Accused by some NGOs of “cooperating with Beijing’s censorship,” the US company Apple has clarified that it defends freedom of expression and will defer to “national law” in the event of a “conflict.
Apple has been accused by some NGOs and investors of “bowing to pressure from Beijing and cooperating with China’s censorship,” according to AFP. At an executive meeting in February, Apple was questioned about “its free speech policy. In response, Apple issued a statement Friday saying that the free flow of information is vital to a society.
The Apple statement, which was revealed by the Financial Times on Friday, emphasized that if a national regulation conflicts with international universal human rights standards, they will be held to a higher standard, and that in the event of a conflict of values, Apple will seek to respect internationally recognized human rights principles while respecting national regulations.
Apple’s four-page statement said that the company is committed to respecting the human rights of everyone, including its employees, suppliers, contractors, and customers, and will adhere to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Apple’s statement did not mention specific countries, but it was praised by several NGOs that have called on Apple to protect human rights. These NGOs have called for an end to the blocking of VPNs in Apple’s Chinese App Store.
Some human rights activists have launched protests against Apple’s cooperation with China’s censorship for financial gain, depriving Chinese users of the right to download VPN software and removing the Instant Maps software used by the Hong Kong protesters.
In 2017, Apple allegedly admitted that it had removed more than 600 VPN services from its web app store in China that allowed users to “climb over the wall,” prompting strong condemnation from human rights groups. Under pressure from China, Apple has also blocked Chinese users from downloading apps from foreign news outlets, including the New York Times, Radio Free Asia, and Voice of Tibet, and has also blocked Chinese users from downloading apps from the Internet. The cloud-based data of users in China is stored in China. A more controversial mobile application “HKmap.live Instant Map”, which Beijing described as “facilitating violent protests in Hong Kong”, was also removed from Apple’s shelves.
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