Apple reportedly removes pro-democracy music from Apple Music in China

Posted:
in General Discussion
Apple recently pulled songs by pro-democracy artists from its Apple Music service in China, according to a report on Tuesday, suggesting the company has again caved to content gatekeeping requests lodged by the Chinese government.

Apple Music China


Apple over the weekend removed a song by Hong Kong-based artist Jacky Cheung that referenced the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, reports the Hong Kong Free Press.

Titled "Ren Jian Dao," roughly translated to "Path of Man," the ballad's lyrics were written by prolific Hong Kong lyricist James Wong in 1989, the same year that Chinese military units opened fire on a large gathering of civilian protestors in Tiananmen Square. Featured in the film "A Chinese Ghost Story II" in 1990, parts of the song were confirmed by Wong to refer directly to the massacre. Wong died in 2004.

"The youth are angry, heaven and earth are weeping. How did our land become a sea of blood? How did the path home become a path of no return?" the lyrics read.

In addition to Apple Music China, Cheung's rendition of "Path of Man" was also pulled from Tencent's QQ Music service, suggesting a government crackdown on pro-democracy media. While claims of censorship have yet to be confirmed, mounting evidence implies the government is proactively tempering the potential of public demonstrations ahead of the Tiananmen Square incident's 30th anniversary in June.

Apple Music also delisted works from other pro-democracy artists, including Hong Kong singer Anthony Wong and Denise Ho, the report said. In Ho's case, the artist and her discography have been completely scrubbed from Apple's servers.

Human rights advocates have taken notice of the move. As noted by Fast Company, Sophie Richardson, China Director at Human Rights Watch, posted commentary on the takedown to Twitter, calling the decision to remove Cheung's song "spectacularly craven, even by [Apple and Tim Cook's] standards."

Apple has in the past been accused of kowtowing to the Chinese government, a body that controls the keys to a huge, and significantly untapped, consumer market.

In late 2016, Apple removed the official New York Times app from the Chinese App Store after authorities alleged it was in violation of unspecified local laws. A few months later, Apple opened its first data center on Chinese soil to comply with the country's cybersecurity rules.

Later in 2017, Apple complied with a request to remove virtual private network (VPN) apps from the Chinese App Store, a move designed to thwart attempts to break through China's "Great Firewall."

More recently, the company in March disabled an emoji of Taiwan's flag on Chinese Macs running the latest macOS 14.14.1 update.

When questioned over its seemingly obsequious practices, Apple maintains it operates in line with local laws.
«13

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 45
    This really is a rather dramatic and head scratching conflict.  At virtually every media event, Cook almost breaks into tears as he dramatically professes Apple’s core values around the right to privacy.  He goes so far as to fight the US government to access someone’s personal device.  

    And yet, in China, a communist nation that oppresses individual rights, including privacy, Cook is more than willing to sway to the will of the oppressive government.  

    I like Apple products, but I don’t want to hear about Apple’s values.   If they’re not universally applied, they’re not values.  They’re sales tactics.
    arlormobirdredraider11hmurchisoncat52designrrogifan_newDead_Poolqwerty52muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 2 of 45
    tzeshantzeshan Posts: 2,351member
    Vast majority Chinese in China care less on western values. What they care are having a better living for themselves. 
    chasmmichelb76dewmejony0
  • Reply 3 of 45
    matrix077matrix077 Posts: 868member
    This really is a rather dramatic and head scratching conflict.  At virtually every media event, Cook almost breaks into tears as he dramatically professes Apple’s core values around the right to privacy.  He goes so far as to fight the US government to access someone’s personal device.  

    And yet, in China, a communist nation that oppresses individual rights, including privacy, Cook is more than willing to sway to the will of the oppressive government.  

    I like Apple products, but I don’t want to hear about Apple’s values.   If they’re not universally applied, they’re not values.  They’re sales tactics.
    So you propose Apple to get out of China market? How does that benefit Chinese consumers?
    chasmracerhomie3minicoffeeigohmmmjony0
  • Reply 4 of 45
    matrix077matrix077 Posts: 868member
    tzeshan said:
    Vast majority Chinese in China care less on western values. What they care are having a better living for themselves. 
    In a way, it’s an extremely selfish society that cares much more about their own and their own family’s than the greater good but what can we expect from a society that always lives under dictatorial rules from Emperors to Communist party? I don’t think democracy will ever work in China. I think it’s already a miracle that it works in India and Indonesia.
  • Reply 5 of 45
    robbyxrobbyx Posts: 479member
    I like Apple products, but I don’t want to hear about Apple’s values.   If they’re not universally applied, they’re not values.  They’re sales tactics.
    Very well said.  And how, as a gay man, can he do business with countries that imprison and even kill people for their sexuality?  I’m not a Cook hater but this has always really bothered me about him.  He prattles on and on about values, but doesn’t live them. 
    Carnagetnet-primaryigohmmm
  • Reply 6 of 45
    robbyxrobbyx Posts: 479member
    matrix077 said:
    This really is a rather dramatic and head scratching conflict.  At virtually every media event, Cook almost breaks into tears as he dramatically professes Apple’s core values around the right to privacy.  He goes so far as to fight the US government to access someone’s personal device.  

    And yet, in China, a communist nation that oppresses individual rights, including privacy, Cook is more than willing to sway to the will of the oppressive government.  

    I like Apple products, but I don’t want to hear about Apple’s values.   If they’re not universally applied, they’re not values.  They’re sales tactics.
    So you propose Apple to get out of China market? How does that benefit Chinese consumers?
    Who cares if it benefits the Chinese consumer?  Why does that even matter?  If you have values and principles, you live them. You don’t bend them to make a buck.  Like @ttollerton said, values are absolute.  If you don’t apply them universally, they aren’t values. 
    qwerty52Carnagetnet-primaryrosse59igohmmm
  • Reply 7 of 45
    matrix077matrix077 Posts: 868member
    robbyx said:
    matrix077 said:
    This really is a rather dramatic and head scratching conflict.  At virtually every media event, Cook almost breaks into tears as he dramatically professes Apple’s core values around the right to privacy.  He goes so far as to fight the US government to access someone’s personal device.  

    And yet, in China, a communist nation that oppresses individual rights, including privacy, Cook is more than willing to sway to the will of the oppressive government.  

    I like Apple products, but I don’t want to hear about Apple’s values.   If they’re not universally applied, they’re not values.  They’re sales tactics.
    So you propose Apple to get out of China market? How does that benefit Chinese consumers?
    Who cares if it benefits the Chinese consumer?  Why does that even matter?  If you have values and principles, you live them. You don’t bend them to make a buck.  Like @ttollerton said, values are absolute.  If you don’t apply them universally, they aren’t values. 
    Wait until you’re a CEO then preach (after investors kicking you out of course). 

    Extreme idealists has no place in the world. It’s more destructive than constructive. 
    danhtzm41uraharaigohmmmjony0
  • Reply 8 of 45
    robbyxrobbyx Posts: 479member
    matrix077 said:
    robbyx said:
    matrix077 said:
    This really is a rather dramatic and head scratching conflict.  At virtually every media event, Cook almost breaks into tears as he dramatically professes Apple’s core values around the right to privacy.  He goes so far as to fight the US government to access someone’s personal device.  

    And yet, in China, a communist nation that oppresses individual rights, including privacy, Cook is more than willing to sway to the will of the oppressive government.  

    I like Apple products, but I don’t want to hear about Apple’s values.   If they’re not universally applied, they’re not values.  They’re sales tactics.
    So you propose Apple to get out of China market? How does that benefit Chinese consumers?
    Who cares if it benefits the Chinese consumer?  Why does that even matter?  If you have values and principles, you live them. You don’t bend them to make a buck.  Like @ttollerton said, values are absolute.  If you don’t apply them universally, they aren’t values. 
    Wait until you’re a CEO then preach (after investors kicking you out of course). 

    Extreme idealists has no place in the world. It’s more destructive than constructive. 
    Extreme idealists are the only reason anything happens. The rest of society never moves anything forward. They’re just crabs in a barrel. What do you think Jobs was, if not an extreme idealist, someone who lived his beliefs?  Very few people have the guts to live their truth. Cook is using “values” to sell products and it’s bullshit. I agree with you about being a CEO and having to answer to shareholders. I don’t necessarily disagree with Apple’s position on supporting the Chinese market either.  My problem is with the hypocrisy. If you profess to have values, you need to live them. Otherwise shut up and find a different way to sell your product. The way Cook and Apple use “values” as a sales tool is gross. 
    edited April 2019 qwerty52muthuk_vanalingamCarnage1STnTENDERBITSpeteoigohmmm
  • Reply 9 of 45
    matrix077matrix077 Posts: 868member
    robbyx said:
    matrix077 said:
    robbyx said:
    matrix077 said:
    This really is a rather dramatic and head scratching conflict.  At virtually every media event, Cook almost breaks into tears as he dramatically professes Apple’s core values around the right to privacy.  He goes so far as to fight the US government to access someone’s personal device.  

    And yet, in China, a communist nation that oppresses individual rights, including privacy, Cook is more than willing to sway to the will of the oppressive government.  

    I like Apple products, but I don’t want to hear about Apple’s values.   If they’re not universally applied, they’re not values.  They’re sales tactics.
    So you propose Apple to get out of China market? How does that benefit Chinese consumers?
    Who cares if it benefits the Chinese consumer?  Why does that even matter?  If you have values and principles, you live them. You don’t bend them to make a buck.  Like @ttollerton said, values are absolute.  If you don’t apply them universally, they aren’t values. 
    Wait until you’re a CEO then preach (after investors kicking you out of course). 

    Extreme idealists has no place in the world. It’s more destructive than constructive. 
    Extreme idealists are the only reason anything happens. The rest of society never moves anything forward. They’re just crabs in a barrel. What do you think Jobs was, if not an extreme idealist, someone who lived his beliefs?  Very few people have the guts to live their truth. Cook is using “values” to sell products and it’s bullshit. I agree with you about being a CEO and having to answer to shareholders. I don’t necessarily disagree with Apple’s position on supporting the Chinese market either.  My problem is with the hypocrisy. If you profess to have values, you need to live them. Otherwise shut up and find a different way to sell your product. The way Cook and Apple use “values” as a sales tool is gross. 

    You’re completely wrong. Extreme idealist is also an extremist, not unlike ISIS just at a different spectrum. What you described is an idealist who also has an understanding of a world around them but wants something better. When you lack an understanding of a world around you how can you contribute to it? You can’t. 

    When you blindly say “Don’t do this” or “You have to do that” in absolute term without an understanding or simply not care about it you are a destructive force to a society rather than helping. 


    edited April 2019 tzm41uraharaigohmmmjony0
  • Reply 10 of 45
    robbyxrobbyx Posts: 479member
    matrix077 said:
    robbyx said:
    matrix077 said:
    robbyx said:
    matrix077 said:
    This really is a rather dramatic and head scratching conflict.  At virtually every media event, Cook almost breaks into tears as he dramatically professes Apple’s core values around the right to privacy.  He goes so far as to fight the US government to access someone’s personal device.  

    And yet, in China, a communist nation that oppresses individual rights, including privacy, Cook is more than willing to sway to the will of the oppressive government.  

    I like Apple products, but I don’t want to hear about Apple’s values.   If they’re not universally applied, they’re not values.  They’re sales tactics.
    So you propose Apple to get out of China market? How does that benefit Chinese consumers?
    Who cares if it benefits the Chinese consumer?  Why does that even matter?  If you have values and principles, you live them. You don’t bend them to make a buck.  Like @ttollerton said, values are absolute.  If you don’t apply them universally, they aren’t values. 
    Wait until you’re a CEO then preach (after investors kicking you out of course). 

    Extreme idealists has no place in the world. It’s more destructive than constructive. 
    Extreme idealists are the only reason anything happens. The rest of society never moves anything forward. They’re just crabs in a barrel. What do you think Jobs was, if not an extreme idealist, someone who lived his beliefs?  Very few people have the guts to live their truth. Cook is using “values” to sell products and it’s bullshit. I agree with you about being a CEO and having to answer to shareholders. I don’t necessarily disagree with Apple’s position on supporting the Chinese market either.  My problem is with the hypocrisy. If you profess to have values, you need to live them. Otherwise shut up and find a different way to sell your product. The way Cook and Apple use “values” as a sales tool is gross. 

    You’re completely wrong. Extreme idealist is also an extremist, not unlike ISIS just at a different spectrum. What you described is an idealist who also has an understanding of a world around them but wants something better. When you lack an understanding of a world around you how can you contribute to it? You can’t. 

    When you blindly say “Don’t do this” or “You have to do that” in absolute term without an understanding or simply not care about it you are a destructive force to a society rather than being helping. 


    It’s not blind. That’s the whole point. You can’t profess to have values in one country that simply vanish in another. Then they’re not values. I respect Google a lot more than Apple when it comes to China. Google says they can’t live their values in China, so they don’t do business there. Apple and others compromise their “values” to serve the Chinese market and that’s nothing to respect. 
    qwerty52Carnagerosse59
  • Reply 11 of 45
    echosonicechosonic Posts: 462member
    matrix077 said:
    robbyx said:
    matrix077 said:
    This really is a rather dramatic and head scratching conflict.  At virtually every media event, Cook almost breaks into tears as he dramatically professes Apple’s core values around the right to privacy.  He goes so far as to fight the US government to access someone’s personal device.  

    And yet, in China, a communist nation that oppresses individual rights, including privacy, Cook is more than willing to sway to the will of the oppressive government.  

    I like Apple products, but I don’t want to hear about Apple’s values.   If they’re not universally applied, they’re not values.  They’re sales tactics.
    So you propose Apple to get out of China market? How does that benefit Chinese consumers?
    Who cares if it benefits the Chinese consumer?  Why does that even matter?  If you have values and principles, you live them. You don’t bend them to make a buck.  Like @ttollerton said, values are absolute.  If you don’t apply them universally, they aren’t values. 
    Wait until you’re a CEO then preach (after investors kicking you out of course). 

    Extreme idealists has no place in the world. It’s more destructive than constructive. 
    Does removing apps and speech/podcasts from your network because they embrace a differing political philosophy than your employees do count as "extreme?"
  • Reply 12 of 45
    robbyx said:
    matrix077 said:
    robbyx said:
    matrix077 said:
    robbyx said:
    matrix077 said:
    This really is a rather dramatic and head scratching conflict.  At virtually every media event, Cook almost breaks into tears as he dramatically professes Apple’s core values around the right to privacy.  He goes so far as to fight the US government to access someone’s personal device.  

    And yet, in China, a communist nation that oppresses individual rights, including privacy, Cook is more than willing to sway to the will of the oppressive government.  

    I like Apple products, but I don’t want to hear about Apple’s values.   If they’re not universally applied, they’re not values.  They’re sales tactics.
    So you propose Apple to get out of China market? How does that benefit Chinese consumers?
    Who cares if it benefits the Chinese consumer?  Why does that even matter?  If you have values and principles, you live them. You don’t bend them to make a buck.  Like @ttollerton said, values are absolute.  If you don’t apply them universally, they aren’t values. 
    Wait until you’re a CEO then preach (after investors kicking you out of course). 

    Extreme idealists has no place in the world. It’s more destructive than constructive. 
    Extreme idealists are the only reason anything happens. The rest of society never moves anything forward. They’re just crabs in a barrel. What do you think Jobs was, if not an extreme idealist, someone who lived his beliefs?  Very few people have the guts to live their truth. Cook is using “values” to sell products and it’s bullshit. I agree with you about being a CEO and having to answer to shareholders. I don’t necessarily disagree with Apple’s position on supporting the Chinese market either.  My problem is with the hypocrisy. If you profess to have values, you need to live them. Otherwise shut up and find a different way to sell your product. The way Cook and Apple use “values” as a sales tool is gross. 

    You’re completely wrong. Extreme idealist is also an extremist, not unlike ISIS just at a different spectrum. What you described is an idealist who also has an understanding of a world around them but wants something better. When you lack an understanding of a world around you how can you contribute to it? You can’t. 

    When you blindly say “Don’t do this” or “You have to do that” in absolute term without an understanding or simply not care about it you are a destructive force to a society rather than being helping. 


    It’s not blind. That’s the whole point. You can’t profess to have values in one country that simply vanish in another. Then they’re not values. I respect Google a lot more than Apple when it comes to China. Google says they can’t live their values in China, so they don’t do business there. Apple and others compromise their “values” to serve the Chinese market and that’s nothing to respect. 
    This x 1000. Tim Cook was the one who preached freedom of speech, acceptance and decent values as part of Apple's DNA. He didn't have to do that but he did. This move proves it's all marketing and bullshit and that his true north arrow is the almighty dollar. I'm disgusted by the hypocrisy. I can't believe I'm saying this but Google just beat Apple on the integrity meter. This could really blow up in their face.
    muthuk_vanalingamCarnage
  • Reply 13 of 45
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,274member
    robbyx said:
    What do you think Jobs was, if not an extreme idealist, someone who lived his beliefs?
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHA woooo that’s hilarious.

    Steve Jobs was a genius, to be sure, but he was also a cruel prick, a smelly hippie slacker, and many other things over the course of his life. You clearly didn’t meet the man or spend any time with him. Hell, I don’t think you’ve even read any books about him. His “values” in many, many areas would probably APPALL you.

    For the record: the iPhone became available in China in 2009 with the 3GS. Hmmm, wonder who was CEO then?

    Russia in 2008. UAE and Saudi Arabia: early 2009. And Macs had been available in those countries many years before that.

    As others have noted, CEOs are not free to do whatever they want. Their first responsibility is to grow the business. CEOs who have ethical values or liberal views do what they can within that framework, but purists are generally martyrs, not businesspeople.

    Or, for that matter, politicians. Just so you know.
    edited April 2019 electrosofttmayStrangeDaysigohmmm
  • Reply 14 of 45
    Everyone should just copy and paste this over and over everywhere from MacDailyNews. Simple, elegant and brutal all at once.

    MacDailyNews Take: Seven quotes:

    • It’s about finding your values, and committing to them. It’s about finding your North Star. It’s about making choices. Some are easy. Some are hard. And some will make you question everything. — Tim Cook

    • You don’t have to choose between doing good and doing well. It’s a false choice, today more than ever. — Tim Cook

    • You want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripple for change. — Tim Cook

    • There are times in all of our lives when a reliance on gut or intuition just seems more appropriate — when a particular course of action just feels right. And interestingly I’ve discovered it’s in facing life’s most important decisions that intuition seems the most indispensable to getting it right. — Tim Cook

    • For us, the most important thing we can do is raise people up – that is, either by giving the ability to do things they could not otherwise do, allow them to create things they couldn’t otherwise create. It’s about giving them tools; it is about empowering people. — Tim Cook

    • I don’t view Apple or myself as an activist. What we do is for some things where we think we have deep knowledge, or think we do, or a strong point of view, we’re not shy. We’ll stand up, speak out – even when our voice shakes. — Tim Cook

    • The most important thing is, Do you have the courage to admit that you’re wrong? And do you change? The most important thing to me as a CEO is that we keep the courage. — Tim Cook

    The Tiananmen SquareJune Fourth Incident 1989

    The Tiananmen Square/June Fourth Incident, 1989

    peteo
  • Reply 15 of 45
    chasm said:
    robbyx said:
    What do you think Jobs was, if not an extreme idealist, someone who lived his beliefs?
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHA woooo that’s hilarious.

    Steve Jobs was a genius, to be sure, but he was also a cruel prick, a smelly hippie slacker, and many other things over the course of his life. You clearly didn’t meet the man or spend any time with him. Hell, I don’t think you’ve even read any books about him. His “values” in many, many areas would probably APPALL you.

    For the record: the iPhone became available in China in 2009 with the 3GS. Hmmm, wonder who was CEO then?

    Russia in 2008. UAE and Saudi Arabia: early 2009. And Macs had been available in those countries many years before that.

    As others have noted, CEOs are not free to do whatever they want. Their first responsibility is to grow the business. CEOs who have ethical values or liberal views do what they can within that framework, but purists are generally martyrs, not businesspeople.

    Or, for that matter, politicians. Just so you know.
    I agree with your points. And that is why Tim Cook shouldn't be trying sell us Apple-warm-and-fuzzy-save-humanity-ideals that he claims are baked into Apple's DNA. Just sell us good products. Tim Cook brought this on himself.
  • Reply 16 of 45
    matrix077matrix077 Posts: 868member
    robbyx said:
    matrix077 said:
    robbyx said:
    matrix077 said:
    robbyx said:
    matrix077 said:
    This really is a rather dramatic and head scratching conflict.  At virtually every media event, Cook almost breaks into tears as he dramatically professes Apple’s core values around the right to privacy.  He goes so far as to fight the US government to access someone’s personal device.  

    And yet, in China, a communist nation that oppresses individual rights, including privacy, Cook is more than willing to sway to the will of the oppressive government.  

    I like Apple products, but I don’t want to hear about Apple’s values.   If they’re not universally applied, they’re not values.  They’re sales tactics.
    So you propose Apple to get out of China market? How does that benefit Chinese consumers?
    Who cares if it benefits the Chinese consumer?  Why does that even matter?  If you have values and principles, you live them. You don’t bend them to make a buck.  Like @ttollerton said, values are absolute.  If you don’t apply them universally, they aren’t values. 
    Wait until you’re a CEO then preach (after investors kicking you out of course). 

    Extreme idealists has no place in the world. It’s more destructive than constructive. 
    Extreme idealists are the only reason anything happens. The rest of society never moves anything forward. They’re just crabs in a barrel. What do you think Jobs was, if not an extreme idealist, someone who lived his beliefs?  Very few people have the guts to live their truth. Cook is using “values” to sell products and it’s bullshit. I agree with you about being a CEO and having to answer to shareholders. I don’t necessarily disagree with Apple’s position on supporting the Chinese market either.  My problem is with the hypocrisy. If you profess to have values, you need to live them. Otherwise shut up and find a different way to sell your product. The way Cook and Apple use “values” as a sales tool is gross. 

    You’re completely wrong. Extreme idealist is also an extremist, not unlike ISIS just at a different spectrum. What you described is an idealist who also has an understanding of a world around them but wants something better. When you lack an understanding of a world around you how can you contribute to it? You can’t. 

    When you blindly say “Don’t do this” or “You have to do that” in absolute term without an understanding or simply not care about it you are a destructive force to a society rather than being helping. 


    It’s not blind. That’s the whole point. You can’t profess to have values in one country that simply vanish in another. Then they’re not values. I respect Google a lot more than Apple when it comes to China. Google says they can’t live their values in China, so they don’t do business there. Apple and others compromise their “values” to serve the Chinese market and that’s nothing to respect. 
    It’s cute that you resort to half the fact to make your point. I guess full fact doesn’t support your agenda then. Yes, Google said that, then they changed their mind and said OK, censored search was not bad at all, and then changed it again when they’re forced by their employees. 

    It’s not like they doesn’t want to work with Chinese government, doesn’t it?

    Don’t get me wrong. I applauded Google stand on this issue 10 years ago but what it accomplished? It only make Baidu bigger and bigger. You can have value and be forced to do something against it in some dystopian states. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have it in the first place. The world is not black and white.
    edited April 2019
  • Reply 17 of 45
    matrix077matrix077 Posts: 868member
    echosonic said:
    matrix077 said:
    robbyx said:
    matrix077 said:
    This really is a rather dramatic and head scratching conflict.  At virtually every media event, Cook almost breaks into tears as he dramatically professes Apple’s core values around the right to privacy.  He goes so far as to fight the US government to access someone’s personal device.  

    And yet, in China, a communist nation that oppresses individual rights, including privacy, Cook is more than willing to sway to the will of the oppressive government.  

    I like Apple products, but I don’t want to hear about Apple’s values.   If they’re not universally applied, they’re not values.  They’re sales tactics.
    So you propose Apple to get out of China market? How does that benefit Chinese consumers?
    Who cares if it benefits the Chinese consumer?  Why does that even matter?  If you have values and principles, you live them. You don’t bend them to make a buck.  Like @ttollerton said, values are absolute.  If you don’t apply them universally, they aren’t values. 
    Wait until you’re a CEO then preach (after investors kicking you out of course). 

    Extreme idealists has no place in the world. It’s more destructive than constructive. 
    Does removing apps and speech/podcasts from your network because they embrace a differing political philosophy than your employees do count as "extreme?"
    If it’s a sick app and speech/podcasts then yes, absolutely. It’s their platform. If you think they should remove other apps or podcasts too then just let them know. 
  • Reply 18 of 45
    This really is a rather dramatic and head scratching conflict.  At virtually every media event, Cook almost breaks into tears as he dramatically professes Apple’s core values around the right to privacy.  He goes so far as to fight the US government to access someone’s personal device.  

    And yet, in China, a communist nation that oppresses individual rights, including privacy, Cook is more than willing to sway to the will of the oppressive government.  

    I like Apple products, but I don’t want to hear about Apple’s values.   If they’re not universally applied, they’re not values.  They’re sales tactics.
    Tim Cook is a fair weather friend to human civil rights.
  • Reply 19 of 45
    matrix077 said:
    This really is a rather dramatic and head scratching conflict.  At virtually every media event, Cook almost breaks into tears as he dramatically professes Apple’s core values around the right to privacy.  He goes so far as to fight the US government to access someone’s personal device.  

    And yet, in China, a communist nation that oppresses individual rights, including privacy, Cook is more than willing to sway to the will of the oppressive government.  

    I like Apple products, but I don’t want to hear about Apple’s values.   If they’re not universally applied, they’re not values.  They’re sales tactics.
    So you propose Apple to get out of China market? How does that benefit Chinese consumers?
    No, just that he needs to stop being a hypocrite.
    muthuk_vanalingamCarnage
  • Reply 20 of 45

    People seem to underestimate what it means to be the CEO of a large corporation.

    USA, for all the crap we give it, has a constitution and a bill of rights based on some of the best human ideals. It created an environment in which Apple was born. It allows people to follow these ideals and gives them a platform and a right to fight for them. This is what Tim Cook does in the US.

    But, at the end of the day, he has to ensure that the company makes money.

    When we say that Apps in the App Store have to follow Apple's rules and no one can try to subvert the rules, how are we able to ask Tim Cook to not play by the rules of the countries in which Apple does business?

    It is easy for us armchair CEOs to tell him to take his business elsewhere, but wherever Apple goes, it has to follow the rules of that country. If Tim followed these advices, Apple would end up doing business only in the USA.

    The fact that, as a gay person, Tim Cook is doing business in the Middle East is commendable. He is not letting his personal orientation affect his job as a CEO. The money Apple makes is for Americans invested in the company in the end.


    So what people see as double standards on the part of Tim Cook, I see as a person absolutely dedicated to his job.

Sign In or Register to comment.