Another reason why Apple Maps and Google Maps must be boycotted
If privacy violation 'is not enough' to break up with the big tech hegemony, can patriotism be a good reason?
A few days ago, when I was scrolling my Twitter feed I noticed a very interesting tweet: it was about a petition in Change.org directed to Apple Inc. It is very worrying that Kosovo is not shown on Apple Maps. You can hardly see its borders and the worst thing is that it is shown as a part of Serbia. This needs to change ASAP because Kosovo has been an independent country since 2008 — is written in the description of the petition. I signed and shared it immediately and checked out if Kosovo was in Google Maps, too. The results were the same: according to Google Maps, Kosovo is part of the Republic of Serbia despite the fact Kosovo is an independent country for more than a decade (also, Kosovo has got an amazing football team). In less than two weeks the petition has gained more than 165K supporters, which is good news and shows us the importance of this issue.
The call of to put Kosovo in Apple Maps is recently echoing in social media and is provoking once again one of the hottest debates in the Balkans: what is Kosovo¹? But more than the ethnocultural and patriotic part, the aim of this blog post is to pay some attention to the problem of the big tech centralization in a bigger picture. The case of Kosovo is not particular at all. Another hot topic is even the erasure² of Palestine from Google Maps and Apple Maps. But why does it happen?
Apple and Google are the Leviathans which control³ total domination of the digital market. More than rivals, they are partners in a small monopoly club, where there's no place for you (FYI Apple pays Google 3B USD per year for Safari to keep Google as the first browser⁴). In their terms, 165K supporters of the petition which simply asks Apple to put Kosovo on the map, are nothing more than an H2O molecule in their ocean of wealth. Nor 500K supporters, 1M, nor 5M could not do any significant difference for Apple. The number of petition supporters will always be just symbolic if they still remain users of those maps. Also, a gentle reminder to all petition's supporters: if Apple doesn't⁵ give a ƒµȼЌ about the Hong Kong protesters, what makes yy think that Apple will listen to this petition?
Our common mistake is considering tech as a neutral subject. But it isn't. It isn't just tech, but it is the big tech that has shaped the hegemony to make us think we cannot live without it. The big tech is always lining up on the strongest’s side. In this way their profit is safe. Their ethics is a myth. They don't care about us. They never did, but now they don't care even to hide the fact that they don't care. Who is really insulted by the fact that Kosovo is mapped as a Serbian territory in Apple Maps, should do something more than just a petition subscription and share? Apple Maps must be boycotted! Google Maps must be boycotted, as well! Yeah, I know I should be realistic. I know it's not easy to live without those platforms⁶, but their maps are easily replaceable. This is another reason to replace them with OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a map that is maintained voluntarily by the contributors. Thank them, OSM is improved⁷ in an unpredictable level in recent years. Back to our main issue: the Republic of Kosovo is in OSM and its borderline with the Republic of Serbia is not just a dashed line. Also, you don't need to sign a petition towards OpenStreetMap. If you identify anything wrong with the map, you have all the opportunities to edit it by yourself. That's what you have to do, it's easier than you think. Just imagine if everyone who has signed the petition, makes only one contribution to OSM: it means165K contributions!
So, if you are offended that Apple Maps and Google Maps doesn't recognise Kosovo as an independent country but you still use Apple Maps and Google Maps instead of alternatives like OSM [because it's cool to use Apple Maps and Google Maps], you shouldn't be offended if I call you ‘ʝεᖇҡ’.
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CC BY-SA 4.0
Written with ♥ for open source culture.
Email: kristicunga@protonmail.com Mastodon: @kristicunga@freeradical.zone Twitter: @kristicunga ___
References:
[1] Why “Kosovo i Metohija” offends [2] Activists: Google, Apple ‘Erasing Palestine’ from Geographic Apps [3] New survey says Google Maps favored by nearly 70 percent of iPhone users [4] Thousands of Reddit users are trying to delete Google from their lives, but they're finding it impossible because Google is everywhere [5] Is a Tech Company Ever Neutral? [6] I Cut Google Out Of My Life. It Screwed Up Everything [7] Why would you use OpenStreetMap if there is Google Maps? ___