Major app stores continue to carry Saudi government app which includes function that can prevent women from travelling
Regardless of their age, women in Saudi Arabia must have the consent of a male relative to obtain a passport, travel or marry. In the past, a travel permit was a paper document issued by the Interior Ministry and signed by a male relative. The Absher app replaces the need for a paper document.
According to Speier's office, Google won't remove the app because it doesn't consider it a violation of Google's terms of service, while Apple is still investigating. Although the app has been around for years, it has only recently gotten the attention of human-rights and other critics. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, wrote Apple and Google to criticize that they “are making it easier for Saudi men to control their family members from the convenience of their smartphones and restrict their movement.”
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