Some of the world’s biggest tech companies join the fight against US President Donald Trump’s travel ban
Some of the world’s biggest tech groups have officially joined the fight against US President Donald Trump’s travel ban on nationals from certain Muslim-majority countries.
Apple, Microsoft, Google and Facebook are among 97 companies to file an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief, making clear their support for efforts to stop the travel ban.
The brief says the President’s executive order offends “principles of fairness and predictability” and therefore “inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation, and growth as a result”.
Tech companies have been among the most vocal critics of the ban, despite some of the leaders of the companies, including Apple chief executive Tim Cook, having publicly met with Trump.
Trump’s executive order banning nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries – Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Libya – sparked a wave of protests across America and around the world.
A flurry of court rulings have left the ban in limbo, after it was ruled as unconstitutional by a Seattle court. The tech companies are aligning themselves against the ban in court, although they will not be involved in the litigation.
Other prominent firms to join the action are Airbnb, Asana, Box, Dropbox, eBay, GoPro, Intel, LinkedIn, Snap, Netflix, Wikipedia and Uber.
Trump earlier told followers to blame the judge who ruled his order unconstitutional for future terrorist atrocities. He said: “If something happens blame him and court system.”
Over the weekend Trump repeatedly criticised the judge who ruled against his ban over Twitter, saying he was “opening up our country to potential terrorists” and putting the country in “such peril”.
Source: CITYA.M.
