Apple Approves Controversial Hong Kong App After Rejection
- App shows police activity, helps users avoid dangerous areas
- Developer said Apple ‘finally made the right decision’
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Apple Inc.’s App Store reversed a recent decision to reject a Hong Kong app that shows police activity in the midst of increasingly violent pro-democracy protests in the city.
The app, known as HKmap.live, is a mobile version of a website that helps users avoid potentially dangerous areas, according to the developer, who uses the alias Kuma to remain anonymous. It was rejected from Apple’s App Store because it “facilitates, enables, and encourages an activity that is not legal,” Apple told the developer, according to a copy of the rejection notice seen by Bloomberg News. “Specifically, the app allowed users to evade law enforcement,” Apple wrote.