Apple CEO Tim Cook has said the company will look into an app that can be used to track and limit the travel freedom of women in Saudi Arabia. "I haven't heard about it," the CEO said in an interview with
NPR. "But obviously we'll take a look at it if that's the case." In addition to accessing government services such as applying for passports or birth certificates,
Insider discovered that the Absher app, also available in the Google Play store, allows male Saudi guardians to list "dependents" by name and passport number and then limit their ability to travel.
Apple and Google have been criticised for hosting the Absher app by human rights groups for facilitating human rights abuses. In comments provided to the
Washington Post, Amnesty International said that the app highlights the "disturbing system of discrimination" in the country, while a spokesperson from Human Rights Watch joined their call for Apple and Google to investigate the app.
The app highlights a "disturbing system of discrimination"
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden went a step further in an open letter to Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and called for them to
remove the app entirely from their app stores.