Apple CEO <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tim-cook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tim Cook</a> hid behind staffers Tuesday to avoid answering questions from a reporter who grilled him on Apple enabling the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/communist-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese Communist Party&#8217;s</a> human rights abuses.
Cook hid from Fox News reporter Hillary Vaughn as he was leaving a <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/apple-ceo-tim-cook-flies-meet-gop-lawmakers-standoff-elon-musks-twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meeting</a> with U.S. lawmakers in the nation&#8217;s capital.
&#8220;Do you support the Chinese people&#8217;s right to protest?&#8221; Vaughn asked.
Cook did not respond.
&#8220;Do you have any reaction to the factory workers that were beaten and detained for protesting COVID lockdowns?&#8221; Vaughn asked.
Cook did not respond.
&#8220;Do you regret restricting airdrop access that protesters used to evade surveillance from the Chinese government?&#8221; Vaughn asked.
Cook did not respond.
&#8220;Do you think it&#8217;s problematic to do business with the Communist Chinese Party when they suppress human rights?&#8221; Vaughn asked.
Cook did not respond.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨WATCH: Apple CEO Tim Cook ignores our questions on China as zero-COVID lockdown protests rage in the country. Full video 👇🏻 <a href="https://t.co/m0NpgRN6U4">pic.twitter.com/m0NpgRN6U4</a>
&mdash; Hillary Vaughn (@hillary__vaughn) <a href="https://twitter.com/hillary__vaughn/status/1598439834703613962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Protests <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/protests-against-covid-lockdowns-erupt-across-china-some-turn-violent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">intensified</a> over the weekend in major cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan. According to media reports, a demonstration in Shanghai eventually devolved into chaos, with police clashing with protesters and deploying pepper spray. The protests emerged as a response to the “zero COVID” policies imposed by the Chinese Communist Party government since the beginning of the pandemic.
The protests reportedly began on Thursday after ten people were killed in a fire at a residential high-rise building in Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Videos of the incident posted on social media spawned accusations that lockdowns contributed to the deaths, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/26/world/asia/china-protests-covid.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a> and Reuters reported. Residents of the city have been locked down and prevented from leaving their homes for as long as 100 days at a time, Reuters added.
According to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-health-china-fires-covid-4ffc00e5f6761be48f5887d57d66c708" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a> and Reuters, protesters gathered at Wulumuqi Road in Shanghai on Saturday, which is named after Urumqi, to hold a candlelight vigil in memory of the victims of the fire. Around 100 police officers stood by to reportedly keep demonstrators from gathering.
At some point during the night, police deployed pepper spray into a crowd of about 300 protesters. A witness told the AP that one of his friends was beaten, and two others were pepper sprayed. He added that police stepped on his feet while he tried to prevent them from taking his friend away; he also lost his shoes in the chaos and was left barefoot.
Outside Shanghai, major cities and college campuses were also the scenes of major protests. Reuters reported that demonstrations broke out in the cities of Wuhan, Chengdu, Lanzhou, and Beijing on Sunday. Protests in Wuhan reportedly turned violent, with demonstrators smashing through metal barricades, overturning testing tents, and demanding an end to lockdowns. The New York Times reported another protest in the city of Korla in northern Xinjiang.
John Rigolizzo contributed to this report.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-meets-with-apple-ceo-tim-cook-reveals-resolved-issue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk Meets With Apple CEO Tim Cook, Reveals ‘Resolved’ Issue</a>

Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook Hides Behind Staffers As He’s Grilled For Enabling Communist China’s Human Rights Abuses

Apple CEO Tim Cook Hides Behind Staffers As He's Grilled For Enabling Communist China's Human Rights Abuses

Apple

Business

Communist China

Technology

Tim Cook

Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lindsey-graham" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lindsey Graham</a> (R-SC) said during a Fox News interview Wednesday that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/apple" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple</a> is making a big &#8220;mistake&#8221; when it comes to siding with the Chinese Communist Party and their crackdowns on protests throughout China.
&#8220;Corporate appeasement of the Chinese Communist Party is pretty rampant,&#8221; Graham told Fox News. &#8220;I like Apple. They&#8217;re a great American company. But the Chinese Communist Party writes the rules of the road. And to do business in China, you either leave the customer base or you follow their lead.&#8221;
&#8220;The NBA has appeased China. The movie industry appeases China, now Apple. And I think this is a &#8212; this is a mistake,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;So, you have got Apple threatening to take Twitter out of the Apple Store and at the same time doing the bidding of the Communist Party, restricting sharing of information to people who are trying to protest.&#8221;
&#8220;I think we have got it backwards here,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And I think what drives this is just money and market share.&#8221;
On Wednesday, Twitter CEO Elon Musk met with Apple CEO Tim Cook, after which Musk tweeted regarding the notion that Twitter would be removed from the App Store: “Among other things, we resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the App Store. Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so.”
WATCH:
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://video.foxnews.com/v/embed.js?id=6316374159112&#038;w=466&#038;h=263"></script><noscript>Watch the latest video at <a href="https://www.foxnews.com">foxnews.com</a></noscript>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>SANDRA SMITH, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: The Chinese Communist Party cracking down on protesters as they rally against COVID lockdowns.
We are now learning America&#8217;s largest company, Apple, has restricted the use of its AirDrop feature in the communist nation. It allowed users to share content between Apple devices and dodge China&#8217;s censorship. And now Elon Musk says Apple&#8217;s threatening to boot Twitter from its App Store.
So, how did we get to a point where big tech companies consider 280 characters a bigger threat than the communist regime?
Let&#8217;s bring in South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
Senator, good to have you here today.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Thank you.
SMITH: Why are we here today? And why are we not going tougher on China for its behavior?
GRAHAM: Money. You got a billion people in China.
Corporate appeasement of the Chinese Communist Party is pretty rampant. I like Apple. They&#8217;re a great American company. But the Chinese Communist Party writes the rules of the road. And to do business in China, you either leave the customer base or you follow their lead.
The NBA has appeased China. The movie industry appeases China, now Apple. And I think this is a &#8212; this is a mistake. So, you have got Apple threatening to take Twitter out of the Apple Store and at the same time doing the bidding of the Communist Party, restricting sharing of information to people who are trying to protest.
I think we have got it backwards here. And I think what drives this is just money and market share.
JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Yes, well, obviously too Apple has got a lot invested in this&#8230;
GRAHAM: Yes.
ROBERTS: &#8230; because of the protests against the COVID lockdowns at Foxconn factories. It looks like Apple is going to be short some six million iPhone Pros this year. So that&#8217;s definitely going to hurt their bottom line.
But it also gets into the idea of free speech when we pull back to 30,000 feet here, and we take a look at the idea that Apple, according to Elon Musk, may reexamine whether or not the Twitter app is available on the Apple Store.
And Musk also tweeted this &#8212; quote &#8212; &#8220;Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?&#8221;
(LAUGHTER)
GRAHAM: Well, all I can say, that Apple is a private company and Twitter&#8217;s a private company. They have their differences.
I would hope that Apple would keep allowing Twitter to be part of the Apple Store. But, big tech, you can&#8217;t sue these people because of Section 230. And there&#8217;s no regulatory scheme that works.
So I&#8217;m going to unveil a Digital Regulatory Commission to deal with social media companies like Apple and Twitter and Google. We need some regulatory environment to control the abuses of power here. So, I&#8217;m going to do that with Elizabeth Warren. You look for something that can bring us together in Washington, social media is out of control. They need to be regulated in some fashion.
And I think that brings both parties together.
SMITH: OK, so then maybe you agree with Karine Jean-Pierre at the Biden White House, who said this. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We&#8217;re all keeping a close eye on this. We&#8217;re all monitoring what&#8217;s &#8212; what&#8217;s currently occurring. And we see &#8212; we see it with our own eyes of what you all are reporting and just for ourselves what&#8217;s happening on Twitter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: So, the White House says it&#8217;s keeping a close eye on what is happening at Twitter.
GRAHAM: Yes.
SMITH: Do you agree with &#8212; with that?
GRAHAM: No, I think somebody needs to regulate social media companies, who are the largest companies on the planet.
If they take down your content &#8212; I like Elon Musk. Well, there may be somebody in charge of Twitter tomorrow that I don&#8217;t like. So, what happens if you&#8217;re a consumer if Twitter or any other group takes your content down? You have to appeal to the company yourself &#8212; itself.
I want to create a process where a consumer can make their case that my rights were abused to somebody other than the company. I&#8217;m not asking the White House to watch Twitter. We have the commission for securities. We have a commission for about every activity in America to make sure the consumer is protected.
When it comes to social media, your privacy is at risk, your content can be taken down because somebody doesn&#8217;t like you or what you&#8217;re saying. We need to have a system to deal with those problems.</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dereliction-of-duty-senators-cruz-graham-warn-mayorkas-of-impeachment-over-border-crisis">‘Dereliction Of Duty’: Senators Cruz, Graham Warn Mayorkas Of Impeachment Over Border Crisis</a>

Senate Holds Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings For Ketanji Brown Jackson

Senator Graham: Apple Is Making A Big ‘Mistake’ By Caving To The Chinese Communist Party

Senator Graham: Apple Is Making A Big 'Mistake' By Caving To The Chinese Communist Party

Big Tech

Elon Musk

Lindsey Graham

Twitter CEO <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> met with Apple CEO <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tim-cook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tim Cook</a> Wednesday at Apple&#8217;s headquarters in Cupertino, California, and said that they resolved the conflict that erupted this week.
&#8220;Good conversation,&#8221; Musk tweeted. &#8220;Among other things, we resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the App Store. Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Good conversation. Among other things, we resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the App Store. Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so.
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1598090996281413638?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The meeting came after Musk signaled Monday that he was willing to “go to war” with Apple after the company had largely stopped advertising on Twitter and had allegedly threatened to boot the social media platform from its App Store.
Musk specifically called out Cook in a series of tweets where he also raised the issue of censorship.
“Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?” Musk asked. “What’s going on here @tim_cook?”
“Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why,” Musk added.
Musk then posted a poll, which he has used in the past to make decisions about what he will do at the company, asking, “Apple should publish all censorship actions it has taken that affect its customers[?]”
Musk highlighted an account that claimed to have been silenced by Apple and asked, “Who else has Apple censored?”
Musk also renewed his criticisms of the fees that Apple charges app developers, “Did you know Apple puts a secret 30% tax on everything you buy through their App Store?”
Account impersonations and Musk’s endorsement of some conservative figures have provoked ire among left-wing nonprofits, some of whom recently pressured advertisers to cease their relationship with the social media company. Several organizations endorsed a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/extremely-messed-up-elon-musk-blasts-activist-groups-for-pushing-advertisers-to-ditch-twitter-destroy-free-speech-in-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to the executives of major advertisers, claiming that “extremists” consider the takeover “a new opportunity to post the most abusive, harassing, and racist language and imagery,” including “clear threats of violence against people with whom they disagree.”
The world’s richest man initially <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1585619322239561728" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> advertisers that he acquired Twitter to “have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence.” He vowed that the social media platform would not become a “free-for-all hellscape” where users could breach the law with impunity.
Musk has <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1593385611632594944" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarked</a> that widespread coverage of the acquisition and his subsequent attempts to reform the company, including negative reports from legacy outlets, has contributed to usage reaching record levels. He said his number-one priority is the <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1595671290421170179" target="_blank" rel="noopener">removal</a> of child exploitation content from Twitter, which previous management neglected to accomplish. Several advertisers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/major-companies-remove-advertisements-from-twitter-over-child-pornography-allegations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paused campaigns</a> on the platform two months ago after a report showed that child sexual abuse material had appeared alongside major advertisers’ profiles.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/musk-to-start-creating-smartphones-if-apple-google-remove-twitter-from-app-stores" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Musk To Start Creating Smartphones If Apple, Google Remove Twitter From App Stores</a>

Elon Musk Visits Germany

Elon Musk Meets With Apple CEO Tim Cook, Reveals ‘Resolved’ Issue

Elon Musk Meets With Apple CEO Tim Cook, Reveals 'Resolved' Issue

Twitter

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/meta" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meta</a> CEO <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/mark-zuckerberg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Zuckerberg</a> joined <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a> CEO <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> in his criticism of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/apple" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple</a> for the company’s ability to unilaterally control its app store.
During a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/11/30/business/dealbook-summit-conference" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speech</a> at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit, Zuckerberg said that Apple is the only platform “where one company can control what apps get on the device,” a situation he characterized as neither “sustainable” nor “good.” The founder also noted that other systems such as Windows and Android do not exercise such aggressive gatekeeping.
Meta <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/charts/iphone/social-networking-apps/6005" target="_blank" rel="noopener">controls</a> three of the top four social networking platforms on the Apple app store, including WhatsApp, Messenger, and Facebook. Twitter <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/twitter/id333903271" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ranks</a> first in the app store’s news category.
Musk, who officially <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/go-to-war-musk-targets-apple-claiming-it-canceled-ads-threatened-to-boot-twitter-from-app-store" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acquired</a> Twitter last month and desires to pivot the social media company’s business plan toward a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-introduces-new-idea-to-twitter-and-kills-it-hours-later" target="_blank" rel="noopener">subscription-based</a> model, said that Apple, which levies a 30% fee on in-app purchases, enforces a functional tax on the internet. The entrepreneur previously said that Apple has “threatened to withhold” Twitter from its app store without explanation.
Noting that Apple has “mostly stopped advertising” on Twitter, the world’s richest man asked whether the world’s largest company hates “free speech in America.” Several advertisers have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/extremely-messed-up-elon-musk-blasts-activist-groups-for-pushing-advertisers-to-ditch-twitter-destroy-free-speech-in-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">backed away</a> from Twitter at the behest of activist groups claiming that “extremists” consider the Musk takeover “a new opportunity to post the most abusive, harassing, and racist language and imagery,” including “clear threats of violence against people with whom they disagree.”
Musk hinted that he would consider launching a new brand of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/musk-to-start-creating-smartphones-if-apple-google-remove-twitter-from-app-stores" target="_blank" rel="noopener">smartphones</a> in the event that Apple removes Twitter from the app store. “I certainly hope it does not come to that, but, yes, if there is no other choice, I will make an alternative phone,” he told commentator Liz Wheeler.
Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/raw-exercise-of-monopolistic-power-desantis-demands-congressional-action-if-apple-dumps-twitter-from-app-store" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserted</a> that a potential move to delist Twitter would constitute a significant abuse of power from Apple. “He’s providing free speech, and so if Apple responds to that by nuking them from the app store, I think that would be a huge, huge mistake,” the governor said, noting that a response from Congress could be warranted.
Musk recently published a set of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-reveals-how-twitters-business-is-doing-under-his-leadership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investor slides</a> showing that the daily inflow of new users into Twitter has reached two million under his leadership, while “user active minutes per day” reached eight billion. The company now has more than 250 million monetizable daily active users, with all three metrics surpassing previous company records.
According to a <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/elon-musk/less-month-elon-musk-has-driven-away-half-twitters-top-100-advertisers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from left-wing organization Media Matters—one of the groups that signed the letter asking advertisers to sever their relationships with Twitter—as many as 50 of the largest 100 advertisers on the platform have “either announced or seemingly stopped” their campaigns. The world’s richest man initially <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1585619322239561728" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> advertisers that he acquired Twitter in order to foster free speech and noted in the slides that purported hate speech impressions have dwindled under his watch. The hesitant advertisers, however, have spent $2 billion on the platform over the past two years, dealing a salient blow to the company’s bottom line.
“Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists,” Musk confirmed earlier this month. “Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.”

New York Times DealBook Summit Held In New York City

Zuckerberg Joins Musk In Criticizing Apple’s Iron Grip On Its App Store

Zuckerberg Criticizes Apple's App Store Policies

Free Speech

Mark Zuckerberg

Key Speakers At The Token Summit

Tech Entrepreneur David Sacks: Apple Is Doing The Same Thing In The U.S. That They Are Doing In China

Censorship

United States

This week, the Chinese government activated its vast censorship apparatus to prevent dissemination of news regarding thousands of citizens taking to the streets to protest the CCP’s zero covid lockdowns. China has developed the world’s most sophisticated and invasive surveillance scheme: according to The Wall Street Journal, police have been dispersing to the site of protests ahead of time thanks to their monitoring of internet traffic, cellphone data, and messaging apps. China also has access to data from hundreds of millions of cameras, “some equipped with facial-recognition software…The government has enhanced these capabilities over the past two years as part of contact-tracing efforts to control the spread of the virus.”
Such compulsion becomes necessary when a tyrannical government presides over an increasingly unhappy population. Chinese dictator Xi Jinping despises capitalism – in fact, he despises it so much that he has undercut the durability of his own economy in a bizarre quest to pursue a form of authoritarian mercantilism. The result has been slower economic growth, shoddy product innovation, and extraordinary levels of debt, all piled atop an aging demographic time bomb. He has sought to make up for this through higher levels of compulsion domestically, combined with stealing technology from the West and utilizing military power to simply take over areas like Hong Kong. Chinese tech companies have been brought to heel: as The New York Times reported in July 2021, Chinese “companies and entrepreneurs are effectively telling the government that they know who the master is.” 
But Xi hasn’t stopped there.
Xi has taken advantage of the weak underbelly of capitalism – the reality that profit-seeking enterprises will allow themselves to be coopted by malevolent actors in order to maintain their profitability, that corporations are not predominantly concerned with American national security but with economic efficiency. This is why Apple is now reportedly doing the bidding of the Chinese government.
Apple bases its manufacture of the iPhone, among other devices, in China – to the point where 25 percent of the value of the iPhone apparently comes from Chinese companies – is completely subject to Chinese whim, and they know it. That’s undoubtedly why Apple cut off its Airdrop feature in its latest Chinese update, just before the anti-lockdown protests broke out: Airdrop allows users to transfer data using wireless connections rather than the internet, which avoids governmental scrutiny.
Apple isn’t a rarity. Multiple major companies have had to make the choice between access to China’s markets and labor resources and standing against Chinese autocracy. Some companies have withstood the test – but not enough of them.
Meanwhile, the West is focused laser-like on Elon Musk’s Twitter as the supposed threat to democracy. This week, the EU announced that Twitter could be in violation of the Digital Services Act, which forces social media platforms to police “hate speech.” The White House has also announced that it has its eye on Musk’s Twitter, which it says has now become a font for “misinformation.” Musk has dedicated Twitter to opening up standards of speech, allowing those with non-lawbreaking activity to tweet.
This has raised the hackles of our thoughtleaders – not Apple actively doing the work of suppressing sharing of information in authoritarian China.
All of this bodes ill for the future of the digital age in the West. If the West is perfectly sanguine about tyrannical regimes weaponizing capitalism and technology while fretting over capitalists who own technology companies broadening the use of their platforms, the West will be contributing to its own defeat. And China will celebrate.

Ben Shapiro Transcript 3

China Is Using Big Tech — So Why Is The West Targeting Musk’s Twitter?

Ben Shapiro

China

Readers Pass

U.S.

Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis slammed Apple during an interview Tuesday evening for its role in hindering widespread protests against China&#8217;s severe pandemic restrictions and for allegedly threatening to boot Twitter from its App Store.
&#8220;If you look what&#8217;s going on in China now, the CCP, they have been imposing these zero COVID lockdown policies. They have been doing it on and off for three years,&#8221; DeSantis told Fox News host Tucker Carlson. &#8220;And you have people in China that are really engaged in a noble effort to protest which is basically Leninist rule. So, what is Apple doing with that? They are limiting the AirDrop function of the protesters. So they are serving basically as a vassal to the Chinese Communist Party.&#8221;
&#8220;Then, on the other hand, here in the United States, what are they doing? They are trying to get Elon Musk&#8217;s Twitter off the App Store, potentially, which would be a huge blow for free speech,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;And so this is maybe the most powerful company in the entire world, certainly one of the most powerful companies in American history. They exercise more authority in some respects than even some governments do. And they&#8217;re using their authority to protect the CCP while also try to limit speech here in the United States.&#8221;
DeSantis said that federal lawmakers needed to break up companies like Apple using anti-trust laws because &#8220;they are exercising massive amounts of power over our society.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Gov. Ron DeSantis slams Apple for &quot;using their authority to protect the CCP, while also try[ing] to limit speech here in the United States.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Z0pWmj3nbK">pic.twitter.com/Z0pWmj3nbK</a>
&mdash; The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1597776395324661760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: So, apparently, Apple is considering, according to Elon Musk, removing Twitter from its App Store, which would, of course, shut down Twitter.
And almost nobody in office has noticed this or decided to comment on it, except for Ron DeSantis. He&#8217;s the governor of the state of Florida.
He joins us tonight.
Governor, thanks for coming on.
So, of all the news going on in the world &#8212; and there&#8217;s a lot of it &#8212; you stopped on this story, and you commented on it. Why? Why did this catch your attention?
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Well, Tucker, if you look what&#8217;s going on in China now, the CCP, they have been imposing these zero COVID lockdown policies. They have been doing it on and off for three years.
And you have people in China that are really engaged in a noble effort to protest which is basically Leninist rule. So, what is Apple doing with that? They are limiting the AirDrop function of the protesters. So they are serving basically as a vassal to the Chinese Communist Party.
Then, on the other hand, here in the United States, what are they doing? They are trying to get Elon Musk&#8217;s Twitter off the App Store, potentially, which would be a huge blow for free speech.
And so this is maybe the most powerful company in the entire world, certainly one of the most powerful companies in American history. They exercise more authority in some respects than even some governments do. And they&#8217;re using their authority to protect the CCP, while also try to limit speech here in the United States.
CARLSON: While existing as an American &#8212; supposedly American company, using our copyright protections, our rule of law to their own advantage. They&#8217;re benefiting from America, but working against our most basic value, which is free speech.
What can be done about that?
DESANTIS: Well, Tucker, in the states, we did big tech censorship bill two years ago. It&#8217;s gotten caught up in the courts. I think the U.S. Supreme Court is going to accept that case for this term. Texas has a similar case. There&#8217;s a conflict in the circuits.
And so, whatever the states can do to protect people&#8217;s rights to engage in free expression &#8212; and, you know, what some of these companies do, they get a lot of benefits from the government, as you said, patent, things like that.
CARLSON: Yes.
DESANTIS: The social media companies get liability protection.
And yet they turn around and they use that protection to marginalize voices they disagree with. So, I think, from the congressional perspective, though, they need to look at antitrust with these massive companies, because they are exercising massive amounts of power over our society.</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fox-news-democrat-analyst-juan-williams-names-desantis-2022s-top-u-s-political-player-he-scares-me">Fox News Democrat Analyst Juan Williams Names DeSantis 2022’s Top U.S. Political Player: ‘He Scares Me’</a>

US-ISRAEL-POLITICS-REPUBLICANS

DeSantis Hammers Apple For Helping Communist China Squash Protesters

DeSantis Hammers Apple For Move To 'Protect' Communist China From Protesters

Ron DeSantis

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/go-to-war-musk-targets-apple-claiming-it-canceled-ads-threatened-to-boot-twitter-from-app-store/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple</a> has been accused of helping <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-protesters-in-china-are-cleverly-defying-their-communist-government/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China crack down on free speech</a>, and now, according to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ben-shapiro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ben Shapiro</a>, the tech giant may now be teaming up with the Biden administration and much of the media to silence Americans on Twitter.
The Daily Wire radio and podcast host told his listeners Tuesday that Apple’s reported plan to drop Twitter from its app store is rich, given the iEverything maker’s ongoing collaboration with the Chinese Communist Party. Apple hasn’t confirmed the plan or given a reason why it might be under consideration, but several big companies object to Twitter owner Elon Musk allowing once-banned conservative voices back on the platform.
“Apple stumps for open relations with China because they make a lot of money over in China,” Shapiro said. “Meanwhile, while Apple cracks down on the protesters in China at the behest of the Chinese government, they&#8217;re also apparently now cracking down on Twitter.”
<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ben-shapiro-show/id1047335260" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE LATEST EPISODE OF “THE BEN SHAPIRO SHOW”</a>
Musk tweeted Monday that Apple is considering banning the Twitter app, and pointedly asked Apple CEO Tim Cook, “What’s going on here?” Given that apps are only widely available through Apple and Google, such a move would be a big blow to Twitter. The two companies teamed with Amazon Web Services to deal a near-fatal blow to Parler in the wake of the January 6 riots, claiming participants used the social media platform to organize.
Unlike Facebook, which Shapiro pointed out refuses to help Beijing silence its citizens, Apple is all in for China, where parts for its key products are manufactured. Earlier this month, Apple blocked users in China from using its AirDrop feature, effectively barring demonstrators from using the peer-to-peer communication tool amid widespread protests over draconian COVID lockdowns.
In the U.S., any plan by Apple to silence voices on social media would seem to have government help as well. Shapiro noted that White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ominously said Monday that the Biden administration is carefully watching Twitter amid complaints Musk’s loosening of the reins is allowing “misinformation.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is a battle for the future of civilization. If free speech is lost even in America, tyranny is all that lies ahead.
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1597405399040217088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“Amazing stuff from the White House,” Shapiro said. “The White House is very upset with Elon Musk and the ability for people to use that app to distribute information they don&#8217;t like, not so interested in China cracking down on citizenry.”
Americans can’t count on the media to stand up for freedom of speech either, Shapiro noted. A report in The Washington Post claimed that Musk’s decision to dismantle a Twitter unit called the “trust and safety team” would result in widespread hate speech on the platform. Several fired content moderators have portrayed Musk’s Twitter as a “wild west,” although other observers have noted that for the first time, the platform seems to be purging links to child pornography, which proliferated before Musk’s arrival.
Musk has restored accounts of conservatives including The Babylon Bee, Dr. Jordan Peterson of The Daily Wire+, and former President Trump, as well as ending the site’s so-called “COVID misinformation policy,” which got many medical experts banned for tweeting information that contradicted the government but often later proved true.
Shapiro said Musk’s handling of Twitter differs from fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos’ stewardship of The Washington Post, which he bought in 2013.
“He is actually taking all the flak for all the decisions that Twitter is making as opposed to Jeff Bezos who hands it off to his lackeys and then he disconnects himself from the business,” Shapiro said. “And Musk is not saying the algorithm is responsible for this stuff. He&#8217;s saying, ‘I&#8217;m responsible for this stuff.’”
“That is what we call accountability.”

Screen Shot 2022-09-07 at 5.13.21 PM

Ben Shapiro: Rotten Apple Takes Aim At Free Speech In China And On Twitter

The Ben Shapiro Show

Florida Republican Governor <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/joe-scarborough-floats-questionable-theory-on-why-people-like-ron-desantis-better-than-kamala-harris/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ron DeSantis</a> called on Congress to take action if Apple Inc. moved to take Twitter off the app store, saying that would constitute a &#8220;raw exercise of monopolistic power.&#8221;
DeSantis was discussing infrastructure projects in Duval County, Florida, when he pivoted to address several other issues — beginning with the continued <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/how-protesters-in-china-are-cleverly-defying-their-communist-government/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID-related lockdowns</a> and <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/protesters-call-for-xi-jinping-to-step-down-over-chinas-extreme-covid-lockdowns/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">protests</a> in China.
WATCH:
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<a href="https://t.co/RX4tafgD9m">pic.twitter.com/RX4tafgD9m</a>
&mdash; Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1597629806199246848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
DeSantis began by citing reports that Apple was not allowing protesters to use the <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/apple-restricts-airdrop-file-sharing-china-protesters-used" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AirDrop function</a> to communicate, arguing that was effectively &#8220;giving aid and comfort to the CCP.&#8221;
&#8220;And so you see that report and that&#8217;s very concerning,&#8221; he continued, going on to say that it was actually more concerning to hear reports that Apple might be planning to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/qai/2022/11/29/apple-threatens-to-remove-twitter-from-app-storeaccording-to-elon-musk/?sh=1ea5440c2d89" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remove Twitter</a> from the <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/go-to-war-musk-targets-apple-claiming-it-canceled-ads-threatened-to-boot-twitter-from-app-store/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">app store</a> in the wake of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk&#8217;s takeover of the platform.
&#8220;And then when you also hear reports that Apple is threatening to remove Twitter from the app store because Elon Musk is actually opening it up for free speech and is restoring a lot of accounts that were unfairly and illegitimately suspended for putting out accurate information about COVID, that&#8217;s like one of the main things that&#8217;s being reinstated,&#8221; DeSantis added.
The Florida Governor went on to not that the so-called &#8220;experts&#8221; had been wrong about a number of things, and Twitter&#8217;s &#8220;old regime&#8221; had acted swiftly to crush dissent rather than allowing honest discourse or letting anyone question the chosen narrative. &#8220;Their response was to try to just suffocate the dissent, and Elon Musk knows that&#8217;s not a winning formula,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;And so he&#8217;s providing free speech, and so if Apple responds to that by nuking them from the app store, you know, I think that would be a huge, huge mistake,&#8221; DeSantis concluded, arguing that a response from Congress would be warranted if Apple proceeded down that road. &#8220;And it would be a really raw exercise of monopolistic power that I think would merit a response from the United States Congress.&#8221;
&#8220;Don&#8217;t be a vassal of the CCP on one hand and then use your corporate power in the United States on the other to suffocate Americans and try to suppress their right to express themselves,&#8221; he warned.
DeSantis added as an aside that he knew there was still a lot of work to do with regard to Big Tech, but said that he was pleased with the progress that had already been made at Twitter in just the short time since Musk took over control of the platform.

Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, speaks during the

‘Raw Exercise Of Monopolistic Power’: DeSantis Demands Congressional Action If Apple Dumps Twitter From App Store

DeSantis Demands Congressional Action If Apple Dumps Twitter From App Store

Twitter CEO Elon Musk signaled Monday that he might be preparing to &#8220;go to war&#8221; with Apple after the company has largely stopped advertising on Twitter and has reportedly threatened to boot the social media platform from its App Store.
Musk specifically called out Apple CEO Tim Cook in a series of tweets where he also raised the issue of censorship.
&#8220;Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?&#8221; Musk asked. &#8220;What’s going on here @tim_cook?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
What’s going on here <a href="https://twitter.com/tim_cook?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tim_cook</a>?
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1597290422375587840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why,&#8221; Musk added.
Musk then posted a poll, which he has used in the past to make decisions about what he will do at the company, asking, &#8220;Apple should publish all censorship actions it has taken that affect its customers[?]&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Apple should publish all censorship actions it has taken that affect its customers
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1597295832759382016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Musk highlighted an account that claimed to have been silenced by Apple and asked, &#8220;Who else has Apple censored?&#8221;
Musk also renewed his criticisms of the fees that Apple charges app developers, &#8220;Did you know Apple puts a secret 30% tax on everything you buy through their App Store?&#8221;
Musk stated back in May that &#8220;Apple’s store is like having a 30% tax on the Internet.&#8221;
&#8220;Definitely not ok,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Literally 10 times higher than it should be.&#8221;
Musk also shared a meme suggesting he would rather &#8220;Go To War&#8221; with Apple than &#8220;Pay 30%.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://t.co/uKEY9mVujp">pic.twitter.com/uKEY9mVujp</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1597302404239659008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In 2018, Cook <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-apples-ceo-suggests-its-sin-not-ban-people-ryan-saavedra">said</a> at an event in New York City that tech companies have a moral obligation to ban certain people and certain types of content from social media and technology platforms, going so far as to suggest that not banning them is “a sin.”
“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,” Cook continued. “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.”
Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/musk-to-start-creating-smartphones-if-apple-google-remove-twitter-from-app-stores">said</a> Friday that he would start creating smartphones if <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/apple" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/google" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google</a> remove Twitter from their app stores, which would be highly damaging to Twitter.
Musk’s remarks came in response to a tweet from political commentator Liz Wheeler, who wrote: “If Apple &amp; Google boot Twitter from their app stores, @elonmusk should produce his own smartphone.”
“Half the country would happily ditch the biased, snooping iPhone &amp; Android,” she said. “The man builds rockets to Mars, a silly little smartphone should be easy, right?”
Musk responded, “I certainly hope it does not come to that, but, yes, if there is no other choice, I will make an alternative phone.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/musk-announces-he-would-support-desantis-for-president-if-desantis-runs">Musk Announces He Would Support DeSantis For President If DeSantis Runs</a>

The 2022 Met Gala Celebrating “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” – Arrivals

‘Go To War’: Musk Targets Apple, Claiming It Canceled Ads, Threatened To Boot Twitter From App Store

Musk Targets Apple After It Cancels Ads, Threatens To Boot Twitter From App Store

Twitter CEO <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> said Friday that he will start to create smartphones if <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/apple" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/google" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google</a> remove Twitter from their app stores, a move that would be highly damaging to the social media company.
Musk&#8217;s remarks came in response to a tweet from political commentator Liz Wheeler, who wrote: &#8220;If Apple &amp; Google boot Twitter from their app stores, @elonmusk should produce his own smartphone.&#8221;
&#8220;Half the country would happily ditch the biased, snooping iPhone &amp; Android,&#8221; she said. &#8220;The man builds rockets to Mars, a silly little smartphone should be easy, right?&#8221;
Musk responded, &#8220;I certainly hope it does not come to that, but, yes, if there is no other choice, I will make an alternative phone.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I certainly hope it does not come to that, but, yes, if there is no other choice, I will make an alternative phone
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1596268804413476864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The statement from Musk comes amid pressure from advertisers and left-wing activists to police content that they deem to be &#8220;hate speech.&#8221;
Musk responded to the pressure campaign this week by saying that the company had cracked down on hate speech.
“Hate speech impressions down by 1/3 from pre-spike levels,” Musk tweeted. “Congrats to Twitter team!”
“I have half a mind to wag my finger at the 1500 accounts that caused the spike, but I shall forebear,” Musk continued. “Reducing the max allowed tweets/day to a number below what a speed typist on meth could do was helpful.”
Musk then responded to a question from DailyWire+ host Jordan Peterson about how he defines hate speech.
“This is simply based on the same list of terms that Twitter has used for some time, so ceteris paribus,” Musk responded.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is simply based on the same list of terms that Twitter has used for some time, so ceteris paribus
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1595931448988639233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-reveals-how-he-is-defining-hate-speech-on-twitter">announced</a> on Thursday that he was going to grant a mass amnesty to accounts that had been previously banned on the platform.
Musk made the decision in response to the final results of a poll he tweeted Wednesday. The platform will begin unbanning accounts en masse, except for those who broke the law or engaged in excessive spam, next week, he tweeted in response to the results.
More than three million users voted in the poll, and the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of amnesty; nearly three-quarters of voters, 72.4%, voted “yes,” while just 27.6% voted “no.”
“The people have spoken,” Musk wrote after the poll concluded. “Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.”
Before the poll ended, Musk seemed to indicate that in effect, the platform would significantly curtail content moderation to target illegal content and increase transparency.
This is a developing news story; refresh the page for updates.

Musk To Start Creating Smartphones If Apple, Google Remove Twitter From App Stores

Google

A 53-year-old man was charged with reckless homicide with a motor vehicle after allegedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/one-dead-nearly-20-injured-after-suv-driver-crashes-into-apple-store" target="_blank" rel="noopener">driving his SUV</a> into a Massachusetts <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/apple" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple</a> store Monday, <a href="https://twitter.com/PlymouthCtyDAO/status/1595039386277740552">according</a> to the district attorney’s office. 
Bradley Rein of Hingham, Massachusetts, was <a href="https://www.wcvb.com/article/hingham-massachusetts-vehicle-crashes-into-apple-store/42025703" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> Monday and spent the night in jail after one person was killed and at least 19 more were injured when he allegedly drove a black 2019 Toyota 4Runner into an Apple store in Hingham Monday morning. 
According to a police report, Rein said his &#8220;right foot became stuck on the accelerator and his vehicle accelerated,&#8221; WCVB <a href="https://www.wcvb.com/article/hingham-massachusetts-vehicle-crashes-into-apple-store/42025703" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The police report added that &#8220;Rein stated that he used his left foot to try to brake but was unable to stop the vehicle and the vehicle crashed through the front of the Apple store.&#8221;
Two years ago, Rein was taken into custody and cited for driving under the influence after crashing in Vermont, according to the Vermont State Police. He has no criminal history in Massachusetts.
Emergency responders arrived on the scene about 20 miles southeast of Boston, where the SUV had driven through the storefront and onto the sales floor, causing multiple traumatic injuries. The injured were transported to local hospitals.
Dr. Jason Tracy, Chief of Emergency Medicine at South Shore Hospital, said he treated the injured, which included victims with head wounds, lower extremity issues, and “mangled limbs.” Some sustained life-threatening injuries, according to the hospital’s trauma chief Dr. Chris Burns.
“We had multiple resources respond to the hospital including additional surgeons and additional support staff,” Tracy added. “We were very well staffed at this time considering the day of the week and the time of the day.” 
<div id="attachment_467039" style="width: 636px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-467039" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-467039" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Black-SUVHingham-Apple-Store-1-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="626" height="417" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/Black-SUVHingham-Apple-Store-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/Black-SUVHingham-Apple-Store-1-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/Black-SUVHingham-Apple-Store-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/Black-SUVHingham-Apple-Store-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/Black-SUVHingham-Apple-Store-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/Black-SUVHingham-Apple-Store-1-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/Black-SUVHingham-Apple-Store-1-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 626px) 100vw, 626px" />David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images</div>
In a statement, Apple said the person killed was a construction worker who was on the job at the shop. That person was later identified as 65-year-old Kevin Bradley of New Jersey. 
“We are devastated by the shocking events at Apple Derby Street today and the tragic loss of a professional who was onsite supporting recent construction at the store,” Apple wrote. “Our hearts go out to our team members and customers who were injured and all of those who were affected by this terrible incident.”
During a news conference following the incident, Hingham Fire Chief Steve Murphy said that crews arrived on the scene to find “multiple patients injured out in front of the store and in the store, including a few patients that were pinned against the wall by the vehicle.”

Man Charged With Reckless Homicide By Motor Vehicle In Fatal Crash At Apple Store In Hingham

Man Suspected Of Driving SUV Into Apple Store Arrested, Charged With Reckless Homicide

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Homicide

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