Reuters-US lawmakers question Apple over Jon Stewarts China content
November 15, 2023 2 min 417 words
这则报道引发了对言论自由和公司自主权的关切。美国国会议员质疑苹果公司取消乔恩·斯图尔特政治喜剧节目的原因，指称与中国有关的内容可能是终止节目的背后原因。这显示了中国在国际企业中的影响力，引发了对公司是否受到外部压力的质疑。国会要求苹果解释此事，强调公司在制定内容审查标准时应保持独立性。此时，美中关系的紧张氛围更加显著，国内外都在密切关注。这一事件凸显了在全球化背景下，跨国公司在言论自由和商业利益之间面临的复杂抉择，也促使人们反思在全球舞台上如何平衡各方利益。
U.S. lawmakers asked Apple Inc to explain the abrupt end of political comedian Jon Stewart's television show on its streaming service, according to a letter made public on Wednesday, citing concerns that content related to China was behind the cancellation.
The New York Times reported last month that Stewart's show on Apple's streaming service was ending, the result of creative differences. The newspaper said Stewart told members of his staff that potential show topics related to China and artificial intelligence were causing concern to Apple executives.
Apple (AAPL.O) declined comment to the Times.
"While companies have the right to determine what content is appropriate for their streaming service, the coercive tactics of a foreign power should not be directly or indirectly influencing these determinations," the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House of Representatives' Select Committee on Competition with the Chinese Communist Party said in the letter to Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook.
The letter asked representatives of Apple for a briefing on its concerns by Dec. 15, 2023. And said it also exected to speak with representatives of Stewart.
"To reassure the creative community in light of these reports, we also respectfully request that Apple publicly commit that content that could be perceived as critical of the CCP or the PRC is welcome on Apple TV+ and other Apple services," said the letter, signed by the panel's Republican chairperson, Representative Michael Gallagher, and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the panel's ranking Democrat.
The letter was released ahead of a dinner expected on Wednesday night at which top U.S. business leaders were to dine with Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco as he seeks to court American companies and counter his country's recent struggles to entice foreign investment.
The dinner on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum would follow a day of talks between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden, aimed at stabilizing fraught ties between the world's two largest economies.
The House committee has made China's controls on media a focus of its work.
U.S. lawmakers have long expressed concerns about potential Chinese government censorship given the ruling Communist Party’s strict media controls. The concern is particularly acute for Hollywood films, as some studios have altered or self-censored scripts to appease Chinese government minders and gain access to the country’s market.