White House won't tell Apple to airdrop in China because it's a private company, but says keeping eye on private Twitter is different
By jdheyes // 2022-12-04
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Once again, the Biden regime is making up the rules as it goes along when it comes to how companies that do not donate to, or side with, the Democratic Party are treated.
On Wednesday, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, a retired U.S. Navy admiral, responded to reports that Apple is limiting its AirDrop file-sharing feature in China by claiming that the Biden regime isn't "in the business of telling private companies how to execute their initiatives."
He went on to then claim that keeping "an eye" on Twitter is a different thing after the White House pledged to do so earlier this week, despite the fact that, obviously, Twitter is a private tech company too.
“Just a question about Twitter," Reuters reporter Andrea Shalal began during a White House press conference on Monday.
"You know, there’s a researcher at Stanford who says that this is a critical moment, really, in terms of ensuring that Twitter does not become a vector for misinformation. I mean, are you concerned about the — you know, Elon Musk says there are more and more subscribers coming online? Are you concerned about that? And what tools do you have? Who is it at the White House that is really keeping track of this?” Shalal asked.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded: “So, look, this is something that we’re certainly keeping an eye on. And, look, we — you know, we have always been very clear and — that when it comes to social media platforms, it is their responsibility to make sure that when it comes to misinformation, when we — when it comes to the hate that we’re seeing, that they take action, that they continue to take action.
“Again, we’re all keeping a close eye on this. We’re all monitoring what’s — what’s currently occurring. And we see — you know, we see it with our own eyes of what you all are reporting and, just for ourselves, what’s happening on Twitter,” she added.
“But again, social media companies have a responsibility to prevent their platforms from being used by any user to incite violence, especially violence directed at individual communities, as we have been seeing. And the President has been very clear on calling that out. He’ll continue to do that. And we’re going to continue to monitor the situation,” she added.
According to Kirby, somehow, watching Twitter is not only different but justified (proving once again that yes, the Chinese communists have a lot on the Biden crime family and more U.S. politicians than we can count).
“Look, in general, and we’ve been clear about this all around the world, we want individual citizens, no matter what government they live under, to be able to communicate freely and openly, transparently and reliably," Kirby told Fox News. "And we’ve made that clear with respect to Iran and we certainly continue to make that clear here with respect to China.
"Apple’s a private company...they have to make decisions and they have to speak for those decisions. But here at the White House, here in the administration, we want to see that individual citizens — whether they’re protesting or not, but in this case, I know that’s the context we’re talking about — are able to communicate freely and openly," Kirby added.
Host Martha MacCallum wouldn't let that go, so she pressed: “But why not say something to Apple? Because we were just told the other day that the White House is keeping an eye on Elon Musk and Twitter. So, why would you say that from the podium…and not call Apple out for helping the Chinese government to suppress their own people’s ability to communicate?”
“Again, I think we’ve been very clear and consistent on this," Kirby fudged. "Certainly, publicly, we’ve been very open about our desires to be able to see citizens communicate. And Apple, if this is a decision that they’re making, then they should have to speak to that. But we’re not — we can’t, and we aren’t in the business of telling private companies how to execute their initiatives.”
“Yeah, but Twitter’s a private company, too. So, why is Twitter getting one treatment and Apple’s getting another is my question?” MacCallum pressed.
Kirby responded: “Well, those are completely two different circumstances. You’re talking about the potential for perhaps foreign investment and involvement in the management of Twitter. That’s a different issue than what we’re talking about here, which is a business decision by Apple with respect to how one of their applications is being utilized.”