Apple reviews rejected Hong Kong app again amid controversy over whether it will be used by protesters

Apple’s App Store is reviewing a recent decision to reject a Hong Kong app designed to track police activity in the midst of increasingly violent pro-democracy protests in the city.

The app, known as HKmap.live, is a mobile version of a website that helps users avoid potentially dangerous areas, according to the developer, who uses the alias Kuma to remain anonymous. It was rejected from Apple’s App Store because it “facilitates, enables, and encourages an activity that is not legal,” Apple told the developer, according to a copy of the rejection notice seen by Bloomberg News. “Specifically, the app allowed users to evade law enforcement,” Apple wrote.

The developer said the app is built to “show events happening” in Hong Kong, but what users choose to do with that information is their choice. “We do not encourage any advice on the map in general,” the developer told Bloomberg News. “Our ultimate goal is safety for everyone.”

On Twitter, the developer argued that the rejection is unfair because other apps, such as Google’s Waze, help drivers avoid traffic cameras and police. Apple is assuming that HKmap.live users are lawbreakers “and therefore evading law enforcement, which is clearly not the same,” the developer wrote on Twitter. By contrast, the app was approved for download on Android phones via a “quick process,” the developer added.

The app was submitted to the App Store on September 21. It was initially rejected on September 26 for another reason related to rules on payment options and what additional functions apps can tap, the developer said. After addressing that issue, the app was resubmitted and rejected again on October 2 for helping users evade law enforcement. The app was submitted for review again later that day, according to the developer.

An Apple spokesperson couldn’t be immediately reached for comment on Thursday.