Several other lawmakers criticized Cook in 2019 over Apple's decision to remove an app used by pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong from its App Store.[54] They accused Apple of censorship, and co-signed a letter to Cook that read, "Apple's decisions last week to accommodate the Chinese government by taking down HKMaps is deeply concerning. We urge you in the strongest terms to reverse course, to demonstrate that Apple puts values above market access, and to stand with the brave men and women fighting for basic rights and dignity in Hong Kong."[55] Cook explained in an internal letter why the company removed the Hong Kong mapping app used by protesters to coordinate movements.[56]

In 2016, Cook signed a $275 billion deal with Chinese officials.[57] The deal – personally negotiated by Cook – paved the way for increased censorship by Apple in China, for example the removal of Muslim content, preventing users from entering numbers that refer to the date of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, censoring Chinese words like "human rights" or "democracy", and manipulating Apple Maps to support China in the Senkaku Islands dispute by making Chinese-claimed islands appear larger than they actually were.[58][59][60] In August 2021, Cook received an approximate $750 million payout, selling more than five million shares in Apple, ten years after becoming CEO.[61][62]

Public affiliations

During the 2008 election cycle, Cook donated to Barack Obama's first White House election.[68] While it had been reported in early 2011 that Cook was gay,[69][70] at the time, and prior to his October 2014 public statement, Cook chose to keep his personal life private.[71] He did publicly support LGBT rights.[72]

In 2015, Cook said he donated to Democratic senators Chuck Schumer and Patrick Leahy for their stances on e-book pricing and surveillance reform, respectively.[73] During the same election cycle, he hosted a fundraiser for Republican senator Rob Portman.[73] In early March 2016, Cook disclosed that he donated to the election campaign of Democratic representative Zoe Lofgren of California. In early June, Cook hosted a private fundraiser along with then speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan. The event was described by Politico as "a joint fundraising committee aimed at helping to elect other House Republicans".[73]
Cook in 2017

In the 2016 election, Cook raised funds for the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton.[74] At one point, Clinton's campaign considered Cook as a candidate for Vice President.[75] In September 2017 at Bloomberg's Global Business Forum, Cook defended the DACA immigration program. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the direction of Donald Trump's administration, stating: "This is unacceptable. This is not who we are as a country. I am personally shocked that there is even a discussion of this."[76][77]