Apple removes app from the App Store that tracked Hong Kong police and protests after pressure from China, says it “violates our guidelines and local laws”

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple removed an app on Wednesday that enabled protesters in Hong Kong to track police …

New York Times 2019-10-10 Jack Nicas

Discussion

@hkmaplive @hkmaplive on x
1. We disagree @Apple and @hkpoliceforce 's claim that HKmap App endanger law enforcement and residents in Hong Kong. #HKmap #HKmaplive #HK #Censorship
@hkmaplive @hkmaplive on x
2. There is 0 evidence to support CSTCB's accusation that HKmap App has been used to target and ambush police, threaten public safety, and criminals have used it to victimize residents in areas where they know there is no law enforcement.
@hkmaplive @hkmaplive on x
3. HKmap App never solicit, promote, or encourage criminal activity. 4. HKmap App consolidate information from user and public sources, e.g. live news stream, Facebook and Telegram
@lannydavis Lanny Davis on x
https://www.nytimes.com/... via @NYTimes When will US consumers boycott all ⁦@Apple⁩ products and China products and any company (including ⁦@NBA⁩ ) that yields to dictatorial censorship and economic extortion by China. Chinese government beware - You need US consumers.
@hkmaplive @hkmaplive on x
7. The majority of user review in App Store that suggest HKmap IMPROVED public safety, not the opposite.
@hkmaplive @hkmaplive on x
5. Most of the contents are user-generated, and we allow users to down vote for moderator review. Moderator will delete contents that “solicit, promote, or encourage criminal activity”. Repeated attempt will be banned.
@fmanjoo Farhad Manjoo on x
2 yrs ago Apple removed the NYT app from the Chinese App Store. I argued app censorship (vs web blocking) was a more dangerous kind of censorship — gives the gov a central point to block. You can't easily bootleg an app that's gone. I was right! https://www.nytimes.com/... https:…
@rajupp Raju PP on x
This is so damn ridiculous. Apple bending backwards to please China. Same with most tech companies. https://twitter.com/...
@lucasmtny Lucas Matney on x
“Letting poisonous software have its way is a betrayal of the Chinese people's feelings,” said the article, which was written under a pseudonym, “Calming the Waves.” https://twitter.com/...
@webbhk Webb-site on x
While @Apple flip-flops and kowtows, @GooglePlay doesn't care because it has zero China biz. Anyway, Apple's Safari browser will take you there if you want: https://hkmap.live/, until HK Gov tries to block it with Emergency Regulations. https://twitter.com/...
@hshaban Hamza Shaban on x
Apple's China week: - removed the Taiwan flag emoji from iOS 13 for users in Hong Kong - removed the Quartz news app from the Chinese App Store over its Hong Kong protest coverage - removed HKmap, a crowdsourced mapping app used by Hong Kong residents https://www.theverge.com/...
@puiwingtam Pui-Wing Tam on x
It seemed like only a matter of time before Apple would get drawn into the political tensions around China. Few multinational companies have more to lose there. @jacknicas https://www.nytimes.com/...
@semil @semil on x
These days, I keep thinking about an old line, paraphrased: “There's a right to free speech, but that speech may also come with a cost.”
@comparativist Dr. Trey on x
truth. HK police sightings apps, maps, and Telegram channels are used to *get away* from police. There's an argument that it *assists* HKPF because they want ppl to scatter when they start raising flags & shooting. Ppl on the ground often don't know where to go, partly sorrounded…
@yannnnnn111 Yannnnnn on x
@Apple choose to kneel before China! Apple removed the app HKmap that report location of police from App Store after pro-Beijing media @PDChina criticise them. This shows clearly CCP want to control the word. Plz fight against it tgt! https://www.nytimes.com/...
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
As I wrote yesterday in Pro Rata newsletter: US companies are in no-man's land when it comes to China — in part because of a lack of D.C. leadership. It's very different to inject oneself into domestic politics vs. foreign, and WH is inconsistent on messaging, thus no cover.
@pranavdixit @pranavdixit on x
Maybe we should all do what @gruber does whenever he links to a Bloomberg story ("Bloomberg, of course, is the publication that published “The Big Hack..."): Use a disclaimer for every Apple story we write. “Apple, of course, is the company that keeps bowing to Chinese pressure.”
@backlon Dieter Bohn on x
Excited to see the Apple App Store, paragon of consistency, ban Waze tomorrow. https://www.theverge.com/...
@lordzzedd Optimist Z on x
Your reminder that capitalism isn't about doing the right thing, just the profitable thing. https://twitter.com/...
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
2/ None of which is to discount the lack of courage, or lack of conviction, that some US companies are showing this week.
@wongmjane Jane Manchun Wong on x
I found @hkmaplive useful for avoiding cops amid tensions because of their abusive behavior towards millennials Now it's gone, thanks Apple 😡 https://twitter.com/...
@tolmasky Francisco Tolmasky on x
This was the predictable result for app stores and why “storeless” (web) is better. What matters is for everyone to have a voice, which is the default of the web and *antithetical* to a review process. The point of review is to filter: and you're not in control of the filter. htt…
@marcorubio Marco Rubio on x
Recognize what's happening here. People who don't live in #China must either self censor or face dismissal & suspensions. China using access to market as leverage to crush free speech globally. Implications of this will be felt long after everyone in U.S. politics today is gone. …
@ronwyden Ron Wyden on x
Blizzard shows it is willing to humiliate itself to please the Chinese Communist Party. No American company should censor calls for freedom to make a quick buck. https://kotaku.com/...
@lackofrealism Kevin Hovdestad on x
Not everyone at Blizzard agrees with what happened. Both the “Think Globally” and “Every Voice Matters” values have been covered up by incensed employees this morning. pic.twitter.com/I7nAYUes6Q
@grummz Mark Kern on x
It's done. #BoycottBlizzard pic.twitter.com/2jMG1TNuZr
@nytimes @nytimes on x
In Opinion @fmanjoo writes, “A darker truth is now dawning on the world: China's economic miracle hasn't just failed to liberate Chinese people. It is also now routinely corrupting the rest of us outside of China.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@leedygogo Lee Dy Gogo on x
Video games, to me, are children of freedom. They are the product of minds that broke boundaries and expanded the world. The worst thing a game company can ever do is sell its juridical soul to oppression. #boycottBlizzard https://twitter.com/...
@centerofright Vijay on x
This thread and how China goes to great extent to infiltrate and influence https://twitter.com/...
@grummz Mark Kern on x
Chinese game companies have grown huge not just because of market size, but because the government subsidizes them. They get free land, free offices, and huge infusions of cash. This cash was and is used to do expand and buy up stakes in US gaming companies.
@grummz Mark Kern on x
I take a huge risk by saying this. China monitors all social media and I know this means that we will probably never get an investment from China for my new MMO, and probably never get a license to operate there.
@grummz Mark Kern on x
I have watched China slowly take over as the dominant investing force in gaming and movies over the years. It's a shame US companies never believed as strongly as China and Asia in investing in games, but this allowed China to have unprecedented influence over our media.
@grummz Mark Kern on x
Unfortunately, US and European companies are loath to take risks and invest in game companies legally as much as China was. China remained one of the few places mid tier studios could get funding. So again, China influence grew. I'm sure this is the same for movies as well.
@grummz Mark Kern on x
But now we are in a situation where unlimited Communist money dictates our American values. We censor our games for China, we censor our movies for China. Now, game companies are silencing voices for freedom and democracy. China is dictating that the world be authoritarian.
@grummz Mark Kern on x
I've seen firsthand the corruption of Chinese gaming companies, and I was removed from a company I founded (after Blizzard) for refusing to take a 2 million dollar kickback bribe to take an investment from China. This is the first time I've ever spoken pubically about it.
@fmanjoo Farhad Manjoo on x
We thought economic growth and technology would liberate China. Instead, it's corrupted us. We've been wrong about China for 40 years. It's time we understood the cost. My column on our bad bargain with the world's most powerful totalitarian state: https://www.nytimes.com/...
@kaipo_rozwolf Kaipo on x
My photoshops are nothing if not both lazy and fast, but still. #HongKongProtest #Blizzardboycott pic.twitter.com/nsE1VWl0e3
@rampantcritic @rampantcritic on x
#Blizzardboycott wouldn't it be a shame if Mei became a symbol of Hong Kong. pic.twitter.com/3EhU34HMeW
@spicy_wasabaee @spicy_wasabaee on x
Great job on the logo redesign, Blizzard. It matches your personality perfectly! #BlizzardBoycott #WorldofWarcraft pic.twitter.com/t5MTNSeWrl
@pinboard @pinboard on x
Super sporting move here by Google. They had a chance to make Apple look bad by allowing freedom of expression to Hong Kongers, but in a magnanimous gesture to their competitor, decided to do some censorship of their own. https://twitter.com/...
@mhbergen Mark Bergen on x
I mean, @googleplay, c'mon. https://twitter.com/...
@mhbergen Mark Bergen on x
https://twitter.com/...
@shiraovide Shira Ovide on x
Oof. https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@slasher Rod Breslau on x
Breaking: Effective immediately, Blizzard has removed Hong Kong Hearthstone player blitzchung from Hearthstone Grand Masters, rescinded all his prize money, and have suspended him from pro play for one year for his recent interview. Statement below https://twitter.com/... pic.tw…
@slasher Rod Breslau on x
just as the NBA's original Chinese Weibo statement was pretty harsh on Daryl Morey compared to the English statement, Blizzard's official Hearthstone Weibo post made an additional comment condemning blitzchung and defending ‘the pride of China’ https://twitter.com/... https://twi…
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
Activision Blizzard stock is off 1%.
@kenroth Kenneth Roth on x
Big backlash against e-sports giant Activision Blizzard for suspending a player who voiced support for the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests during a live broadcast. People are tiring of businesses extending China's censorship worldwide. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter…
@crtejada Carlos Tejada on x
“Today, what I have lost in Hearthstone is four years of time,” he said, referring to the years he spent playing the game. “But if Hong Kong loses, it would be the matter of a lifetime.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@michaelkpate Michael K Pate on x
One thing is for sure: If Blizzard thought they could do this quietly, they should clean house of everyone involved in the decision. https://www.techmeme.com/...
@punishedhag @punishedhag on x
oh hey, Kibler's stepping down from casting hearthstone events. If you don't know him he's like a huge card game celeb with tons of fans and pull. He's “professional” about it and avoids directly attacking blizzard's politics but him ditching their competitive play is kinda huge.…
@dellcam Dead Cameron on x
Blizzard appearing very hypocritical here. Hearthstone player was punished for a political statement, which is against the rules, but Blizzard's response was overboard, and seems equally political. via @bmkibler: https://medium.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@theredshirtguy @theredshirtguy on x
Good on them. Between employees within Blizzard and the community, hopefully this awful situation will be rectified. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
@genepark Gene Park on x
wow @bmkibler's statement on Blizzard's actions got so much traffic, he had to repost it on Medium https://medium.com/...
@dannypage Untitled Danny Page on x
Kibler isn't going to be an announcer for Blizzard due to how they have handled recent issues; this is huge. All the respect to him. https://twitter.com/...
@kendricswissh Kendric on x
One of better statements about the whole Blizzard against twitter affair regarding the recent Hearthstone incident, it's logical and neutral. 90% of the tweets I have read on this subject have been pure (out)rage. Kudos to Kibler for being professional! https://twitter.com/...
@bmkibler Brian Kibler on x
Here's the post up on a Medium account I just made https://medium.com/...
@slasher Rod Breslau on x
Blizzard has also disabled comments on the news which are normally open, and from scrolling back through hundreds of posts this is the only time they've done that can't imagine why pic.twitter.com/KvCyLXpmtU
@dellcam Dead Cameron on x
as one of my coworkers just pointed out, a “small group” of people staging a walk out at a major company like this is far more impressive than a large group. there's safety in numbers. https://twitter.com/...
@blakersdozen Blake Montgomery on x
Scoop: Blizzard employees walked out of work yesterday over the company's decision to ban a pro-Hong-Kong professional Hearthstone player. They held an all-day protest at the Orc statue in the center of the company's Irvine campus. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
@somedud24904003 Somedude on x
Yeah... interesting to see how modern boycotts might actually be effective... People are trying to make Mei a symbol of Hong Kong to get the game banned in China to hurt Blizzards bottom line. I'm encouraged to see people take a stand. https://www.eurogamer.net/...
@jasonschreier Jason Schreier on x
In the middle of Blizzard's campus there's a big orc statue surrounded by company slogans - powerful statement here from their staff. https://twitter.com/...
@tenaciousdznuts Xela on x
“screw u guys, im going home” #Blizzardboycott pic.twitter.com/0YShzciAlX
@laurenstrapa Lauren Strapagiel on x
I let my WoW subscription lapse months ago in favour of ESO and angry gamer boys made me stop playing Overwatch, so guess I'm in the clear! https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@inteldotwav Spooky Gang on x
Check out the new logo. #Blizzardboycott pic.twitter.com/cWE3oTjsIG
@slasher Rod Breslau on x
Blizzard has also fired both of the Hearthstone casters working the event, both of whom literally ducked underneath the desk during the interview and neither of which to my knowledge had any idea what was going to be said very cool, Blizzard
@jkeefe John Keefe on x
Apple just took the Quartz app out of the Chinese app store at the request of China, and http://qz.com is now blocked from mainland China. Our excellent @qz coverage of ongoing Hong Kong protests may be the reason: https://qz.com/...
@willoremus Will Oremus on x
Last week, Apple rejected a Hong Kong maps app that let protesters track police. Critics speculated Apple was trying to appease China, but lacked proof. Yesterday, Apple approved the app on appeal, and Chinese state media blasted the company. So, yeah. https://onezero.medium.com/…
@scriptjunkie1 Scriptjunkie on x
Today's reminder, when your app platform is centrally controlled and it is prohibitively expensive and time-consuming to install unapproved apps, ("just get a macbook and xcode") you are enabling censorship. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@zeynep Zeynep Tufekci on x
What again, @Apple? (And yes, @qz coverage of Hong Kong protests has been great!) https://twitter.com/...
@jchengwsj Jonathan Cheng on x
Meanwhile, Google has suspended an Android-only app, “Revolution of Our Times,” a role-playing mobile game that puts you in the shoes of a Hong Kong protester, able to buy protective gear while also facing the risk of arrest or death. @HongKongFP https://www.hongkongfp.com/...
@lokmantsui Lokman Tsui on x
hey @Apple , just a gentle reminder that you had the courage to remove the headphone jack. https://twitter.com/...
@lauriechenwords Laurie Chen on x
“Apple's deep business interests in China, which include a majority of its consumer electronics supply chain, mean that in almost all cases, it abides by the country's censorship policies and its sensitive reactions to any and all criticism of the Chinese government.” https://twi…
@backlon Dieter Bohn on x
Nice moral high ground you got there Apple. Be a shame if something happened to it. https://www.theverge.com/...
@jacknicas Jack Nicas on x
The same week Chinese state media skewered Apple for approving an app that helps Hong Kong protesters track police, the Chinese government appears to have gotten Apple to pull the Quartz app there. More context: Apple pulled the @nytimes app in China in late 2016. https://twitter…
@beijingpalmer James Palmer on x
Apple has been one of the most consistent companies in rolling over when the CCP whistles, and should be getting more shit for it. https://twitter.com/...
@yaqiu @yaqiu on x
At this point, shouldn't @Apple have already figured out that there is no end to the kowtowing? Show some courage and vision in your leadership, @tim_cook. https://twitter.com/...
@alexstamos Alex Stamos on x
A secure building that keeps people from leaving is a prison. Hardware-backed code signing that is used to prevent people from accessing uncensored news is DRM in the service of authoritarianism. https://twitter.com/...
@mollymckew Molly McKew on x
China is having an awesome couple weeks showing how they can yoink everyone around by the purse strings. https://twitter.com/...
@zackwhittaker Zack Whittaker on x
Will be interesting to see Apple how discloses this in its upcoming transparency report. At its last report, Apple took down 517 apps at the request of Beijing. https://techcrunch.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@rj_gallagher Ryan Gallagher on x
This is an interesting test case for Apple in China. Company has cooperated in CCP censorship but recently reversed a decision to remove from its app store an app used by Hong Kong protesters. Now state media accusing Apple of complicity in crime. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@bergmayer John Bergmayer on x
Apple probably shouldn't be running an app store in China, or it should make sideloading much easier such that running a censorious one doesn't matter https://twitter.com/...
@peterinexile Peter Dahlin on x
China is now attacking @Apple music site for allowing an ‘unpatriotic’ song. Next @Spotify @YouTube etc will need to remove any songs not approved by CCP? https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@marcorubio Marco Rubio on x
Today I will be asking CFIUS to review #TikTok's acquisition of http://Musical.ly . Ample & growing evidence exists that TikTok's platform for western markets, including the U.S., are censoring content in line with #China's communist government directives.
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
TikTok is introducing Americans to a question that Europeans have struggled with for 20 years: a lot of your citizens might use an Internet platform created somewhere that doesn't know or care about your laws or cultural attitudes and won't turn up to a committee hearing
@chinausfocus @chinausfocus on x
“Republican Sen. Marco Rubio on Wednesday asked the U.S. government to open an investigation into TikTok, the wildly popular, Chinese-owned social media app,” reports @washingtonpost. Read the full article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@jimgeraghty Jim Geraghty on x
A once-trendy and popular cause that gradually disappeared from the American popular consciousness as our economy grew more intertwined with China's: https://www.nationalreview.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@sbanjo Shelly Banjo on x
This has been talked about for over a year, but since CFIUS often works in secret it's hard to know whether investigations are happening. https://twitter.com/...

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Apple removes app from the App Store that tracked Hong Kong police and protests after pressure from China, says it “violates our guidelines and local laws”

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