American technology giant Apple Inc. gave in this week to Chinese authorities, permanently removing from the App Store a smartphone application primarily used by Hong Kong protesters.
According to The Verge, the company announced its decision to ban HKmap.live on Thursday -- but not before changing its mind about the app on two separate occasions.
The GPS-powered phone application and web service, which allows the city's residents to mark and share the location of road closures and police activity, had been used in recent months by those protesting a bill that would give some of Hong Kong's autonomy as a Special Administrative Region to the Chinese federal government.
"We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps," Apple said in a statement. "We have learned that an app, HKmap.live, has been used in ways that endanger law enforcement and residents in Hong Kong."
BREAKING: Apple drops smartphone app that allows Hong Kong activists to report police movements following Chinese criticism. https://t.co/VdzJt6wOIK
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 10, 2019
According to HKmap.live's developers, the Silicon Valley superpower initially rejected requests for the app to appear on the App Store late last month, claiming it "contains content or facilitates, enables, and encourages an act ..
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