Shareholder Proposal on Human Rights Committee

Resolved: shareholders recommend that Apple Inc. establish a Human Rights Committee to review, assess, disclose, and make recommendations to enhance Apple’s policy and practice on human rights. The board of directors is recommended, in its discretion and consistent with applicable laws to: (1) adopt Apple Human Rights Principles, (2) designate the members of the committee, including outside independent human rights experts as advisors, (3) provide the committee with sufficient funds for operating expenses, (4) adopt a charter to specify the functions of the committee, (5) empower the committee to solicit public input and to issue periodic reports to shareholders and the public on the committee’s activities, findings and recommendations, and (6) adopt any other measures.

Supporting Statement

There have been too many negative reports on Apple’s human rights policy and practice, mostly related to Apple’s operation in China for many years. For example, recently, the New York Times reported “Apple Removes Apps From China Store That Help Internet Users Evade Censorship” on July 29, 2017; the Wall Street Journal reported “Get Used to Apple Bowing Down to Chinese Censors” on August 7, 2017. Furthermore, Apple is building its first China-based data center, and “the new agreement goes one step further with a Chinese partner responsible for running its data center, managing the sales of its services in the country and handling legal requests for data from the government.” (New York Times, July 12, 2017)

On human rights policy and practice, we have the best case (see my proposal to Google 2010 shareholders meeting) and the worst case (see my proposals to Yahoo 2011 and 2013 shareholders meetings, to Verizon 2017 shareholders meeting and to Yahoo/Altaba 2017 shareholders meeting http://cpri.tripod.com/cpr2017/altaba-statement.pdf on the abuses of the so-called “Yahoo Human Rights Fund” against human rights) here in Silicon Valley.  Apple should not fail as Yahoo.