Did you hear? Apple has published its first policy on
human rights, including a commitment on upholding freedom
of expression.
We’re not done with the tech giant yet, but it’s a sure
sign that our campaign is working, and that’s something you
can be very proud of.
This wouldn’t have happened without SumOfUs members like you,
Vladimir.
Tibetan
activists took part in a solemn protest outside an Apple Store in
Washington, DC this summer.
Since last summer, we’ve been working alongside activists
from communities hit hardest by repression and loss of freedom of
expression in Tibet, Uyghur regions, China and Hong Kong.
We’ve signed and shared petitions, tweeted at Apple, spread
brand-jamming content and emailed key decision makers. And that’s
not all.
Thirteen SumOfUs members also submitted a shareholder proposal
demanding Apple change to uphold freedom of expression. Apple has
deleted over 1000 "virtual private network" apps (VPNs) from its
China app store in recent years, to placate the government of China.
VPNs are crucial for vulnerable human rights defenders to
evade censorship, surveillance, and political backlash.
Apple advised its investors to vote against our proposal, but in
the end we garnered more than 40% of shareholders’ votes at the
company’s AGM in February. That means massive institutional
investors -- which normally just roll with whatever Apple says --
must have backed our proposal.
Now, Apple has fulfilled the first part of the proposal and
produced a human rights policy.
A new file called Apple-Human-Rights-Policy.pdf
somewhere on the internet doesn’t sound like much, but it was
front-page news in the Financial Times, and reported in over 50
other outlets. Together we’ve moved the world’s most
valuable company to act.
This is a breakthrough -- but it’s not enough to protect
Apple’s users from the government of China's censorship and
surveillance.
Vladimir, I know we can do more. Thank you for the regular
donation that you make to fund SumOfUs campaigns like this one.
Working on this campaign is a privilege and an honour to me, not
least because of the courage and wisdom of our partners who’ve been
at this for many years. Without SumOfUs members like you though,
Apple wouldn’t have moved. That’s people power.
P.S. We have a collection of photos from the campaign over on
Flickr. Have you seen them yet?
