Warns that removing apps from its Chinese App Store at the Chinese government’s request, as Apple did, could “implicate” the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
From the Wall Street Journal’s “Barr Warns Company Executives on Pushing Policies at Behest of China” ($) posted Thursday:
Attorney General William Barr took aim at a range of American companies and industries for what he described as a willingness to accede to authoritarian demands from the Chinese government, as the Trump administration has stepped up its rhetoric and actions countering Beijing’s recent activities.
In a speech Thursday in Michigan, Mr. Barr criticized the Hollywood entertainment industry and Walt Disney Co. as well as tech giants including Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Apple Inc., saying they are “all too willing to collaborate” with the Chinese Communist Party…
“America’s corporate leaders might not think of themselves as lobbyists,” Mr. Barr said, telling them: “But you should be alert to how you might be used, and how your efforts on behalf of a foreign company or government could implicate the Foreign Agents Registration Act,” which requires lobbyists for foreign governments or companies to register such work with the Justice Department…
In his Thursday remarks, Mr. Barr specifically criticized technology companies for removing apps at the request of the Chinese government, including Apple’s removal of the news outlet Quartz’s app, after it had covered the Hong Kong democracy protests…
A spokesman for Apple referred to previous statements in which the company had said it was “convinced the best way we can continue to promote openness is to remain engaged even where we may disagree with a country’s laws.”
My take: This is rich, coming from an Attorney General who just dropped charges against a former administration official who had already pled guilty to acting as an unregistered Foreign Agent.
Ouch!
China’s influential & monetary tentacles permeate America shores. The U.S. academia is festering with China incestuousness. FBI Director Chris Wray says the agency opens a new China related counterintelligence case every 10 hours. The department arrested recently researchers at Harvard & University of Kansas. Today, the FBI says a top immunologist at OSU concealed illegally Chinese funding for his research & attempted to flee the country before his arrest as he boarded a flight to China. The US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Ohio alleges that the immunologist was illegally transferring intellectual property & research to China.
As far as Apple, I do have concern that the company removed privacy apps from its China store, yank the Quartz news app covering pro-democracy HK protests, and more so over Apple moving some iCloud data to Chinese servers. The most serious revelation that troubled me is Apple’s phones in China (unlike in the US) are “not” impervious to Chinese authorities. China has the back-door access, according to the US AG.
When one is stuck deep down in a hole, it is best to stop digging….
Seems abundantly clear that Apple is committed to following the laws of the country it is doing business in. And staying engaged. If they weren’t – then arguably they could be accused of lobbying for a political agenda.
In other words, Barr has it completely backwards. Not surprising, coming from a political toady working for a China hater.
Apple has been consistent: they do not work on behalf of any government’s political agenda, and they follow local laws.