On Apple's decision to remove HKmap.live

The Hong Kong protests are still ongoing after more than fifteen weeks and these look to be harrowing times for the Pearl of the Orient. Amid all the hubbub, one fascinating aspect is how software tech ties into all this. Specifically, how web and mobile technology tie into it. That's a subject to dwell on another day - today I want to talk about something that happened weeks ago. The mobile app HKmap.live got pulled from the Apple App Store.

Now this by itself isn't that big a deal. Apps get uploaded and pulled all the time. The remarkable thing here are the circumstances around which this happened.

Apple pulled the app originally in early October, claiming that the app allowed users to evade law enforcement, and almost as quickly did the mobile app administration version of the Tokyo Drift, putting it back up and claiming it was a mistake. Then about a week later, Apple once again removed the app, and this time their CEO Tim Cook went online to provide an explanation.

"It is no secret that technology can be used for good or for ill. This case is no different. The app in question allowed for the crowdsourced reporting and mapping of police checkpoints, protest hotspots, and other information. On its own, this information is benign. However, over the past several days we received credible information, from the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau, as well as from users in Hong Kong, that the app was being used maliciously to target individual officers for violence and to victimize individuals and property where no police are present. This use put the app in violation of Hong Kong law. Similarly, widespread abuse clearly violates our ‌‌App Store‌‌ guidelines barring personal harm."

There have been voices from some quarters accusing Apple of not knowing right from wrong and allowing politics to interfere in tech. In principle, I agree. Tech should not be influenced by partisan politics. But here's the thing - while I don't like it, the world being what it is, I have to accept that this happens. To some degree or other, politics does have an effect on technology and how it is applied.

I don't think Apple was wrong to pull HKmap.live from their App Store. The only problem I have with their decision is them being so goddamn wishy-washy about it. Either allow the app or don't, but stick to your guns.

What is HKmap.live?

It's a mobile app that uses crowdsourced input from its users to provide a real-time report of police activity in Hong Kong, tracking movements of police officers. As one could imagine, such a utility would be of great help to the protestors. Unfortunately, it would also be of great help to attacks on the police force. There's been multiple reported incidents of police officers being targetted and assaulted, their families harassed. Whether the app actually has anything to do with this, as claimed by the Hong Kong Police, is yet to be proven. Yet, it doesn't take too much stretching of the imagination to see how this could be abused.

The app can still be run on the devices it is currently installed on and will still run on web browsers, though new downloads are no longer available. Even without HKmap.live, with other apps being able to perform pretty much the same function, it's unclear as though how much harm is actually being prevented by its omission from the App Store.

Why Apple was in the right

All tech providers are bound to obey the laws of the land, and if Hong Kong tells Apple that HKmap.live is in violation of their laws, endangers police officers and should be removed, Apple is obliged to acquiesce. That's not to say I think the pressure from Beijing didn't make an iota of difference; au contraire, I think it made all the difference in the world. But as far as I can see, Apple exercised their only feasible option, from both a legal and business point of view.

Why only HKmap.live, then? The question some laypeople are asking is, why only pull HKmap.live when other apps can do pretty much the same amount of damage? Why single HKmap.live out?

Well, the answer is pretty simple. It's a matter of manpower.

If Apple were to attempt to eradicate all apps in the App Store that could pose a danger to policemen, they would have to comb through the billion odd apps in there. Apple doesn't have time for that. They're too busy selling overpriced iPhones to their fanboys. The best they can do is respond to highlighted issues, investigate and react.

Messaging!

Wonder why messaging apps aren't pulled? They're a means of communication among the protestors, after all. (Telegram in particular seems pretty popular now). Because everyone knows that would be futile. Even if Apple removed all messaging apps from the App Store, what about games that have messaging functions? Where does it end?

That's the principle behind it. Respond to specific complaints, and do as little as possible. Apple isn't interested in protecting the lives of the Hong Kong Police. They're interested in staying on the right side of the law in the territories in which they operate. As they should be.

But what about freedom, democracy and stuff?

I'm definitely not a fan of China's heavy-handedness. From the NBA incident to PewDiePie, there have been numerous instances of China flexing their political muscle to silence and censor with regard to the ongoing spat with Hong Kong protestors. And as a Singaporean, I haven't forgotten the entire Terrex incident back in 2016 either. Make no mistake, China can be a right pain in the ass when she wants to be.

Not so peaceful.

I was happy to cheer these Hong Kong protestors on when all they were doing were peaceful marches. Months later, the protests are not so peaceful anymore. As a responsible adult, I am not going to encourage these guys to burn their city in the name of "Freedom and Universal Suffrage", all the while sitting there safely behind my computer screen. I'm not going to spout self-righteous bullshit like "some things are more important than wealth and stability" when it's not my wealth and stability that's under threat.

But let me just say this - Hong Kong is the city that these protestors live in. If they'd rather see it burn just to give China a black eye (and even then, how much of a black eye that would even be is up for debate), it's not for me to judge.

It's not my city they're burning. It's not my livelihood they're affecting and it's not my future they're claiming to fight for.

Similarly, these are not my country's policemen who are being targeted. If Hongkongers think that policemen getting assaulted and their families harassed is a small price to pay for change, that's their prerogative. But I certainly wouldn't recommend helping them to do it.

Peace,
T___T