Under Pressure From China, Apple Pulls Hong Kong Protest App

For people in Hong Kong angry over tactics used by the police to break up anti-government protests, the HKmap.live app was a handy little tool.

With real-time updates showing police movements, it helps steer users away from possible baton charges, volleys of tear gas and police ID checks.For Apple Inc., that proved to be a problem. Under pressure from Beijing, Apple removed the smartphone app from its online store Thursday.

In doing so, it immediately alienated some customers in Hong Kong, even those who haven’t been yelling in fury on the streets these past four months.

The company said in a statement that it removed HKmap.live from its app store because it “has been used to target and ambush police” and “threaten public safety.”

“Criminals have used it to victimize residents in areas where they know there is no law enforcement,” Apple said. “This app violates our guidelines and local laws, and we have removed it from the App Store.”

Apple phone user Canny Ng has taken to wearing black to express sympathy for the protesters though with a 6-month-old baby at home she’s followed the demonstrations on TV, not in the streets.

Apple’s decision was “not acceptable,” she said, adding she’ll think twice about buying more of the company’s products.

HKmap.live is “quite useful,” she said. “I just want to find a way that I won’t see any police, especially when I’m wearing black. You’re worried that, oh, maybe they will check your ID,” she said.