America's Tech Quisling

Apple has a moral obligation to push back in China, says senator who probed the company's ties

• "Tech companies must continue to push back on Chinese suppression of free expression." -- Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy.
• Leahy, a Democrat, along with Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, probed Apple for details on Chinese ties

By Anita Balakrishnan

America's tech Quisling

Apple CEO Tim Cook's recent remarks at a conference in China are drawing criticism from U.S. senators, including one who worries that the tech giant is not fulfilling its "obligation to promote free expression and other basic human rights."
The comments have fanned the flames of a relationship that's already facing scrutiny in Congress.
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, along with Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, previously criticized Apple in October after reports that that the company removed VPN apps from the China App Store to comply with Chinese regulators.

When asked to provide a statement condemning the Chinese government's censorship, Apple told the senators that "actions are our most powerful statement."
Then, Cook made a surprisingly high-profile appearance over the weekend at the World Internet Conference in China, where he reportedly said that Apple and China "share" a vision for a "digital economy for openness" and "a common future in cyberspace."
After Cook's remarks at the trade show, Leahy said in a statement to CNBC: "American tech companies have become leading champions of free expression. But that commitment should not end at our borders. ... Global leaders in innovation, like Apple, have both an opportunity and a moral obligation to promote free expression and other basic human rights in countries that routinely deny these rights."
Leahy maintained his call for Apple to challenge Chinese "suppression."
"Apple is clearly a force for good in China, but I also believe it and other tech companies must continue to push back on Chinese suppression of free expression," Leahy said.
Apple is one of the most influential American technology companies in China — Google and Facebook, for example, have limited services there, and Apple is one of the few consumer electronics brands that sells a lot of products during Chinese shopping holidays like Singles Day.
Apple was not available to comment on Leahy's response to the letter.

Tech Quisling

Apple’s troubles in China have just started after it removed more than 400 VPN apps

By Ben Lovejoy

Apple has come under considerable criticism following its decision to agree to a Chinese government request to remove VPN apps from its local App Store. 

Virtual private networks allow people in China to access sites blocked by the government, and to ensure that authorities cannot track the sites they visit.
App-tracking site ASO100.com says that the company has so far removed more than 400 VPN apps. 

But while Apple is trying to maintain good relationships with China by complying with such requests, analysts and tech commentators believe that its troubles with the country ‘have just started’ …
It’s not the first time that Apple has come hard up against the Chinese government where apps and other content are concerned. 

A government agency shut down the iTunes Movies Store and iBooks Store in China last year, and this year demanded that Apple remove the New York Times app.
The WSJ reports that such conflicts are only likely to increase as its services revenue grows and the Chinese government starts looking at it less as a hardware manufacturer and more as a content provider.
“Apple’s success globally had come from its close integration between hardware and software. Increasingly, that software means content,” says Duncan Clark, a tech consultant and longtime China watcher. 

“This has posed a challenge for the Chinese government.”
That is also why, a former senior executive at a U.S. tech company told me, “Apple’s troubles have just started.”
Apple is increasingly being placed in a no-win situation, obliged to cooperate with the Chinese government to avoid its operations there being closed down, but taking a PR hit from those both within and outside the country who believe it should demonstrate the kind of backbone it did with the FBI in the USA.
“So, they are willing to face off against the FBI to defend encryption, but bow to China against VPNs?” asked one Reddit user.
“If Apple doesn’t stand up and make some noise, which company can?” asks Tao Jingzhou, a lawyer at Dechert LLP in Beijing.
Google famously took a stand in 2010, when it decided to exit the Chinese market rather than give in to censorship, but that was an easier decision, argues the paper.
Google’s China operation was unprofitable then, in contrast to Apple’s China success. 

Chinese consumers and companies benefit from Apple’s presence in the country.
Questioned about it during the recent earnings call, Tim Cook said that the company removed the VPN apps reluctantly, but has to comply with local laws.

We would obviously rather not remove the apps, but like we do in other countries, we follow the law wherever we do business. 

We strongly believe in participating in markets and bringing benefits to customers. 

We’re hopeful that over time the restrictions we are seeing are loosened.