After Apple's less-than-stellar report on the 2023 Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index, the American Family Association (AFA) submitted a proposal calling on Apple to conduct an investigation and issue a report to shareholders on how it is protecting the free speech and freedom of religion of its users from government interference.
Rather than allowing its shareholders to vote on the proposal at the 2024 annual meeting, Apple asked permission from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to exclude it from the proxy ballot. However, a letter in early November from attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) encouraged the SEC to allow the vote on the important topic. The SEC agreed.
Following is an excerpt of an audio statement from AFA Vice President Walker Wildmon to Apple:
"We see a troubling pattern of behavior when it comes to biased deplatforming of content. Apple banned the conservative Manhattan Declaration after a publicity campaign by liberal activists on Change.org. Later, Apple banned the conservative LifeSiteNews. Apple threatened to ban Twitter when liberal activists raised concerns about Elon Musk and his view of free speech. In addition, there was the banning of the apps of conservative social networking site Parler and conservative social media company Gab.
"The company claims that it has already provided the transparency we asked for. The SEC disagreed, which is why you hear my voice today."
In a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Wildmon said it is critical to get proposals like this in front of all kinds of major corporations …
"… to ensure that our viewpoint, the Christian conservative worldview, is being protected on these platforms.
"Did you know that Apple has over 1.4 billion users, 1.4 billion owners of iPhones? So, this is very critical that we protect our viewpoint on the Apple devices and on the Apple platforms."
The 2024 Apple shareholder meeting took place Wednesday, Feb. 28, in a virtual format.
Editor's Note: The American Family Association is the parent organization of the American Family News Network, which operates AFN.net.
