Qtungres?z of the ?lim?teh ?tate?
Washington, Eat 20510

October 18, 2019

Mr. Tim Cook

Chief Executive Of?cer
Apple

1 In?nite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014

Dear Mr. Cook:

We write to express our strong concern about Apple?s censorship of apps, including a prominent
app used by protesters in Hong Kong, at the behest of the Chinese government.

Late last year, you were widely quoted as saying, ?At Apple, we are not afraid to say that our
values drive our curation decisions.? For those of us who support the promotion of basic human
rights and dignity, it was refreshing to hear a tech titan say that priorities were more important
than pro?ts. So you can imagine our disappointment to read that Apple had removed a
crowdsourced mapping app Widely used by Hong Kong residents, from the App Store this

week.

Hong Kong residents have, as you know, been protesting now for months, defending their
promised autonomy and in support of greater participation in their civic life. Hong Kong?s
authorities have aggressively moved against these protestors with the support of the Chinese
government. In the face of this brutal repression, tools like let peaceful demonstrators
share locations to avoid and help to keep peaceful protestors out of harm?s way.

is by no means the only app that Apple has censored in China. According to the non?
pro?t organization GreatFire, Apple has censored at least 2200 apps in China, which include
Virtual Private Network apps used to circumvent China?s Great Firewall, and apps made by and
for oppressed ethnic minorities, including the Uyghur and Tibetan communities.

You have said publicly that you want to work with China?s leaders to effect change rather than
sit on the sidelines and yell at them. We, too, believe that diplomacy and trade can be
democratizing forces. But when a repressive government refuses to evolve or, indeed, when it
doubles down, cooperation can become complicity.

The Chinese government is growing more aggressive in its attempts to dictate terms to U.S.
corporations, as last week?s headlines involving Apple, the National Basketball Association, and
Activision Blizzard make clear. Cases like these raise real concern about whether Apple and
other large U.S. corporate entities will bow to growing Chinese demands rather than lose access
to more than a billion Chinese consumers.

In promoting values, as in most things, actions matter far more than words. Apple?s decisions
last week to accommodate the Chinese government by taking down HKMaps is deeply
concerning. We urge you in the strongest terms to reverse course, to demonstrate that Apple puts
values above market access, and to stand with the brave men and women ?ghting for basic rights
and dignity in Hong Kong.

 

 

 

 

Sincerely,
Ron Wyden Tom Cotton
United States Senator United States Senator
Marco Rubio Ted Cruz
United States Senator United States Senator



Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ike Gallagher
Member of Congress Member of Congress

rum 

Tom Malinowski
Member of Congress