Apple slams Trump’s reversal of transgender bathroom ruling

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President Trump: Apple encryption could protect ‘criminal minds’
Apple is clashing with President Trump again.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

Apple has criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to reverse a policy that allowed transgender students to use bathrooms according to the gender they identify as.

The controversial stance on bathroom usage was put in place by former President Barack Obama’s administration last May. At the time, it was hailed as a significant victory for transgender rights.

On Wednesday, the Justice and Education departments reversed the Obama administration’s guidance, which extended Title IX protections to transgender students’ use restrooms and locker rooms.

The new interpretation said the Obama administration’s documents do not “contain extensive legal analysis or explain how the position is consistent with the express language of Title IX, nor did they undergo any formal public process. This interpretation has given rise to significant litigation regarding school restrooms and locker rooms.”

Apple challenged the Trump administration’s stand on the issue.

“Apple believes everyone deserves a chance to thrive in an environment free from stigma and discrimination,” the company said in a statement to Axios. “We support efforts toward greater acceptance, not less, and we strongly believe that transgender students should be treated as equals. We disagree with any effort to limit or rescind their rights and protections.”

Apple clashes with Trump

This isn’t the first time Apple, and Hillary Clinton supporter Tim Cook, has spoken out against Trumps policies. Earlier this month, Apple joined 96 other tech companies signing a legal brief against Trump’s executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries.

While Cook has taken a progressive stance on a number of issues during his time running Apple, his support of LGBT rights has been one of his biggest talking points. In the past he has penned an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal urging Congress to approve a bill designed to “protect workers against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

He has also used the phrase “inclusion inspires innovation” on multiple occasions to link the work Apple is doing to the changing social fabric of America.

Apple also clashed with Trump over the company’s pro-privacy stance during a standoff with the FBI concerning a possible iPhone backdoor, and on whether Apple should manufacture its products in the United States.

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