Apple shareholders are preparing to vote on a proposal critical of the company's previous decision to remove VPN apps from the App Store at the request of the Chinese government. The proposal is just one of six that will be voted on at the company's annual shareholder meeting at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. Shareholders are also asking Apple to indicate whether it has "publicly committed to respecting free speech as a human right." The Free Speech proposal addresses the company's 2017 decision to remove VPN apps from its App Store in China. VPNs allow users to bypass the great Chinese firewall to access information and sites that are banned by the country's government.
Freedom of expression
Apple is against the proposal because the company says it is already providing detailed information about when it is removing apps at the request of governments. The iPhone maker also noted that it follows the laws of the countries where it operates. In opposition, Apple argued that leaving these markets would harm consumers, saying: "While we may sometimes disagree with certain decisions, we do not believe it is in our users' best interests to simply leave the markets, which would leave consumers with fewer options and fewer privacy protections." Opposing its shareholders' free speech proposal, Apple notes that it could decide to remove VPN apps from its Chinese app store again and that this decision could even come sooner rather than later as the Chinese government continues to take action. strong against VPNs.- Check out our full list of the best VPN services