Human rights defenders have been urging Apple and Google to remove the Saudi government app ‘Absher’ from its platforms, over claims that it “enables abhorrent surveillance and control of women.” The reaction came after an investigative report by INSIDER which reported that Absher allows men to control where women travel outside the Kingdom, and set up SMS alerts for when women use their passports at the border. In a letter sent to the tech giants on Monday, Senator Ron Wyden requested for them to prevent their app stores from being used by the Saudi government to continue the “abhorrent surveillance and control of women.” Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, told National Public Radio on Monday: “I haven’t heard about it. But obviously we’ll take a look at it if that’s the case.” Google also told CNN they were “looking into it,” but did not have definite claims to share at the moment. On the other hand, the Saudi Interior Ministry defended the app in a press statement via the official Saudi Press Agency on Saturday. “The Ministry strongly condemns the systematic campaign aimed at questioning the purpose of (Abshar) services,” the statement said. “These allegations aim…
Apple and Google Urged to Remove Saudi App ‘Absher’ for Tracking Women
February 18, 2019
