US Senator demands Apple & Google pull app used by Saudis to oppress women
Oregon Senator Ron Wyden has issued a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, calling on the pair to pull an app used to track the movements of Saudi women.
"It is hardly news that the Saudi monarchy seeks to restrict and repress Saudi women, but American companies should not enable or facilitate the Saudi government's patriarchy," Sen. Wyden wrote in part of the letter. "By permitting the app in your respective stores, your companies are making it easier for Saudi men to control their family members from the convenience of their smartphones and restrict their movement. This flies in the face of the type of society you both claim to support and defend."
The app, Absher, is operated by the Saudi government and has innocuous purposes like paying parking fines, but can also be used to monitor and limit the travel activity of wives and daughters under a man's guardianship, even canceling those permissions entirely. Although Saudi Arabia has loosened some of its old policies toward women -- for instance by letting them drive -- the country remains very patriarchal and governed under Wahhabism, a strict fundamentalist sect of Islam.
Groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have expressed concern about Apple and Google's continued hosting of the app. Human Rights Watch in particular has suggested that the companies could simply ask Saudi Arabia to remove guardianship options and resubmit.
Apple has yet to publicly comment on the matter, but the company is often an outspoken proponent of human rights, including those concerning gender and race. It has repeatedly shut down attempts to set up a human rights committee, however, and has been accused of maintaining double standards, turning a blind eye to abuses in the Middle East and China in order to preserve its business interests.
"It is hardly news that the Saudi monarchy seeks to restrict and repress Saudi women, but American companies should not enable or facilitate the Saudi government's patriarchy," Sen. Wyden wrote in part of the letter. "By permitting the app in your respective stores, your companies are making it easier for Saudi men to control their family members from the convenience of their smartphones and restrict their movement. This flies in the face of the type of society you both claim to support and defend."
The app, Absher, is operated by the Saudi government and has innocuous purposes like paying parking fines, but can also be used to monitor and limit the travel activity of wives and daughters under a man's guardianship, even canceling those permissions entirely. Although Saudi Arabia has loosened some of its old policies toward women -- for instance by letting them drive -- the country remains very patriarchal and governed under Wahhabism, a strict fundamentalist sect of Islam.
New: US Senator @RonWyden writes to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google boss Sundar Pichai calling on them to "immediately remove" the "abhorrent" Absher app. pic.twitter.com/sUH4tmCsfq
-- Jake Kanter (@Jake_Kanter)
Groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have expressed concern about Apple and Google's continued hosting of the app. Human Rights Watch in particular has suggested that the companies could simply ask Saudi Arabia to remove guardianship options and resubmit.
Apple has yet to publicly comment on the matter, but the company is often an outspoken proponent of human rights, including those concerning gender and race. It has repeatedly shut down attempts to set up a human rights committee, however, and has been accused of maintaining double standards, turning a blind eye to abuses in the Middle East and China in order to preserve its business interests.
Comments
On the other hand, I'd rather see a company getting into ethics have some kind of grounding and consistency. I haven't seen that from Apple, so maybe better they just don't play the game.
Still, I suppose inflicting our beliefs on others with app censorship is better than cruise missiles, what did our votes endorse and our tax dollars pay for?
This isn't an order, we should note - it's just a plea, which Wyden or any other person is entitled to.
But that is not always the case. I remember that one of the arguments for investing in China was that political freedom would follow after economic freedom and prosperity. I don’t think that had really been the case.
China even seems to be tightening the nose in Hong Kong if my understanding isn’t out dated.
As long as the world economy really runs on Petroleum products the west will have little influence with Saudi Arabia. That’s why I support Electric Vehicles - no more wars for oil.
As for treating women badly; heavy ordnance & .50 calibre rounds treat them far worse. Our track record in the region is pretty special. With any luck their bigotry kept female fatalities below the halfway mark of 750,000.
Do not read this as support for "Guardianship" services, just a reminder that before we go crucifying someone lets at least do a little fact-finding for ourselves to get more than one side of the story.
Yes, I suppose app censorship is better than cruise missiles (or even overthrowing 'evil dictators' to promote 'democracy'... which we do a BUNCH of), but that doesn't make it right, or consistent.
I think Lkrupp responded pretty well already. This was also the defense the soldiers of a certain WWII country used to justify their atrocities. Which makes me wonder if there were ever a repeat of such a thing, if the response would be the same in todays' ethical subjectivism. Pretty sad.
Gosh, you/we'd better hope not. The problem is that we've just done away with the grounding for them. Now we've just got some pieces of paper in some countries and internationally that we hope stand up. But, you're correct that on certain worldviews, they are mostly fiction. But, ultimately the problem is with those worldviews.
I seem to recall some saying... 'two wrongs don't make a right'.
So, if IRS2GO bundled lots of other services with a slave-owner service, then the whole thing would be fine? Maybe there's more to the story, but the aspect of it in focus seems problematic.
That said, I don't think the way the USA is falling (and much of the rest of the 'West') it will be too long before there is a convergence.