Apple CEO Tim Cook visited Washington D.C. in May in order to have an opportunity to meet and greet various political leaders on Capitol Hill. Cook visited Speaker of the House John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Dara Kerr writing for CNET:
This type of intermingling with politicians is something new for Apple — Steve Jobs was known for standoffishness when it came to politics. Of the tech giants, Apple is known for spending the least amount of money on lobbying. During 2012’s first quarter, it spent $500,000 on “political advocacy” while Google spent $5 million.
Cook was unable to visit with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi because she was out of town on an official trip to Afghanistan.
“It was an act of opening up a line of communication,” one aide said, “but it was a first step in what hopefully will be a growing relationship. They didn’t become best buds in one meeting.”
While Cook is making an apparent shift toward politics, it was reported that no serious issues were discussed and the meetings were held with little fanfare. An aide did say the Cook, unlike Jobs, “has a strong personal interest in policy issues and recognizes the role an engaged CEO can play in making a difference on those policy priorities.”
Cook’s meet and greet tour comes at a time when Apple is under scrutiny in Washington for allegedly not paying its “fair share” of taxes, is embroiled in an e-book price fixing lawsuit brought buy the US. Department of Justice, and is undergoing investigations into privacy concerns about smartphone apps that could upload geo-tagged photos in the background along with information from the phone’s address book.
It will be interesting to watch if Apple continues to get cozier with Washington, to see if their recent problems will begin to dissipate. As Apple increases spending on “political advocacy”, (i.e. increases donations to the politicians and their causes), will Washington begin to see Apple as less of a “threat to the free world”?
