Tech condemns Trump: Apple, Microsoft, Airbnb oppose separating families at the border | Tech News
Tech leaders are increasingly speaking out against President Trump’s policies.
Alex Wong / Getty Images
Apple CEO Tim Cook calls it “inhumane.” Airbnb co-founders Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk say it’s “immoral.” And Microsoft describes itself as “dismayed.”
They were all reacting to President Donald Trump’s moves to separate members of families that cross US borders illegally. The move has resulted in the US government sending thousands of children to holding camps around the country, images of which have sparked international outrage, even from within Trump’s own party.
On Monday, tech companies began releasing statements condemning the Trump administration’s actions. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Here’s what the companies have said:
Microsoft
Microsoft released a pair of statements after critics raised concerns about a January blog post in which the company wrote it was “proud” to supply tech services to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including its Azure cloud computing service and the ability to use “deep learning capabilities to accelerate facial recognition and identification.”
As a company, Microsoft is dismayed by the forcible separation of children from their families at the border. Family unification has been a fundamental tenant [sic] of American policy and law since the end of World War II. As a company, Microsoft has worked for over 20 years to combine technology with the rule of law to ensure that children who are refugees and immigrants can remain with their parents. We need to continue to build on this noble tradition rather than change course now. We urge the administration to change its policy and Congress to pass legislation ensuring children are no longer separated from their families.
In a second statement, Microsoft added:
Microsoft is not working with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement or US 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.
Airbnb
The three co-founders of the room and house rental service said in a joint statement that “ripping children from the arms of their parents is heartless, cruel, immoral and counter to the American values of belonging.”
Apple
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the Trump administration’s moves were “inhumane” and “need to stop.”
“It’s heartbreaking to see the images and hear the sounds of the kids. Kids are the most vulnerable people in any society. I think that what’s happening is inhumane, it needs to stop,” Cook told the Irish Times.
Cook was in Ireland to open a new office for Apple there. During the interview, he also explained why he’s spoken out so much on issues ranging from gay rights to immigration. “I’m personally a big believer in the way to be a good citizen is to participate, is to try to advocate your point of view, not to just sit on the sideline and yell or complain,” he said.
Box
Box CEO Aaron Levie, who’s an avid Twitter user and often speaks his mind, called the Trump administration’s moves “un-American” and urged the government to address immigration in a “compassionate and scalable” way.
The act of separating families at the border is inhumane and un-American. We cannot let this continue. We need our government to address immigration in a compassionate and scalable way *now*.
— Aaron Levie (@levie) June 19, 2018
Uber
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, himself an immigrant, said the stories coming from the border were heartbreaking. “Families are the backbone of society, ” he tweeted. “A policy that pulls them apart rather than building them up is immoral and just plain wrong.”
As a father, a citizen and an immigrant myself, the stories coming from our border break my heart. Families are the backbone of society. A policy that pulls them apart rather than building them up is immoral and just plain wrong. #KeepFamiliesTogether https://t.co/g2Cu40zvcX
— dara khosrowshahi (@dkhos) June 19, 2018
YouTube
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki also found the stories “hearbreaking” and recommended ways for her nearly 200,000 followers to help.
Regardless of your politics, it’s heartbreaking to see what’s happening to families at the border. Here are some ways you can help: https://t.co/IFVG6g8AKO
— Susan Wojcicki (@SusanWojcicki) June 19, 2018
Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg praised organizations working to provide families at the border with legal and translation services and documenting events there. He also urged people to donate to those groups, including the Texas Civil Rights Project.
Zuckerberg and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, meanwhile, have donated to a Facebook campaign to help reunite children with their parents. More than 121,000 people have contributed nearly $5 million to the Facebook fundraiser, set up Saturday by a Silicon Valley couple.
Twitter / Square
Jack Dorsey, the CEO of both Twitter and the payments company Square, threw his support behind the popular hashtag #KeepFamiliesTogether before asking Twitter users for their suggestions about the “highest impact way to help.”
eBay
The online marketplace’s CEO, Devin Wenig, said he supports border enforcement, but not separating families. “America’s moral and ethical leadership is at stake,” he tweeted.
Enforce the border—-but do not separate families. America’s moral and ethical leadership is at stake. This needs to be fixed now.
— Devin Wenig (@devinwenig) June 19, 2018
Cisco Systems
Chuck Robbins, CEO of networking equipment maker Cisco, called Trump’s policy “cruel.” “We need policies that reflect our values and do what’s right for society,” he tweeted.
Reddit’s cofounder Alexis Ohanian, who stepped down from his daily duties at the social network earlier this year, called a video of the camps given to press by border patrol “propaganda.”
Coursera
Andrew Ng, co-founder of the online education startup Coursera, said he’s “deeply disappointed” by The White House’s policies. “No one wants illegal immigration, but cruelty to children is unethical and we cannot justify it as ‘deterrence,'” he wrote.
I’m deeply disappointed at White House policies that separate children from parents. No one wants illegal immigration, but cruelty to children is unethical and we cannot justify it as “deterrence.” I am a proud immigrant, and have faith in the US to be better than this.
— Andrew Ng (@AndrewYNg) June 19, 2018
SmugMug
Don MacAskill, CEO of the photo storage and sharing service that just bought Flickr, said on Twitter that he typically tries to stay out of politics but that “this is about kids,” adding the hashtag #FamiliesBelongTogether.
Sun Microsystems
Jonathan Schwartz, the former CEO of Sun and current head of the health management app CareZone, publicly asked Dorsey whether the Trump administration’s moves violate Twitter’s policies. Twitter has been criticized by those who say Trump violates its terms of service by harassing other users and using the service to threaten the lives of millions of people.
So @jack, imagine a Twitter user bragging about forcibly caging children, separating them from their parents. Do you think that’d rise to a violation of your terms of service? Where does complicity start? https://t.co/wn5gtWGMxP
— Jonathan Schwartz (@OpenJonathan) June 19, 2018
Zillow
Amy Bohutinsk, COO of the online real estate company Zillow. disagreed with the policy, saying “We are better than this.”
I can’t help thinking that if my dad – who was a 9 yr old immigrant – was separated or lost from his parents, how differently his life and mine would have turned out. We are better than this.
— Amy Bohutinsky (@amybo) June 19, 2018
Originally published June 19 at 11:05 a.m. PT.
Updated at 11:51 a.m. PT: Added statement by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg; 12:15 p.m.: Adds statements from Uber, eBay, Coursera and more; 1:02 p.m.: Adds Zillow COO statement.
Silicon Valley speaking out against Trump: This isn’t the first time tech CEOs have disagreed with the president.
Trump and Silicon Valley: How politics and tech are changing in the age of Trump.
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