Read Apple’s commitment to freedom of expression that doesn’t mention China
As first reported by the Financial Times on Friday, Apple’s four-page policy file devotes to “respecting the human rights of everybody whose lives we touch– including our employees, suppliers, consumers, and specialists.” It does not point out any specific nation, like China, where the business has been asked to ban apps that enable users to prevent censorship prior to. According to Apple’s policy document (PDF), this approach is based upon the United Nation’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
On Friday, Apple published a new human rights policy committing to “flexibility of details and expression” after facing years of criticism over the company’s determination to follow mainland China’s censorship laws.
Apple’s determination to bow down to censorship guidelines in China could stem from its substantial Chinese client and manufacturing base. Nearly all of its critical manufacturing takes place in the nation. The company has previously exposed that it eliminated apps from its App Store in China after the Beijing government required it do so. In a letter to Congress in 2017, Apple exposed that it eliminated 674 VPN apps from its App Store in China. These apps are commonly utilized to avert censorship in countries like China. In 2019, Apple eliminated an app called HKmap.live, a crowdsourced mapping app utilized by Hong Kong homeowners to mark the locations of cops. And in August 2020, Apple eliminated countless games from its Chinese App Store.
Apple states that it will continue to follow censorship laws in countries where they exist. “We work every day to make quality products, including material and services, offered to our users in such a way that respects their human rights,” Apple composes in the document. “We’re needed to comply with regional laws, and at times there are intricate concerns about which we may disagree with governments and other stakeholders on the right path forward.”
The business has previously exposed that it removed apps from its App Store in China after the Beijing government required it do so. In a letter to Congress in 2017, Apple exposed that it eliminated 674 VPN apps from its App Store in China. These apps are commonly used to evade censorship in countries like China.