Apple CEO Tim Cook suggested on Monday that it is a “sin” not to ban certain people from social media and digital platforms.
While accepting the Anti-Defamation League’s “Courage Against Hate” award at an event in New York City, Cook also advocated for censorship of “those who push hate [and] division” across Apple’s platform.
The tech CEO implied numerous times that he felt as if he had a moral obligation to ban and censor certain types of people who express thoughts that opposed the “values of Apple.”
“We only have one message for those who seek to push hate, division, and violence: You have no place on our platforms,” Cook said. “You have no home here.”
“If we can’t be clear on moral questions like these, then we’ve got big problems. I believe the most sacred thing that each of us is given is our judgment, our morality, our own innate desire to separate right from wrong. Choosing to set that responsibility aside at a moment of trial is a sin,” he said, with the crowd erupting into applause.
“From the earliest days of iTunes to Apple Music today, we have always prohibited music with a message of white supremacy. Why? Because it is the right thing to do,” he added, with the room cheering him on.
“As we showed this year, we won’t give a platform to violent conspiracy theorists on the App Store. We believe the future should belong to those who use technology to build a better, more inclusive, and more hopeful world,” the CEO continued, likely referring to InfoWars’ Alex Jones, who was banned from Apple and many other social media and digital platforms earlier this year in what appears to be a coordinated effort.
Cook claimed Apple believes “the future should belong to people who use technology to build a better, more inclusive, and more hopeful world,” yet he previously praised China for enacting daunting control over the Internet.
Last December, Cook praised the communist country for its “cyber-sovereignty,” which is the idea that governments across the world should have the right to control what people can see on the Internet.
China arguably leads the world in censorship and digital surveillance, which includes imprisoning people for criticizing the Communist Party.
At the time, Cook said China’s vision for the internet “is a vision we at Apple share.”
“We are proud to have worked alongside many of our partners in China to help build a community that will join a common future in cyberspace,” Cook said.
What Cook apparently means is that it’s morally wrong and a “sin” not to ban viewpoints he doesn’t agree with.
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