Conservative group to attack Apple over 'hypocrisy' on religious freedom during shareholder meeting

This week's Apple shareholder meeting will be livened up by a proposal from the right-wing National Center for Public Policy Research, which seeks to have the company "review and report" on its operations in "high-risk regions with poor human rights records" after CEO Tim Cook spoke out on the Indiana religious freedom laws last year.

Apple, and Cook in particular, are accused of having "joined with the mob in trying to destroy" small religious communities. The proposal comes in response to Cook's comments on an Indiana law that would have allowed small business owners to use "religious beliefs" as a defense in discrimination suits.

The proposal calls into question Apple's operations in countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates, which it says have "questionable human rights records as it relates to suffrage, women's rights and gay rights." It suggests that shareholders should ask the company to prepare a report detailing "Apple's criteria for investing in, operating in and withdrawing from high-risk regions."

"For example our CEO bashed state-level religious freedom laws as anti-homosexual bigotry saying, 'Apple is open. Open to everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or who they love. Regardless of what the law might allow in Indiana or Arkansas, we will never tolerate discrimination,'" the group says. "Yet, according to the Washington Post, Apple has a presence in 17 countries where homosexual acts are illegal. In four of those nations, homosexual acts are punishable by death. These company operations are inconsistent with Apple's values as extolled by our CEO."

The NCPPR is no stranger to Apple shareholder activism. In 2014, the group unsuccessfully floated a proposal that would have Apple justify its environmental policies on profit grounds — a suggestion that drove Cook to respond that the company doesn't consider the "bloody ROI" when making those choices.

That proposal was handily defeated and, unsurprisingly, Apple's board of directors advises shareholders to vote against the newest one as well:

This proposal requests a report on Apple's guidelines for selecting countries for our operations. We do not believe that this would be a productive use of company resources. For example, such a report would necessarily have to omit proprietary information and would therefore be an incomplete picture of our approach. Moreover, we believe that Apple's commitment to protecting and promoting human rights has already been demonstrated by both effective action and transparency about our work. Accordingly, the requested report is unnecessary and would not provide meaningful information to shareholders.

Apple's shareholder meeting will be held this Friday at Apple headquarters beginning at 9 a.m. Pacific.

58 Comments

Soli 9981 comments · 9 Years

About 8 years ago

"For example our CEO bashed state-level religious freedom laws as anti-homosexual bigotry saying, 'Apple is open. Open to everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or who they love. Regardless of what the law might allow in Indiana or Arkansas, we will never tolerate discrimination,'" the group says. "Yet, according to the Washington Post, Apple has a presence in 17 countries where homosexual acts are illegal. In four of those nations, homosexual acts are punishable by death. These company operations are inconsistent with Apple's values as extolled by our CEO."
And? Apple is open to everyone in those countries, too. Has Apple stated or made any move to not sell to bigots in US, but will sell to bigots in those other countries? Of course not.

thewhitefalcon 4444 comments · 10 Years

About 8 years ago

Soli said:

"For example our CEO bashed state-level religious freedom laws as anti-homosexual bigotry saying, 'Apple is open. Open to everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or who they love. Regardless of what the law might allow in Indiana or Arkansas, we will never tolerate discrimination,'" the group says. "Yet, according to the Washington Post, Apple has a presence in 17 countries where homosexual acts are illegal. In four of those nations, homosexual acts are punishable by death. These company operations are inconsistent with Apple's values as extolled by our CEO."

And? Apple is open to everyone in those countries, too. Has Apple stated or made any move to not sell to bigots in US, but will sell to bigots in those other countries? Of course not.

Ah yes, thinking differently than the mob = bigot.

pmz 3429 comments · 15 Years

About 8 years ago

Not selling to bigots is also discrimination.

Christ, people are so stupid.

wizard69 13358 comments · 21 Years

About 8 years ago

Soli said:

"For example our CEO bashed state-level religious freedom laws as anti-homosexual bigotry saying, 'Apple is open. Open to everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or who they love. Regardless of what the law might allow in Indiana or Arkansas, we will never tolerate discrimination,'" the group says. "Yet, according to the Washington Post, Apple has a presence in 17 countries where homosexual acts are illegal. In four of those nations, homosexual acts are punishable by death. These company operations are inconsistent with Apple's values as extolled by our CEO."

And? Apple is open to everyone in those countries, too. Has Apple stated or made any move to not sell to bigots in US, but will sell to bigots in those other countries? Of course not.

Anybody can twist a belief such that it looks terrible to outsiders. Some religious groups don't approve of alcohol, if they exclude people that drink does that make them bigots? If you religion doesn't approve of homosexual activities does that make up you a bigot? The answer there is no, because individuals seldom practices their faith so strictly that they can not accept the existence of others. Judging people by the religion they are born into is pretty foolish.

Now the the thing here is that Apple, by rallying against this act, has basically said that they don't approve of specific religious beliefs. Frankly Apple as a company is grossly out of line doing so. Religious freedom is a concept this country was built upon, in a very literal sense, as such we need to be careful about laws and policies that force people to set aside their beliefs. In is country you are free to practice just about any religion and free to associate with any religious group you want or not. This is freedom; forced association isn't.