Activists want you to boycott Apple over NRA app

By

NRA app
Celebrities and activists want Apple to ditch its NRA apps.
Photo: NRA

Apple is one of three companies, including Amazon and FedEx, named in a celebrity and activist boycott of companies with supposed ties to the National Rifle Association (NRA).

If you’re wondering about what possibly links the typically progressive Apple could have with the more conservative NRA, it’s apparently related to Apple’s silence over whether it will remove the NRAtv streaming TV station.

That same criticism is also being made of Amazon, while FedEx is criticized for continuing its discount program for NRA members. The protestors argue that both things contribute to gun violence in the United States.

Boycotting Apple

The activists — which includes celebrities Alyssa Milano and Debra Messing — are calling for a 24-hour boycott of the companies in order to make their point. They also want Apple and Amazon to drop NRAtv. Daniel Reed, father of a Parkland shooting survivor, is involved with a petition asking Amazon to drop NRAtv. It has passed its goal of 200,000 signatures, and will now be forwarded to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

A tweet from actress Alyssa Milano, announcing the boycott, was meanwhile retweeted more than 6,000 times in just a few hours. Apple has yet to publicly respond to the complaints.

With the exception of offering NRAtv on its platform, Apple seems to have not been previously linked with the NRA in any significant way. Several years ago, following a tragic school shooting in Connecticut, there was a minor short-term controversy when the NRA launched a new shooting game in the App Store — with the somewhat suspect age restriction of four and up.

Do you think Apple should ditch the app as requested? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Business Insider

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.