Apple’s latest movements against freedom of expression, a fundamental pillar of democracy, strike strongly.
On the one hand, it withdrew part of its advertising on Twitter, just as this social network reversed its censorship policies, and, moreover, it threatened to remove the social network from its app store. On the occasion, the new president of Twitter, Elon Musk, asked the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook: “Do you hate freedom of expression in the United States or do you demand content moderation?
Musk’s complaint acquires credibility when it is learned that Apple, in the last few hours, has updated its software in China to limit AirDrop, one of the differential functions of Apple products, a magnificent tool for sharing a large amount of information – photos and videos – in very short time and without intermediaries. AirDrop was used by some Chinese citizens, who in recent days have demonstrated against the violations of freedom implicit in the government’s strategy against Covid-19, to circumvent the restrictions on information on what is really happening in China. But Apple sided with the oppressor, perhaps at the request of President Xi Jinping, and decided to limit the reach of the AirDrop tool at such a sensitive time for civil and human rights.
If these facts are confirmed, Tim Cook will go down in history, not only for being the CEO who grew Apple’s market capitalization by 600%, more than doubling the company’s annual revenue, but also for having allied himself with the Chinese dictatorship and its police, dedicated these days to checking citizens’ cell phones to see if they have Instagram, Twitter or Telegram and find out who is in favor of the protests. It is pertinent to recall at this moment Apple’s mission: “To bring the best user experience to its customers through its innovative hardware, software and services”. Apple, at its core, is user-centric and this commitment has been instrumental in its success, reliability and reputation. Tim Cook must answer for this high treason.
