Today, Tim Cook has addressed the controversy around the removal of the HKmap.live app from the Chinese App Store. Reported by Bloomberg, the CEO sent a memo to employees explaining their process and why they determined that the app need to be removed.

According to the memo, Cook defends Apple's decision and explains that it was not the functionality of the app itself, which allowed users to report information such as police checkpoints and protest hotspots, but what the app was being used for that led it its removal:

"We received credible information, from the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau, as well as from users in Hong Kong, that the app was being used maliciously to target individual officers for violence and to victimize individuals and property..."

The app has gone through a number of changing decisions from Apple. It had originally been taken down on October 3rd, then restored on October 4th, and then re-banned again this morning. With Tim Cook now weighing in and backing the ban, it seems that this decision from Apple is now final. Cook recognizes that the decision will draw criticism in the memo, writing:

"These decisions are never easy, and it is harder still to discuss these topics during moments of furious public debate...National and international debates will outlive us all, and, while important, they do not govern the facts. In this case, we thoroughly reviewed them, and we believe this decision best protects our users."

Here's is the full draft of the memo: