(CNN Business) Human rights defenders are calling on Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOGL) to remove the Saudi government app Absher from its platforms, saying that it allows Saudi men to track women under their sponsorship. The Absher mobile app -- first available on iOS devices in 2015 and to Android devices in 2016 -- is a Saudi government e-portal where users can access an array of government services related to Hajj, visa, National ID, traffic violations, and health insurance among others, according to the Saudi Ministry of Interior. Among those services is a feature for male guardians to decide whether their dependents can travel abroad and the parameters around their travel plans. Under Saudi Arabia's restrictive guardianship laws , women cannot travel without permission from their male guardians. Critics argue that the Absher app is a technological extension of the repressive rules that restrict many aspects of everyday life for the country's female population.

Source: CNN February 13, 2019 16:18 UTC