Apple Has ‘Moral Obligation’ To Promote Free Expression In China

Different countries have different laws and regulations, which is why certain things are allowed in some countries and certain things aren’t. This is something that many companies such as Apple have to navigate around, which is why over in China, Apple was forced to pull VPN apps due to local regulations.

Recently it also appeared that Skype was pulled from various app stores in China as well as companies tried to adhere to China’s laws. However it seems that such moves haven’t been looked upon favorably back home in the US, where US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) expressed his opinion that Apple has a “moral obligation” to promote free expression in China.

Speaking to CNBC (via AppleInsider) in an interview, Leahy was quoted as saying, “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.”

This isn’t the first time that Apple’s actions in China have been questioned back in the US, although back then Apple stated that they were merely following the regulations of the local government.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, General
Tags: China, Legal, Privacy, Security