Mike Wuerthele
Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to accept the institute's 2017 Free Expression Award, for which the tech mogul was honored in the Free Speech category. AppleInsider was there live, and offers highlights from the event.
Prior to the award presentation by Washington Post CEO and publisher Fred Ryan, the Newseum played a video celebrating Cook and Apple's accomplishments, including brief recounting of Cook's commencement speech at George Washington University, clips from an interview with ABC News regarding the debacle over the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone 5c, and bits and pieces from assorted Apple store openings.
"I'm very grateful for the award and accept it tonight on behalf of everyone at Apple," Cook said, quipping that he was the only person in the room with an iPad.
In a brief acceptance speech, Cook addressed the difficulty of adapting the tenets laid forth in the First Amendment to modern technology. He noted that the Founding Fathers didn't have app developers, or other modern artists, in mind when they established the basis of American ideology.
"We know that these freedoms require protection," Cook said of First Amendment rights. "Not just the forms of speech that entertain us, but the ones that challenge us. The ones that unnerve and even displease us. They're the ones that need protection the most. It's no accident that these freedoms are enshrined and protected in the First Amendment. They are the foundation to so many of our rights."
Cook gathered applause in proportion to the other selectees of the night following the presentation, if not a bit louder and longer, from a crowd mostly consisting of luminaries in government, civil rights, and journalism.
"This is a responsibility that Apple takes very seriously," Cook said. "First we defend, we work to defend these freedoms by enabling people around the world to speak up. And second, we do it by speaking up ourselves. Because companies can, and should have values."
Relating those undeniable rights to tech, Cooks echoed recent statements regarding what place the tech industry should have — if any — in the political process.
"At Apple we are not just enabling others to speak up, we are doing so ourselves," he said.
Indeed, with Cook at the helm, Apple has become an increasingly outspoken voice when it comes to personal data security, environmental awareness and human rights. Most recently, Apple publicly decried the Trump administration's withdrawal of federal protections for transgender students, an issue for which the company has long fought. Earlier this year, Apple signed on to an amicus brief opposing Trump's immigration ban, a measure that was later blocked in federal court.
The Newseum announced its picks for the 2017 Free Expression Award in February. The award honors those individuals who "have taken personal or professional risks in sharing critical information with the public, have been censored or punished by authorities or other groups for their work, or have pushed boundaries in artistic and media expression."
Some other notable winners this year included U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the organization, and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who received an Arts and Entertainment Award shared with Hatch Beauty chairman Christie Hefner.
The Newseum, primarily funded and controlled by the Freedom Forum, is a First Amendment advocacy museum, tracing the evolution of journalism, print, and electronic communication from earliest days of the United States to the technologies of the present and the future. The museum attracts over 800,000 visitors per year.
During Cook's speech — the longest of the night — nearly the entire body of invitees and attendees seated close to the podium snapped photos on their iPhones.
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40 Comments
Pretty hypocritical: Saying "companies should have values" in some cases this means taking a side in social/political debate and the consequence a shutting down of free speech.
How do you think a person working for Apple would feel when the company they work for expresses "values" associated with one political cause
and therefore get pressured into following the "company values" against their own conscience? Or alternatively get ostracised by colleagues
when they try to freely express their opinion?
"Companies having values" is in conflict with diversity and freedom of speech when the context of the value is one side of a political debate.
Tim, If you want to truly support free speech, don't force "Apple" to takes sides in current political or social issues. Just express the generic values for example: "diversity" which should allow for the freedom of speech of opinions other than that of the upper Apple management. When you speak out on one side of a debate it should never be as CEO.
You should make it clear your opinion is not an "official Apple value", rather you personal view, which, by the way, carries a lot on influence just by being yourself. But don't use Apple, which consists of a diversity people with many different opinions to falsely represent your own opinions.
Companies (and CEOs) should be aware of their moral role in society which is to obey the laws, contribute back to the community and respect the diversity of all people.
It is immoral of a company to misuse its power to in debates that the community should resolve on its own through open and free debate.
As soon as companies speak for their employees they are silencing or drowning smaller voices in the community.
As soon as companies sponsor political causes or lobby groups they create a massive imbalance in the fair and open exchange of ideas.
Don't get me wrong. I love Tim Cook and what he does as CEO for Apple and the IT and music industries - but that's where the CEO's and company's sphere of influence should end: at IT and music INDUSTRIES.
I also love the fact that Tim, personally speaks out about human rights and is engaging in the debate. But when these two get mixed up there is a conflict of interest and an abuse of power.
Food for thought
Well said Daringdev.
Additionally, Tim needs to spend more time developing an innovative 10-year vision instead of riding his political horse.
I've been an Apple fanboy for over 2 decades now and really feel they've lost touch with intuitiveness, quality, and innovation in their products.
Hardware designs are nice but software is really lacking in intuitiveness and functionality. They've placed design over function in their software and it's sad for me to watch.
Hopefully they'll get some true vision and snap out of it. Maybe take some clues from Tesla and Elon Musk. That company (and man) is running on all cylinders (no pun intended ;-).
MMGA.. Cook could put it on a blue cap. Sadly, don't think he cares about what is in his pipeline anymore.
Also, what is it about lefties and their desire to award each other all the time? I wonder who gets more virtue points, the awarded or the awardee?