The technological advances Apple has made make it easy for
anyone to access information anytime, anywhere. Yet Apple doesn’t want you to use an iOS app to educate yourself about
when and where U.S. drone strikes happen.
A concerned citizen attempted to easily (and legally)
disseminate information about these covert operations through creating an app
that Apple users could download. However,
Apple rejected the app twelve (yes, twelve) times on the grounds of it
having “excessively objectionable or crude content.” What is so objectionable
about data? More, importantly, what does Apple not want us to see?
Sign the petition and
demand that Apple allow citizens to draw their own conclusions about U.S. air
strikes. Stop censoring the iOS app that tracks them, now.
Five years ago, Josh Begley created the app, called Metadata
with the intention that
every time a U.S. drone strike was reported in the news, the user would receive a push
notification. Metadata users would have the ability to see a date, possibly
the name of a province, and sometimes even a body count.
Having access to reliable news about U.S. drone strikes is
more important than ever under the current administration. President
Trump has made it clear that he plans to lift the Obama-era limitations on
drone strikes even further. As citizens, we deserve to know information about
these strikes, especially when lives are at stake. We must stay vigilant, and we can do it together.
Sign the petition to
ask Apple to be transparent with its iOS app users. Don’t censor the app that
tracks U.S. drone strikes.
More information
Apple. 28 March 2017.
The Fader. 28 March 2017.