Apple vote sounds ‘warning’ over China app takedowns as iPhone maker’s human rights record under scrutiny
- The human rights proposal was defeated but 40.6 per cent of votes cast supported the measure in what analysts saw as a warning to CEO Tim Cook
An Apple Inc shareholder proposal critical of the company’s app removals in China received a relatively high level of support at the iPhone maker’s annual meeting on Wednesday, enough to push the company to respond, experts said.
The proposal, which called for Apple to report whether it has “publicly committed to respect freedom of expression as a human right,” was defeated, but 40.6 per cent of votes cast supported the measure, according to company figures.
The proposal highlighted Apple’s 2017 removal of virtual private network apps from its App Store in China. Such apps allow users to bypass China’s so-called Great Firewall aimed at restricting access to overseas sites, and Apple’s action was seen as a step to preserve access to the country’s vast market.
Wednesday’s vote stood in contrast to previous years when critics made little headway with big investors on the issue.
“A total this high is a striking warning — and it must have come from big institutional investors, not just retail shareholders — that Apple’s human rights policy in China has become a material risk for the company’s reputation,” said Stephen Davis, a senior fellow at Harvard Law School’s Programme on Corporate Governance.
“Apple will be under great pressure to respond rather than ignore this vote,” Davis said.