NEW YORK, Feb 13 (Al Jazeera): Apple and Google are being pressed to remove an app that lets men track their wives and daughters in Saudi Arabia.
In a letter addressed to the CEOs of both tech giants, US Senator Ron Wyden requested that Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store stop promoting the Saudi e-government portal 'Absher' which he said was being used to continue the "abhorrent surveillance and control of women".
Available to download for free, Absher allows Saudi citizens and residents to access a host of services including getting a passport, a birth certificate or paying traffic violations.
The app also lets men in Saudi Arabia specify when and where adult women under their "guardianship", including wives and unmarried daughters, are allowed to travel to.
An SMS feature sends a message to the male guardian when their wives and unmarried daughters use their passport at a border crossing or the immigration counters at an airport.
"It is hardly news that the Saudi monarchy seeks to restrict and repress Saudi women, but American companies should not enable or facilitate the Saudi government's patriarchy," Wyden said in the letter addressed to Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, and Google's CEO Sundar Pichai.
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