Apple CEO Tim Cook's Trip To Washington Is The First Test Of Techhostile House GOP
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Apple CEO Tim Cook is the first major tech leader to take the temperature of a tech-hostile Republican House, meeting with several Republican leaders in Washington this week.
The quiet meeting will give the first indication of how lawmakers plan to run the tech giant. In the center of the scene is Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who will chair the House Judiciary Committee and may oversee the antitrust debate over Apple and Amazon's App Store, among other issues.
Cook's relationship goals were complicated after Twitter CEO Elon Musk said that when Apple threatened to pull the platform from the App Store earlier this week, Republicans and many Democrats would step in.
Musk confirmed in a tweet Wednesday night that everything was fine, but shared a video from inside Apple's headquarters in California.
"Thank you Tim Cook for bringing me closer to the beautiful Apple center," he wrote. "Great conversation. Among other things, we've cleared up misconceptions about Twitter being removed from the App Store. The team is clear that Apple would never consider doing this."
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© REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during the Anti-Defamation League's Never is Now Summit in New York, New York, U.S., December 3, 2018.Read the Fox Business app
The news was a bullet that Cook dodged, and Jordan agreed with Sean Hannity on Fox News Wednesday night that it was "good news" that Twitter would remain in the market.
In a meeting with Jordan this week, Cook had no doubts about that, as the Judiciary Committee has played an important role in antitrust cases related to the App Store, and Jordan is one of the nation's most vocal lawmakers when it comes to Big Tech. . prejudice against conservatives.
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Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is also scheduled to meet with Cook. The committee also plays an important role in technical supervision.
Cook and Apple were followed by other Republicans earlier this week before Musk announced they had reconciled.
"This is why we must end the App Store duopoly by the end of this year," the representative wrote. Ken Buck, Republican of Colorado. "Nobody should have that kind of market power."
© Graeme Jennings/Pool via REUTERS Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) addresses the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative, Business and Antitrust Law during a hearing on "Internet Platforms and Market Forces" in the Rayburn House offices on Capitol Hill . Hill in Washington on July 29, 2020. Graeme Jennings/Pool via REUTERSEven Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis asked Congress earlier this week to take action against Apple if they remove Twitter from the App Store.
However, Cook is no stranger to being the first tech leader to face criticism from the Republican Party. It took similar action in 2016 when former President Donald Trump criticized Apple for sending its manufacturing overseas.
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Cook flew to Washington to meet Trump in person for the peace talks and has kept in touch throughout Trump's presidency.
"That's why he's a great executive," Trump later said of Cook in 2019. "Because he calls me and others don't."
© Getty Images | istock Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday that he will take over as the company prepares to lay off workers. Getty Images | isstock:But it's unclear whether Cook's charm will be enough to win over House Republicans, and questions of no confidence are just one facet of Republican hostility to his industry. The group has focused on censorship and prejudice against conservative views for years.
Jordan and 34 of his fellow Republicans sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg warning of an imminent investigation into how Facebook handled data that could damage President Biden's 2020 campaign, specifically Hunter Biden's laptop .
The letter is an opportunity for Meta, a sign that Jordan and other Republican leaders should expect more from the letter after they win the presidential election and the judicial power that comes with it in January.