Apple Inc

REPORT: Apple Lobbying to Water Down Bill That Would Protect Uyghurs

Posted on by Paul Chesser
Tim Cook in China

Last month National Legal and Policy Center reported, based on disclosure reports discovered by tech news Web site The Information, that Apple Inc. had hired a Washington lobbying firm to aid its efforts to modify the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

It wasn’t known at the time what influence Apple hoped to exert on the shaping of the bill, but considering the company’s extensive use of Chinese labor to assemble its products and their parts, the suspicion was that it hoped to ease any restrictions and penalties.

Now, two anonymous Congressional sources cited by the Washington Post say that Apple does want the legislation watered down. 

The Act seeks to force companies to ensure that they or their suppliers do not use coerced labor from the persecuted Muslim Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region of China. The people group has reportedly been subjected to persecution, … Read More ➡

Why Won’t Apple Give Up Password for Pensacola Navy Base Shooter?

Posted on by Paul Chesser

William Barr/IMAGE: YouTube

In announcing yesterday that Saudi shooter Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani – an aviation trainee who killed three U.S. service members and wounded eight at the Pensacola (Fla.) Naval Air Station in a mass shooting last month characterized as “jihad” – Attorney General William Barr said Apple Inc. has provided no “substantive” help in unlocking the late assailant’s two iPhones.

Apple disputes that claim.

The disagreement boils down to whether Apple is providing any useful information from Alshamrani’s data for the Justice Department investigation, or not.

“Within one day of the shooting, the FBI sought and received court authorization based on probable cause to search both phones in an effort to run down all leads and figure out with whom the shooter was communicating,” Barr explained, adding that the shooter damage both phones, one of them by shooting a round into it.

“Our experts at the FBI crime lab … 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 ➡

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 ➡

Apple CEO May Be ‘Boring,’ But He’s Also Political

Posted on by Paul Chesser

Earlier this month Apple Inc. announced that CEO Tim Cook (pictured) and other executives saw their pay reduced for 2016, due to a shortfall of revenues and profits against expectations.

Last year was the first time Apple’s annual revenues shrank since 2001, just before their late CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPod music device.

Business journalists cited various reasons for the disappointing results. Part of the blame was placed on weaker than expected sales of the iPhone 6s, which Apple anticipated would draw stronger interest in upgrades from current users. Others noted the lukewarm reception to Apple’s smartwatch, and the company’s failure to wow the public with any new products since Jobs died in 2011. And some point to the fact that the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant has fallen behind competitors at Amazon and Google in the development of voice-activated artificial intelligence.

In light of that complaint, … Read More ➡