So, in other words, you are willing to ask Apple and Google to proactively police their apps, if they are designed to prevent freedoms on not. You'll probably need to ban any app related to Koran or Bible, because they condemn certain types of sexual preferences. Anything Catholic, Mormon, Scientology, got to go. So, when do you stop? How about apps used by Pentagon (Pentagon kills people)? Or banking apps that charge exhorbitant fees and 'prey on the poor'. It's a really fine line.

Again, you can with both want and not want for the tech giants to police behavior of others.

There is no thin line between app with catholic content or Koran and app that notifies male guardian of a women who is trying to cross the border. Nor between bank app that pays on poor. This app is not preying on vulnerable women trying to convince them to go back. There is also difference between policing apps that are designed "designed to prevent freedoms or not" and between policing apps that do in fact prevent basic freedoms.

This app is sending message to another person so that he can stop physically stop her and punish her. You can choose to ignore bank app and bible. You cant choose to ignore saudi police coming for you, because male guardian was notified.

But for that matter, sexual content is already heavily policed. It is not like the app stores ever claimed to be anything goes zones.

OK, let's take this argument even further. Suppose you are right. But the Saudis don't just discriminate against women. They also do against Jews, Shia and Christians. They also arranged genocide in Yemen. They've also sponsored atrocities in Syria. The list is long, really long. Clearly, Google is involved in KSA not only via the Google Play marketplace. It's quite likely that the government of KSA uses other Google products in its work. Microsoft as well. And I won't even go into the military industrial complex. Why stop with this app? There's rampant discrimination in KSA in the oil industry, for example. Are US companies involved in this industry in KSA complicit? Should they be prevented from working in KSA? Again, I just don't see how you can draw a line. You either have to take hands off approach or you need to totally embargo KSA, none of which seems satisfactory.

Typically, personal spyware apps are removed from both apple store and play store. That includes apps for abusive or jealous western partners that were meant to limit freedom of their partners.

You will be surprised I guess, but I would take issue with app that facilitates genocide in Yemen. As people did. People do take issue with IBM facilitating Nazi project during wwii. I would take issue with app that notifies Islamic State or whatever militia in Syria when high target leaves.

Putting pressure on stores to take away apps that do any of the above is fine by me. Because again, there is big difference between taking Saudi money and doing business with them on one hand and distributing spyware designed to limit freedom of victim and facilitate violence against her.

I disagree with you. First, spyware is installed without anyone's knowledge and this is not the case. Second, I can agree with you that any decent human being would be outraged. The reason of this outrage isn't this specific app, but rather how women are mistreated there.

So my question is this. We can all take moral high ground and demand that Google takes this this app down. But if you look at the situation broader, one can argue that the US government is a much bigger enabler than Google in this instance. Is there really a big difference how women are treated in Iran than they are in KSA, for instance? Iran is probably better off, though not by much.

Think about all that oil money that flows from US to KSA for decades. What is the real cause here? Is it just Google's failure to police their marketplace? Or have the Saudies always been this way.

Google is a very easy target here. Blame it on Google, pressure them to take the app down, problem solved. Or is it?

No, spyware does not have to be installed without anyone knowledge. Spyware is software that enables a user to obtain covert information about another's activities. The app that sends one partner wherabouts to another one without the first wanting it so is equal outrageous when used by jealous western girlfriend.

Ad second paragraph: how does that changes anything? Same app from Iran is same problem. Similar app watching Chinese dissidents is same issue. All would be against Google terms of services too.

You are also changing topics and goalposts. The "how to magically improve situation of women in every single oppressive country in the world" was not the topic of this thread. It was whether preventing this app constitute "asking Apple and Google to proactively police their apps, if they are designed to prevent freedoms on not" with implications for bank apps, bible and koran.

Of course pressure on Google wont solve problem. No single action will ever solve the problem. It might make the Google to contribute to the problem less. There is difference between passively not doing anything and actively contributing to the problem. That is fine.

Then again, keeping the app will not solve the freedom issue either.