Tim Cook

Is Apple Lobbying Against Uyghur Human Rights?

Posted on by Paul Chesser
Tim Cook in China

Disclosure reports required by Congress show that Apple Inc. hired a firm to lobby on its behalf with regard to the “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act,” tech news Web site The Information reported last week.

Whether the company is for or against the legislation is not known.

The bill has 88 co-sponsors, from Democrat “Squad” Congresswomen Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) on the far left, to conservative House Freedom Caucus members Mark Meadows (a former Representative from NC, now President Trump’s chief of staff) and Jody Hice (Ga.) on the right.

The legislation seeks to ensure that goods manufactured in the Xinjiang region of China, where hundreds of thousands of minority Muslim Uyghurs are persecuted and forced to work “at a fraction of minimum wage or without any compensation,” do not enter the United States market.

According to statements of … Read More ➡

Tech Giants Bankroll Extremists; Fuel False Narrative

Posted on by Paul Chesser
Jack Dorsey/PHOTO: jdlasica (CC)

Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of an out-of-control Minneapolis police officer, and demonstrations mixed with riots across the country, many American corporations weighed in with official statements or financial support for causes – or both.

Unfortunately the involvement of some put them more on the side of divisiveness than unity, at a time when the country needs the latter the most.

Ultimately many of the companies and/or their top-ranking officers got behind (again) the dubious narrative that there is “systemic racism” in law enforcement, and that minorities are disproportionately treated as suspects – or singled out for violent police tactics – more than whites. As Manhattan Institute fellow Heather Mac Donald and former US Attorney Andrew McCarthy explained earlier this week, citing very convincing statistics, the idea there is structural bias in policing is a myth.

“However sickening the video of Floyd’s … Read More ➡

Apple CEO Tim Cook Caves to Communist China, Again

Posted on by Paul Chesser

Apple Inc. and CEO Tim Cook have gone big in efforts to capture consumers and profits in the People’s Republic of China, so the current outrage from the rest of the world over its obedience to the communist government – as it cracks down on dissent – appears to be a minor irritant not worth addressing.

Following the NBA’s cowardice last week – as the normally media-savvy league known for outspokenness against injustice by its executives, coaches and players suddenly turned mute after a pro-Hong Kong tweet outraged the ChiComs – Apple acceded to China’s censorship wishes as well.

This time Cook removed a crowd-sourcing app called HKmap.live from its App Store, following complaints by the government (through its state-run media) that Hong Kong protesters used it to target individual police officers for attacks.

“The app in question allowed for the crowdsourced reporting and mapping of police … Read More ➡

Is Tim Cook Above it All, or Just Arrogant?

Posted on by Peter Flaherty

Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook claimed recently that he and his company do not engage in the dirty business of “politics” but only “policy.” He is supposedly above it all, guided instead by doing “what’s right.”

Cook acknowledges that some may not like his “policy” decisions, but that he thinks they admire Apple’s leadership for sticking to their principles. He added that the company only weighs in where it has a “legitimate position or lens on the issue,” like climate change, education, immigration, and transgender restroom policies.

“I think people appreciate that, even when they do disagree,” he said, explaining his beliefs about the role of business in public issues. “We do them out of believing deeply that they’re right and we do have a unique lens. We focus on the policy, not the politics.”

Cook has a self-serving definition of “politics.” It apparently does not include … Read More ➡

Apple Shareholder Files Proposal on Free Speech

Posted on by Peter Flaherty

National Legal and Policy Center has submitted a shareholder proposal asking Apple Inc. to made a report on human rights, and specifically, free speech. The 2019 Apple annual meeting will take place in Cupertino, California in early 2019. Here is the text of the proposal and supporting statement:

Whereas, the Securities and Exchange Commission has consistently recognized that human rights constitute a significant policy issue.

Freedom of speech and association are fundamental human rights.

The Company operates in nations with systematic human rights abuses. The Company has abetted certain governments and non-governmental organizations in suppressing freedom of speech and association.

For example, our CEO in March 2018 co-chaired the so-called China Development Forum, sponsored by the Communist Chinese government. In December 2017, our CEO keynoted the World Internet Conference, another Chinese government event.

In February 2018, the Company transferred operation of its iCloud data center in mainland China to … Read More ➡

Silicon Valley CEOs Attack Trump Over ‘Separated Families’

Posted on by Paul Chesser

Apple’s Tim Cook

Open borders advocates have successfully established the narrative of “separated families,” with significant aid from a media blitz, to characterize the zero tolerance enforcement effort to protect U.S. borders by the Trump administration.

Of course the major technology companies based in Silicon Valley – who almost unanimously have advocated for open borders policies that come with unlimited visas for the foreign workers they want to employ – have joined the chorus.

Apple CEO Tim Cook reacted, while in Dublin, to the widespread pictures of immigrant children housed in facilities away from their detained parents.

“It’s heartbreaking to see the images and hear the sounds of the kids,” he said. “Kids are the most vulnerable people in any society. I think that what’s happening is inhumane, it needs to stop. I’m personally a big believer in the way to be a good citizen is to participate, … Read More ➡

Apple Hypocrisy Exposed Again With Latest Encryption Move

Posted on by Paul Chesser

IMAGE: YouTube

Apple again has taken a step it says will strengthen privacy for its millions of product users, but the heightened encryption measure has drawn criticism from law enforcement who want the ability to “crack” phones of suspects in search of information during criminal investigations.

And once again a decision by the company has called attention to the inconsistencies of its policies in free countries, as opposed to China.

The measure, announced Wednesday, would alter the settings on the iPhone to severely curb the ability of police to communicate with the devices via external “hacking” instruments. Previously law enforcement could connect and access the iPhones’ data in an unlimited fashion in search of accessibility passwords. Under the new update, the phones will lock out all attempts at access after an hour.

“If we go back to the situation where we again don’t have access, now we know directly all … Read More ➡

Apple CEO Tim Cook Whitewashes His Hypocrisy at Duke

Posted on by Paul Chesser

Tim Cook at Duke University/IMAGE: YouTube

Apple CEO Tim Cook continued his hypocritical moralizing for progressive causes over the weekend, in a commencement address before (unsurprisingly) a friendly audience at Duke University.

In what was widely perceived as a(nother) swipe at Facebook, and its customer data security problems with the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Cook boasted that (because of a standard he said co-founder Steve Jobs established) Apple infallibly protects its customers’ privacy, unlike other companies who collect their data in order to monetize it.

“We reject the excuse that getting the most out of technology means trading away your right to privacy,” he said. “So we choose a different path: Collecting as little of your data as possible. Being thoughtful and respectful when it’s in our care. Because we know it belongs to you.

“In every way, at every turn, the question we ask ourselves is not ‘what can … Read More ➡

Amnesty International Joins Criticism of Apple CEO Tim Cook on China

Posted on by Paul Chesser

Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook has received accolades for free speech advocacy by respected institutions such as the Newseum, but the company is being called on the carpet for consigning its data storage services – especially crucial encrypted access keys – to a bunch of communists.

Amnesty International announced Thursday it would initiate a social media campaign against Apple, because the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant caved to the Chinese government and agreed to allow its customers’ data to be housed on servers there.

The effort coincides with a visit by Cook to the China Development Forum, where he is co-chairing an event sponsored by the government in which business leaders meet with public officials in an effort to improve relations.

It also follows only a month after Reuters reported that Apple agreed to store encrypted keys used to access customers’ (or, users’) data storage accounts (such as iCloud).

According … Read More ➡

Apple CEO Awarded Free Speech Award Despite Track Record

Posted on by Paul Chesser

Apple CEO Tim Cook was given one of the Newseum’s Free Expression Awards last month, but Hugh Hefner also received one, so the merits upon which he earned the prize are dubious.

The category for which Cook was honored was “Free Speech.” The awarding institution, founded mostly by a bunch of left-leaning legacy media organizations, said he earned the distinction “for his leadership in creating technology that has had a profound impact on how we communicate,” and for his “public stand on major societal issues, including racial equality, privacy, protecting the environment, access to education and LGBT rights.”

Cook has also been praised for his emphasis on diversity as well. And he has been recognized for his ethics by both academia and the press. So liberal journalists love him because they love their iPhones and they love his politics.

That he has been recognized for outspokenness about … Read More ➡