Chinese state media warns Apple over app that tracks Hong Kong police, says Apple's approval of the app made it an “accomplice” in the protests
and critics say they bent to Beijing Charlotte Henry / The Mac Observer : Apple Backtracks and Removes Hong Kong Protest App Wei Shi / Telecoms.com : Apple U-turns again to pull HK map app under pressure from Beijing Casey Newton / The Verge : Why Facebook doesn't follow the First Amendment Isobel Asher Hamilton / Business Insider : China's grip on Apple tightens as it boots a Hong Kong police-tracking app and news app Quartz Ravie Lakshmanan / The Next Web : Apple bans app that warns Hong Kong citizens about police activity, again Anmol / MSPoweruser : BoycottApple trending as Apple removes Quartz news and HKmap apps from App Store Rob Quinn / Newser : Apple Pulls Hong Kong App Amid Pressure From China Luke Dormehl / Cult of Mac : Apple pulls two apps from China App Store due to government demands Christian Zibreg / iDownloadBlog.com : Apple pulls Hong Kong protest app and Quartz news app at the behest of Chinese government Gary Ng / iPhone in Canada Blog : Apple Pulls Hong Kong Maps App After Facing Pressure from China Joe Wituschek / iMore : Apple removes Quartz news app at request of Chinese government Will Oremus / OneZero : China Is Forcing Tech Companies to Choose Between Profits and Free Speech Tweets: John Keefe / @jkeefe : 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/... Will Oremus / @willoremus : 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/... https://twitter.com/... Scriptjunkie / @scriptjunkie1 : 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 Tufekci / @zeynep : What again, @Apple? (And yes, @qz coverage of Hong Kong protests has been great!) https://twitter.com/... Jonathan Cheng / @jchengwsj : 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/... Lokman Tsui / @lokmantsui : hey @Apple , just a gentle reminder that you had the courage to remove the headphone jack. https://twitter.com/... Laurie Chen / @lauriechenwords : “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://twitter.com/... Dieter Bohn / @backlon : Nice moral high ground you got there Apple. Be a shame if something happened to it. https://www.theverge.com/... Jack Nicas / @jacknicas : 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.com/... James Palmer / @beijingpalmer : 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 : 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/... Alex Stamos / @alexstamos : 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/... Molly McKew / @mollymckew : China is having an awesome couple weeks showing how they can yoink everyone around by the purse strings. https://twitter.com/... Zack Whittaker / @zackwhittaker : 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/... Ryan Gallagher / @rj_gallagher : 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/ ... John Bergmayer / @bergmayer : 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/... Peter Dahlin / @peterinexile : 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/ ...