Apple and Google accused of helping 'enforce gender apartheid' by hosting Saudi government app...

wshrugged · Feb 8, 2019

Apple and Google have been criticized by rights groups for hosting Absher, an app which allows men in Saudi Arabia to track and control where women travel.

Absher is a Saudi government website, which INSIDER reported on at length last week. It is available on Google Play and iTunes, and has been downloaded more than one million times.

Under Saudi law, every woman has a legal "guardian" who can restrict her travel to specific airports and routes, and get automated alerts when they cross borders.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and a women's rights activist told INSIDER that Apple and Google should reconsider hosting the app.

Yasmine Mohammed, a critic of Saudi Arabia, said: "There's a definite tragedy in the world's most technologically progressive platforms, Apple and Google, facilitating the most archaic misogyny."

Neither Apple nor Google responded to repeated requests for comment.
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https://www.thisisinsider.com/apple...-app-activists-say-fuel-discrimination-2019-2

Trooper · Feb 8, 2019

Not surprised in the least given the fact the Apple and Google work with the Chinese govt. This should not be, period.

guest · Feb 13, 2019

Apple, Google Both Hosting Saudi Government App That Lets Men Track Women, Restrict Their Travel
February 12, 2019
https://gizmodo.com/apple-google-both-hosting-saudi-government-app-that-le-1832580036

According to the Washington Post, the Saudi Interior Ministry-designed app serves as an e-government and e-services portal, including functions like requesting a passport, birth certificate, vehicle registration, or other documentation.

Critics say the app violates policies on both stores, such as those against bullying and harassment.
Human Rights Watch senior researcher on women’s rights Rothna Begum told NPR the app was “really designed with the men in mind. [...] you’re allowing men absolute control over women’s movements.”

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden also blasted Google and Apple for hosting the app on Monday, saying hosting it was “unconscionable” and enables “abusive practices against women in Saudi Arabia.”
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ronjor · Feb 13, 2019

Tim Cook says Apple will investigate app that lets Saudi men track and control women

By Jon Porter @JonPorty Feb 13, 2019
Google still quiet on the matter
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guest · Mar 3, 2019

Google declines to pull controversial Saudi government app
Apple is still reviewing the app
March 2, 2019
https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/02/google-declines-to-pull-saudi-arabia-absher-app/

The internet giant told California Rep. Jackie Speier that it wouldn't ban Saudi Arabia's Absher app from Google Play despite calls from Speier and other members of Congress to remove it.
However, Google determined that Absher didn't violate its agreements and could remain on the store.

We've asked Google if it can comment on the decision. Apple told Speier on February 28th that it was still reviewing the app.

It's a complex situation. On top of its travel tools, Absher is a general-purpose app that covers a variety of tasks -- pulling the app as-is would disrupt mobile access to uncontroversial services. This also wouldn't prevent Android users in Saudi Arabia from sideloading the app outside of the Play Store.
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guest · Apr 27, 2019

Saudi sisters call for 'inhuman' woman-monitoring app to be removed by Facebook and Apple
April 25, 2019
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...-app-absher-maha-wafa-al-subaie-a8885521.html

Two runaway Saudi sisters have urged Apple and Google to pull an “inhuman” app that allows men to monitor and control female relatives’ travel as it helps trap girls in abusive families.
The sisters’ plea added to growing calls from rights groups, diplomats and US and European politicians for the app to be removed from online stores.

United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Wednesday that she had asked tech companies in Silicon Valley “tough questions” this month about the “threats” posed by apps like Absher which allow Saudi men to restrict women’s movement.
"[...] the hugely invasive powers that are being unleashed may do incalculable damage if there are not sufficient checks in place to respect human rights,” she said in a statement.
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