INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Apple CEO Tim Cook is explaining why his company controversially took offline an app meant to help local Hong Kong residents avoid dangerous
areas but was also reportedly used by protesters to track police.His email backs up an earlier statement in which the company claimed that
the app was being used to target police, and vandalize areas and people where police were absent, citing info from the Hong Kong
Here it is in full:Team,You have likely seen the news that we made the decision to remove an app from the App Store entitled HKmap.live
These decisions are never easy, and it is harder still to discuss these topics during moments of furious public debate
that technology can be used for good or for ill
This case is no different
The app in question allowed for the crowdsourced reporting and mapping of police checkpoints, protest hotspots, and other information
On its own, this information is benign
However, over the past several days we received credible information, from the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau, as well
as from users in Hong Kong, that the app was being used maliciously to target individual officers for violence and to victimize individuals
and property where no police are present
This use put the app in violation of Hong Kong law
Similarly, widespread abuse clearly violates our App Store guidelines barring personal harm.We built the App Store to be a safe and trusted
National and international debates will outlive us all, and, while important, they do not govern the facts
police nor to victimize anyone in police-absent areas
Most of the content on the app is user-generated, but allows users to downvote and enables moderators to crack down on content that
Critics noted that other apps already do that, like Waze, and the company reversed to approve the app last week.That drew criticism from
