Apple removed a smartphone application from its app store this week after the Chinese government claimed the app was threatening public safety in the Hong Kong protests. Tech writer Andy Ihnatko joined Boston Public Radio on Friday to talk about what exactly this app is and who benefits from using it.
"An app appeared called HKmap.live, accessible via the web or as an app, and it uses crowd-source information to map where the protests and police action are happening," Ihnatko said. "The makers of this app claim that it's a neutral app — it's not there to help protesters escape the police or target the police."
The app was being used in Hong Kong by commuting citizens and tourists trying to avoid the protests, Ihnatko added.
"It can help people get from one part of town to another without commuting through a pile of tear gas," he said.
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, has been defending the company's decision, but Ihnatko isn't convinced by Cook's reasoning.
"Apple isn't giving a reason for us to believe this wasn't simply a situation of kowtowing to political pressure from China and its companies that they are really financially at the end of the leash of," Ihnatko said.