Apple's Tim Cook yesterday described the Trump administration's new policy of separating children from the parents of asylum speakers and suspected illegal immigrants as 'inhumane' - and the leaders of a long list of other tech companies are expressing similar views.
There were also statements from the CEOs and spokespeople of the following tech compaines:
Airbnb
Apple
eBay
Facebook
Google
HP
Lyft
Microsoft
Mozilla
Postmates
Salesforce
Tesla
Twilio
Twitter
Uber
Yelp
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, for example, echoed Cook’s comment that ‘it needs to stop.’
"We need to stop this policy right now."
Some Microsoft employees have urged the company to end its work with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The company responded:
"Microsoft is not working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection on any projects related to separating children from their families at the border, and contrary to some speculation, we are not aware of Azure or Azure services being used for this purpose. As a company, Microsoft is dismayed by the forcible separation of children from their families at the border […] We urge the administration to change its policy and Congress to pass legislation ensuring children are no longer separated from their families."
Google CEO Sundar Pichai described the policy as ‘gut-wrenching.’
"The stories and images of families being separated at the border are gut-wrenching. Urging our government to work together to find a better, more humane way that is reflective of our values as a nation."
Other statements use terms such as ‘unbearable,’ ‘cruel,’ ‘unjust,’ ‘horrifying,’ ‘merciless’ and ‘immoral and just plain wrong.’ Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson didn’t mince his words.
"The practice of punishing family members is not just morally offensive, it’s also a war crime under the Geneva Accord. We are punishing children for the possibility that their parents have committed a minor crime (a misdemeanor actually), or no crime at all — in the case of amnesty seekers. We are terrorizing people with a horror greater than losing your own life: losing your child."