The Council on American-Islamic Relations along with a number of of Iranian-American and civil liberties organizations called on Apple to train its entire sales staff on the proper application of U.S. sanctions laws targeting Iran. The group sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook with the following:
“We understand that Apple’s official company policy at issue in the abovementioned incidents is almost verbatim taken from the Iranian Transaction Regulations (‘ITR’), specifically 31 C.F.R. [section] 560.204, and is in line with U.S. economic sanctions targeting Iran. However, at issue here is the correct application of that policy by Apple’s employees …
“If the Apple employees’ conduct was based upon the mere fact that the individuals mentioned above were speaking the Farsi/Persian language and Apple’s policy is to deny sales to customers merely based on a foreign language being spoken, this would be at best a gross misinterpretation of the sanctions targeting Iran and a violation of federal law at worst …
“Of additional concern is the inconsistent manner in which Apple is attempting to enforce the embargo law. Is Apple asking all customers about the ultimate destination of its products? Is Apple relying on customers volunteering that information? Is Apple’s policy that customers may purchase whatever items they like as long as they do not mention or imply the destination of the items? That is, is Apple training its retail employees to enforce a policy that inherently requires its employees to determine the nationality of a client in a manner that violates federal civil rights laws? To ensure consistency in enforcement, we ask that Apple adopt standardized practices that would apply to every customer at the time of purchase …
“We therefore ask that you take the necessary steps to properly investigate the incidents reported and train your entire sales staff about the proper application of Apple’s export compliance policy. We also ask that you issue a formal apology to any customers who may have been harmed by the application of your current policy referenced above for the harm caused to them by any Apple employees.”
If Apple is doing this, then this is racial profiling. Plain and simple. This is problematic as I didn’t think that Apple is that sort of company. I would love to see Apple’s response to this as I think some sort of response would help to clear the air. If they don’t respond…. That would be unfortunate for Apple and suggest that they’re not the company that the public thinks they are.
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This entry was posted on June 26, 2012 at 9:08 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Apple. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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US Based Islamic Group Takes Apple To Task Over Racial Profiling
The Council on American-Islamic Relations along with a number of of Iranian-American and civil liberties organizations called on Apple to train its entire sales staff on the proper application of U.S. sanctions laws targeting Iran. The group sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook with the following:
“We understand that Apple’s official company policy at issue in the abovementioned incidents is almost verbatim taken from the Iranian Transaction Regulations (‘ITR’), specifically 31 C.F.R. [section] 560.204, and is in line with U.S. economic sanctions targeting Iran. However, at issue here is the correct application of that policy by Apple’s employees …
“If the Apple employees’ conduct was based upon the mere fact that the individuals mentioned above were speaking the Farsi/Persian language and Apple’s policy is to deny sales to customers merely based on a foreign language being spoken, this would be at best a gross misinterpretation of the sanctions targeting Iran and a violation of federal law at worst …
“Of additional concern is the inconsistent manner in which Apple is attempting to enforce the embargo law. Is Apple asking all customers about the ultimate destination of its products? Is Apple relying on customers volunteering that information? Is Apple’s policy that customers may purchase whatever items they like as long as they do not mention or imply the destination of the items? That is, is Apple training its retail employees to enforce a policy that inherently requires its employees to determine the nationality of a client in a manner that violates federal civil rights laws? To ensure consistency in enforcement, we ask that Apple adopt standardized practices that would apply to every customer at the time of purchase …
“We therefore ask that you take the necessary steps to properly investigate the incidents reported and train your entire sales staff about the proper application of Apple’s export compliance policy. We also ask that you issue a formal apology to any customers who may have been harmed by the application of your current policy referenced above for the harm caused to them by any Apple employees.”
If Apple is doing this, then this is racial profiling. Plain and simple. This is problematic as I didn’t think that Apple is that sort of company. I would love to see Apple’s response to this as I think some sort of response would help to clear the air. If they don’t respond…. That would be unfortunate for Apple and suggest that they’re not the company that the public thinks they are.
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This entry was posted on June 26, 2012 at 9:08 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Apple. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.