"Apple has a 'moral obligation' to push back in China, says senator who probed the company's ties", 5 December 2017

Apple CEO Tim Cook's recent remarks at a conference in China are drawing criticism from U.S. senators, including one who worries that the tech giant is not fulfilling its "obligation to promote free expression and other basic human rights"...Sen. Patrick Leahy..previously criticized Apple...after reports that that the company removed VPN apps from the China App Store to comply with Chinese regulators...Apple responded... [saying it] "questioned the legal basis of the request"...Apple told the senators that "actions are our most powerful statement"... "Apple is clearly a force for good in China, but I also believe it and other tech companies must continue to push back on Chinese suppression of free expression," Leahy said.."American tech companies have become leading champions of free expression. But that commitment should not end at our borders. ... Global leaders in innovation, like Apple, have both an opportunity and a moral obligation to promote free expression and other basic human rights in countries that routinely deny these rights." Apple was not immediately available to comment.