How Apple is suppressing free speech in China: Live media briefings with human rights activists and consumer campaigners

December 05, 2019

Campaigners and digital tech experts call on Apple to reinstate virtual private networks (VPNs) and HKmap.live

WHAT: Live online media briefings concerning the human rights implications of Apple’s compliance with China’s repressive censorship laws.

WHEN: Tuesday 10 December 2019, International Human Rights Day, starting at 18:00 CCT / 10:00 GMT and again starting at 11:00 EST / 08:00 PCT / 16:00 GMT

SPEAKERS: Note: Additional speakers are being confirmed and will be announced shortly.

18:00 CCT / 10:00 AM GMT:

Zumretay Arkin (World Uyghur Congress), Andy Li, (Stand With Hong Kong), Karen Reilly (GreatFire.org) Sondhya Gupta (SumOfUs), Lobsang Gyatso (Tibet Action Institute), Dechen Pemba (Tibetan activist & blogger), Hong Kong activist: TBC, John Jones (Free Tibet) CHAIR

11:00 EST / 08:00 PCT / 16:00 GMT:

Shahrezad Ghayrat (Campaign for Uyghurs), Karen Reilly (GreatFire.org), Pema Doma (Students for a Free Tibet), Nathan Freitas (Guardian Project), Reem Suleiman (SumOfUs), James Tager (PEN America), Hong Kong activist: TBC, John Jones (Free Tibet) CHAIR

WHERE: Both briefings will be held via Zoom. Participating journalists and individuals can register to join via the following links:

Hosted from London; start time 10:00 AM GMT: https://zoom.us/j/743730937

Hosted from New York; start time 11:00 AM EST: https://zoom.us/j/272379204

WHY: Apple’s compliance with China’s oppressive censorship laws and to direct demands by Beijing on the company has serious consequences for human rights. Apple has blocked over 1000 VPNs from its App Store, delisted HKmap.live and banned the use of ‘sensitive’ terms – such as Tibet, Tiananmen and the Dalai Lama – that are blacklisted by the Chinese government from device engravings in its Apple stores in China.

Far from promoting the web as a tool for communication, Apple is facilitating it being used as a tool for incarceration.

CONTACT:

For further information and media requests, please contact:

John Jones, Free Tibet, UK | +44 (0)207 324 4605 | john@freetibet.org

Mandie McKeown, Tibet Network | +44 (0)7748 158 618 | mandie@tibetnetwork.org

Sondhya Gupta, SumOfUs | +44 (0)781 118 6937 | sondhya@sumofus.org

Speaker biographies for London online media briefing:

Zumretay Arkin is the Project Assistant of the World Uyghur Congress, an organization representing the collective interests of the Uyghur population living in East Turkistan and abroad. https://www.uyghurcongress.org

Andy Li represents ‘Fight for Freedom; Stand With Hong Kong. He is a software developer who has been monitoring the digital security situation with the Hong Kong civil society movement. https://www.facebook.com/standwithhk/

Karen Reilly is Community Director at GreatFire.org, an anonymous organization based in China working to bring transparency to online censorship in China

Sondhya Gupta is Campaign Manager at the consumer organisation SumOfUs, a global community of millions dedicated to stopping big corporations behaving badly. https://www.sumofus.org

Lobsang Gyatso is Digital Security Program Director at Tibet Action Institute. He is a Tibetan born in exile dedicated to increasing cyber security among Tibetans inside Tibet and in the diaspora. https://tibetaction.net

Dechen Pemba is the Editor of High Peaks Pure Earth, a website that offers translations, news, and commentary from Tibetan cyberspace and social media. Born in the UK, Dechen has been a lobbyist and campaigner on Tibet and served as a consultant on Tibet-related issues for various not-for-profit organisations. https://highpeakspureearth.com

John Jones is the Campaigns and Advocacy Manager for Free Tibet. The organisation was established in 1987 with the vision of a Tibet where Tibetans are able to determine their own future and the human rights of all living there are respected. https://www.freetibet.org

Speaker biographies for NYC online media briefings:

Shahrezad Ghayrat is a Uyghur activist of Campaign for Uyghurs which advocates for the human rights of the Uyghur people in East Turkistan. http://campaignforuyghurs.org

Pema Doma is Tibetan activist and the International Grassroots Director at Students for a Free Tibet. https://studentsforafreetibet.org

Nathan Freitas is Director of Technology at Tibet Action Institute. He also leads the Guardian Project, an effort to build secure, open-source mobile solutions for activists, journalists, and human rights organisations. https://guardianproject.info

Karen Reilly is Community Director at GreatFire.org, an anonymous organization based in China working to bring transparency to online censorship in China

James Tager is the Deputy Director of Free Expression Research and Policy at PEN America. He oversaw the research and drafting of PEN America’s 2018 report, Forbidden Feeds: Government Controls on Social Media in China, and leads much of the organization’s engagement on censorship in China, as well as advocacy on behalf of imprisoned or targeted writers.