Apple’s App Store removes Hong Kong protest map app following China backlash

Apple has removed from its App Store a Hong Kong location map app that tracks protests activities following a backlash from China.

The US-based company said in a statement issued October 10, 2019, that it had learned that the HKmap.live software was being used “in ways that endanger law enforcement and residents in Hong Kong”.

The removal was an about-face for Apple the week following its approval of the app, and followed accusations from China’s state media that the software was “helping rioters”.

The app’s developers rejected the claims, and called the removal of the software a “political decision to suppress freedom and human rights”.