AppleInsider Staff
Two of the most powerful leaders in technology and politics got together in the nation's capital earlier this week, as Apple chief Tim Cook met with incoming Senate President pro tempore Orrin Hatch — a major Silicon Valley supporter — Â on Tuesday.
Though the topic of the meeting remains unclear, Hatch is the chairman of the GOP's High Tech Task Force, which is responsible for articulating and advocating the party's technology agenda. Tuesday's pow-wow was first noted by The Hill.
Hatch has gone on record as saying that he would like to see the next Congress address a number of critical issues, including nuisance lawsuits from so-called "patent trolls." Apple is an increasingly large target for patent trolls due to its now-immense size, and is often fending off multiple such lawsuits simultaneously.
Hatch is also on Silicon Valley's side when it comes to the issue of immigration — Â another hot-button issue in the bay area — Â but does not support other important causes like net neutrality or reform in the NSA.
"The last thing we need, in my opinion, is the government telling ISPs how to carve up bandwidth," Hatch told journalist Steven Levy when asked about net neutrality.
On the subject of the NSA, Hatch toed the party line: "People who want to lessen those powers are really doing this country a great disservice because we are going have more terrorism acts," he said in the same interview.
It is unknown whether Cook took any additional meetings with political leaders, but he did visit Apple employees in the region, making a surprise appearance at the company's retail store in Georgetown.
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32 Comments
Two of the most powerful leaders in technology and politics got together in the nation's capital earlier this week, as Apple chief Tim Cook met with incoming Senate President pro tempore Orrin Hatch -- a major Silicon Valley supporter --?on Tuesday.
Hatch is the chairman of the GOP's High Tech Task Force,
My gosh, I didn't realize they were giving this dinosaur any actual power. That's a terrifying thought. And a perfect example of how the GOP needs to have their ranks cleaned out by voters, your "high tech task force" should have someone who isn't 104.
(ps: I'm a conservative)
It's a series of tubes.
My gosh, I didn't realize they were giving this dinosaur any actual power. That's a terrifying thought. And a perfect example of how the GOP needs to have their ranks cleaned out by voters, your "high tech task force" should have someone who isn't 104.
(ps: I'm a conservative)
I'm not a conservative and therefore I have no love for Orrin Hatch, but if you're going to criticize the guy, criticize him for his positions, his voting record or what he doesn't understand, not his age. Bob Kahn is only five years younger than Hatch.
I'm not a conservative and therefore I have no love for Orrin Hatch, but if you're going to criticize the guy, criticize him for his positions, his voting record or what he doesn't understand, not his age. Bob Kahn is only five years younger than Hatch.
His age is part of the problem, he's completely out of touch with modern America.
He's also been in the Senate way too long.
My gosh, I didn't realize they were giving this dinosaur any actual power. That's a terrifying thought. And a perfect example of how the GOP needs to have their ranks cleaned out by voters, your "high tech task force" should have someone who isn't 104.
(ps: I'm a conservative)
I would invite you to run for the senate seat in your state, manage to stay elected for 37 years, and then you can have all the say you want inside the "high tech task force" of the GOP. (Not a senate commitee.) Perhaps then the AppleInsider readership might take your comment seriously.