"Saying it's OK with them." If they made a public statement "we are not ok with this, but the app stays anyways" is everyone satisfied now? Everyone knows google is in favour of womens right. People want them to take it down because they think google won't, so it gives them an opportunity to complain about how sexist google is. Then the next time something happens regarding women near google, they'll say wow google is so sexist remember how they made women get permissions slips to travel? When in fact google is completely powerless before the might of a nation state, and the worst they can do is make saudi arabia host the apk on their own website.
That may have been true in 2015. But no, Google us curating for political reasons. Google claims that they are concerned about things like the safety of women and LGBT groups. They have banned apps like Gab.com for purely quite flimsy political reasons. So you would think that Google would have no problem banning this app.
Thus, their approving of an app which literally facilitates patriarchal misogyny on a nation-wide scale, while banning apps that simply make misogynist jokes, is colossal hypocrisy on their part.
There are a ton of other things that are legal but that google doesn't allow though, so your point still stands.
But yes, it would have been much harder without the app, because the old system would have required her dad to appear in-person, wet-sign specific paper forms, etc.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/world/middleeast/saudi-ar...
I'm sure Google would take it down in a heartbeat.
And as you said, it wouldn't have any effect on PornHub as people would still go there through the website, but it shows that Google is okay with government-backed slavery but not with porn.
In short, the app, as awful as it is, is an improvement for Saudi women. Getting rid of it will hurt them.
That would inconvenience Saudi men, would it not?
Perception varies by cultural context, so it doesn't really matter how people with no connection to Saudi Arabia perceive things.
Removing the app would mean making travel even harder, not easier - you should look at how all of this worked before the online service was introduced.
Removing the app would mean making travel even harder
These seem like contradictory statements.