, was removed because it was being used to "maliciously target individual officers for violence" and "victimize individuals and property where no police are present."
"These decisions are never easy, and it is harder still to discuss these topics during moments of furious public debate," Cook wrote in the email, according to Bloomberg. "National and international debates will outlive us all, and, while important, they do not govern the facts. In this case, we thoroughly reviewed them, and we believe this decision best protects our users."to staff from Cook that was published on the website Pastebin on Thursday.
Cook's email echoes the comment Apple issued earlier in response to its decision to remove the app, a choice that has come under criticism. See below for the full statement Apple issued to Business Insider earlier on Thursday regarding its decision to remove HKmap.live from the App Store.
Well done Apple! Haters will be haters, they don’t understand laws.
QuestFanning tim_cook One question: Is the Chinese government a serial human rights abuser?
Why would anyone in China have that technology? That's why the rich hate Trump!
Shame on Tim Cook! Shame on Apple!
The new norm.... huge corporations in total cahoots with Authoritarian regimes.... coming soon to a theatre near you 😑
What Cook said: “Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah.” What Cook meant: “We can’t afford to lose any of our manufacturing facilities or suppliers, not to mention one billion plus potential customers. So we’ll bend over and do exactly whatever the Chinese government tells us to do.”
Only A fraction of China can afford your products anyway. The average disposable income is about $10k/year. How many iPhones you think they’re buying? Spending over a 10th of their annual income for one phone
Cook’s explaination is ungrounded. Individual police officers are not displayed on the map: only large concentrations of police are shown, with the stated intention of allowing protesters to avoid rather than confront law enforcement. Is this an excuse for censorship?