowing it back into the App Store, but after China accused Apple of "protecting rioters," Apple removed the app once again and it has remained unavailable.
According to U.S lawmakers, the HKMap Live app lets peaceful demonstrators to share locations to keep out of harm's way. Apple, says the letter, has also censored "at least 2200 apps in China," including VPN apps and apps made by and for "oppressed ethnic minorities."
The letter goes on to accuse Apple of complicity in China's efforts to block change, and questions whether Apple is willing to bow to Chinese demands to avoid losing access to Chinese consumers.When the app was pulled for the final time, Apple CEO Tim Cook told Apple employees that based on "credible information" from Hong Kong police, the app was being used to target individual officers for violence.The letter from the lawmakers ends by urging Apple to reverse course and re-allow the HKMaps on the App Store.The letter was written by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Sen. Maro Rubio, R-Fla., Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., and Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J. A similar letter was also sent to Blizzard following Blizzard's decision to ban Ng Wai Chung, a Hearthstone player who voiced support for the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Article Link: U.S. Lawmakers Call Apple's Move to Remove HKMap Live App 'Deeply Concerning'
As you can see US lawmakers can often be biased and hypocritical picking to their likings.
Revealed: rightwing push to suppress criticism of Israel on US campuses
Documents seen by Guardian show fresh attack on university debate under the guise of prohibiting antisemitism
To be fair the USA is behind most of the protests. We're basically trying to peacefully overthrow the government there but I'm not sure if that will work. If the USA can get control of HK it would be an awesome economic advantage.US lawmakers seem to have double standards because when Israel ask them to do things like ban Israeli protests on US campuses they seem to oblige and I don’t hear anyone here complaining about it. This is hypocrisy to say the least . What would happen to an app if an app was created and listed on the Apple store to where Campus protests were taking place in the US against Israeli policies? Who would bet that such an app would never be allowed to list..? Both China and Israel would argue that such a map adds fuel to protests. Israel would argue that it fuels anti-semitism, China would argue it fuels hatred of China, and Hong Kong would argue that it restricts freedom of speech and right to protest.
As you can see US lawmakers can often be biased and hypocritical picking to their likings.
Revealed: rightwing push to suppress criticism of Israel on US campuses
Documents seen by Guardian show fresh attack on university debate under the guise of prohibiting antisemitismwww.google.com
Great post. One thing to add: the mainland government compels Hong Kong to accept hundreds of mainland Chinese as new residents of Hong Kong every day. Not so clever way to erase cultural distinction. I know many native Hong Kong people resent this policy in a deep way.
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They are not but many get a lot of practice.
People in Palestine have the same issue you mentioned which they also resent in a deep way
In the US there are people who also resent immigration of immigrants in a deep way.I do hope that that those who sides with China and HK government in this thread truly understand what they are saying because maybe they are reacting this way because their beloved Apple is involved. I wonder what would their reaction be if its Google and Facebook?
It is perfectly alright if you stay a fanboy when discussing about products but it is another thing to stay a fanboy even if the issue has something to do with our basic human rights, liberty and freedom.
It is perfectly alright if you stay a fanboy when discussing about products but it is another thing to stay a fanboy even if the issue has something to do with our basic human rights, liberty and freedom.
Human can be used to conduct illicit activities. Should we ban all humans according to this logic? XD.
There are different levels of right and wrong. If Apple is directly aiding human rights abuse, I would be all over it. For instance, if Apple is handing over live location of protesters, we should be all totally disgusted.
But in this case, Apple banning an app used by protesters, which merely inconveniences protesters.
For now. If you look at Apple's long term strategy it's a toolkit for large scale human rights abuses.
First, Apple is trying to kill off the concept of users being able to choose what code to run on their own devices. iOS and iPadOS are specifically designed for this, and even macOS is starting to put heavy restrictions on original code. Of course limits to freedom always come in the name of "security".
Secondly, Apple has shown an amazing willingness to comply with the Chinese government's request, and presumably the requests of any government who merely wave the threat of a slightly lower share price in Tim's face.
Ding, now that I got your attention, ISIS uses already iMessages, Whatsapp, Facebook, and other means(forums and such), should we shut down the internet?
Was the world any safer before the internet became popular? I don't think so.
Oh if only we could have shut down the app Hitler used... oh wait a minute...
No i wouldn't.
Because ISIS aren't protesters but a religious militia that kills civilians and advocates a religious regime.
These are protesters protesting a corrupt government.
this is not about ideals, its about money
tbh, this is as american as it gets.
It's ridiculous how much of anti-muslim scaremongering republicans conjure up while supporting Saudis with their whole heart.
Apple was given evidence that this app was used to attack Chinese police officers. It was not used to attack US police officers. So clearly in this particular situation, what the Chinese government thinks _should_ count more than what the US government thinks.
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That's not what Apple said, and you know it.
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This app makes it possible to find places with no police (where you can protest without being attacked by police, which is fine), or to find places with a single police officer (where a group of people can go and beat up a police officer without much risk, which is not fine). The app very much helps with the second use. At least that's what Apple was told.
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Just about everywhere one goes around the world there is conflicts of interest and once conflict of interest hits a particular point one will often see how quick people change their minds on certain issues. This could be for religious,political,business,family,friendship or financial reasons. No country is perfect. Just about every country has its flaws.
When it comes to economic warfare, China is an expert (and knows how to play meely-mouthed pigs like Tim Cook 7 ways from sunday)
Information is now on the forefront of international warfare and terrorism. Laws are determined by nations and municipalities. What may be construed as compliance of a certain nation’s or municipality’s laws can also be construed as anti-nationalistic or support for another nation. There is always a choice to be made when it comes to these matters and those choices are never clear. Information can both be used for deterrence of violence as well as to specifically target violence. It’s important to control the data and to use it responsibly. Public sourced data is especially dangerous since it can include opinion and be manipulated to go against the public. Do we live in a society that restricts thinking and data or do we live in one that encourages it? How do we value lives or do we leave it ambiguous? Now what about the other side of the story? How do they act and feel?
We all know that in China the Chinese are great copycats and in order to become a great copycat one must have learned from others so them becoming experts in economic warfare means they have learned from others
Who imposes sanctions and economic warfare upon others around the world these days? Is it the Chinese? Records at the UN speak for themselves.
Perhaps they're more concerned about what's happening closer to home, you know, like Republicans are, American first and all that jazz.
We all know that in China the Chinese are great copycats and in order to become a great copycat one must have learned from others so them becoming experts in economic warfare means they have learned from others
Who pays attention, let alone puts credence in anything coming out of the UN these days?
We (the US) cannot dictate what is done in foreign countries. The same holds true for Apple. You have to kowtow to the foreign government if you want to play ball. Doing otherwise won't end well.
Congress needs to get back to legislating and not worry about an app that they have no say over being pulled from the Chinese App Store.
Where is the UN?
The US has meddled in politics all of the world for well over 100 years (if not more) and look at the benefits (southern border crisis, Middle Eastern countries that despise us, election meddling, cyberattacks, etc).
Congress needs to get back to legislating and not worry about an app that they have no say over being pulled from the Chinese App Store.
Where is the UN?
The US has meddled in politics all of the world for well over 100 years (if not more) and look at the benefits (southern border crisis, Middle Eastern countries that despise us, election meddling, cyberattacks, etc).
...Tim Cook that reads "At Apple, we are not afraid to say that our values <desire for profit> drive our curation decisions."
The FBI asking for backdoor access to all iphones isn't even in the same realm. A better example would be if ISIS made an app to let them know the location of US convoys so they could ambush them with IED's. Of course ISIS would say they just want to use it to avoid US convoys for their safety.
China got access everything to Apple in China. They are all the same.