WaPo - Apple Lobbies Against Bill on Forced Labor in China; 1-2M People are in Internment Camps

[TheBlackAdder]

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Apple is lobbying against a bill aimed at stopping forced labor in China
Apple wants to water down key provisions of the bill, which would hold U.S. companies accountable for using Uighur forced labor, according to two congressional staffers

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The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act would require U.S. companies to guarantee they do not use imprisoned or coerced workers from the predominantly Muslim region of Xinjiang, where academic researchers estimate the Chinese government has placed more than 1 million people into internment camps. Apple is heavily dependent on Chinese manufacturing, and human rights reports have identified instances in which alleged forced Uighur labor has been used in Apple’s supply chain.

The staffers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks with the company took place in private meetings, said Apple was one of many U.S. companies that oppose the bill as it’s written. They declined to disclose details on the specific provisions Apple was trying to knock down or change because they feared providing that knowledge would identify them to Apple. But they both characterized Apple’s effort as an attempt to water down the bill.
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Apple spokesperson Josh Rosenstock said the company “is dedicated to ensuring that everyone in our supply chain is treated with dignity and respect. We abhor forced labor and support the goals of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. We share the committee’s goal of eradicating forced labor and strengthening U.S. law, and we will continue working with them to achieve that.” He said the company earlier this year “conducted a detailed investigation with our suppliers in China and found no evidence of forced labor on Apple production lines, and we are continuing to monitor this closely.”

Apple’s lobbying firm, Fierce Government Relations, disclosed that it was lobbying on the bill on behalf of Apple in a disclosure form that was first reported by the Information. However, the form did not say whether Apple was for or against the bill or whether it wanted to modify it in any way. Lobbying disclosure forms do not require that information. Fierce referred The Washington Post to Apple’s public relations team.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said publicly that Apple does not tolerate forced labor in its supply chain. “Forced labor is abhorrent,” Cook said in a congressional hearing in July. “We would not tolerate it in Apple,” he said, adding that Apple would “terminate a supplier relationship if it were found.”
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...but read further down in the article. It casts a different light than what Tim Cook is shining.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/11/20/apple-uighur/

UPDATE: What type of person names their lobbying firm Fierce Government Relations?

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[mr_lebowski]

1. Without knowing the details of what they're fighting specifically I'm not going to assume totally

evil intent on Apple's part.

One rather obvious potential problem in enforcing laws like this would be the opacity of the Chinese government, and deciding just how 'responsible' companies are for breaking the law ... if they're unable to get reliable information on the background of the workers ... esp. those working as contractors rather than in an actual Apple facility ... from the government over there.

To be clear I 100% am in favor of trying to help the Uyghur people and do not support use of forced labor ... by anyone.