Is Apple Siding China In Hong Kong Protests? Deletes Mapping App From App Store

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook is lamely trying to defend Apple’s decision to cave to China’s demand it remove an innocuous map app used by Hong Kong protestors now engaged in their 16th week of pro-democracy protests against the Chinese communist government.

Cook on Wednesday totally bought into claims by the Hong Kong government the HKmap.live app from the Chinese App Store was being used to harm officers of the Hong Kong Police Force and other persons.

Apple earlier said it removed the mapping app because it “has been used in ways that endanger law enforcement and residents in Hong Kong” and has been “used to target and ambush police.”

This app allowed users to report information such as the location of police checkpoints and protest hotspots. Cook said it was the app's use in this context that convinced Apple to remove it.

"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," said Cook.

Before the brouhaha, HKMap.Live was a minor app on the Chinese app store. It skyrocketed to the number one overall free app in Hong Kong before it was removed.

This app has been downloaded over 50,000 times in Hong Kong and 70,000 times globally, according to Sensor Tower, a mobile app store marketing intelligence firm.

Apple's stand on HKMap.live has been confusing. The company originally banned the app on Oct. 3, restored it on Oct. 4 and again banned it on Oct. 10.

In addition, Apple also also removed the app of news outlet, Quartz, from the App Store in China saying Quartz was publishing content “illegal in China.” Quartz said it has been extensively covering the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong for weeks.

Taken together, both these decisions by Apple add fuel to an already widespread perception among U.S. politicians that Apple won't have the spine to stand-up to China. And it all point to profits. Back in May, Goldman Sachs estimated an all-out ban on Apple products in China might wipe out almost 30 percent of Apple's profits, effectively ruining the company.

It's widely known that practically all of Apple's iPhones are assembled in China. Apple also needs to protect the massive supply chain that produces over 200 million iPhones annually.

Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) is a key market for Apple. It accounted for $51 billion, or 20 percent, of Apple total 2018 revenue of $265.6 billion. Greater China is also Apple’s third-biggest region after the Americas and Europe.

Apple isn't alone in defering to China, however. Google also removed Hong Kong protest apps from its Android app store this week.