DIGITAL LIFE

Google and Apple refuse to delete app that 'helps' men control women

Google has declined to remove from its app store a Saudi government application that allows men to locate their wives and control whether they can travel or not. Business Insider, which the technology giant reviewed the app - called Absher - has come to the conclusion that it does not violate its terms and conditions, so it can stay in the Google Play online store.
The decision was communicated by Google to the office of California Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier, who along with other members of Congress wrote to the CEO of the company, Sundar Pichai, and to Apple CEO Tim Cook, calling for the service to be removed.
The technology was also asked to explain until February 28 why they kept the app in stores. In the letter, the representative and the other 14 women said that by keeping the application available they were "complicit in the oppression suffered by Saudi women."
Apple communicated last Thursday to Speier's office that the Absher application was still available on its App Store.
The replies were followed by a statement from the representative stating that "the justifications received so far from Apple and Google" were "deeply unsatisfactory" and that they would continue to monitor the situation. Sara Gouveia, de Portugal