CfA's June 11, 2021 Newsletter

Our Recent Work:

• TTP Investigation: Apple’s Uyghur Dilemma Grows: On Tuesday, CfA's Tech Transparency Project (TTP) released a report revealing yet another Apple business partner with suspected links to forced Uyghur labor in China: wind turbine maker Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd. The company, which serves as a partner to Apple in its effort to achieve carbon neutrality, has at least one facility that was in advanced talks to receive a "labor export" from a majority-Uyghur area in Xinjiang more than 500 miles away, a hallmark of China's forced labor campaign. (Press Release, Report)
  • Over the past year, Apple has been facing increasing scrutiny over Chinese suppliers tied to the use of Uyghur forced labor, including multiple cases documented by TTP. TTP's latest investigation into Goldwind further illuminates Apple's continuing failure to properly vet its business partners. 
  • The report was covered by Buzzfeed News and elicited responses from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

• CfA Files IRS Complaint Against Nonprofit Behind News-For-Hire Scheme: On Thursday, CfA filed a complaint requesting that the IRS investigate possible tax code violations by the non-profit Renew American Prosperity (RAP) for insider dealing with an affiliated for-profit company, the public relations firm Tigercomm, LLC. (Press Release, Complaint)
  • In addition to the IRS complaint, CfA also filed a complaint with the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General. That complaint alleges RAP’s board, which appears never to have met, has failed to meet its fiduciary obligations to provide governance oversight to the organization.

• TTP Investigation: Human Smuggling Rampant on Facebook: On Thursday, TTP published a report revealing the ongoing presence of human smuggling activity on Facebook that is contributing to the increase in crossings at the U.S. southern border. (Press Release, Report)
  • TTP first noted the presence of human smugglers on Facebook in an April report. Following that investigation, Facebook reached out to TTP to request a list of the pages and groups, which TTP provided. A month later, however, nearly half of the pages remained active on the platform. Further TTP research has uncovered dozens of additional Facebook pages and multiple Facebook groups—with tens of thousands of members—where border crossing services are sold.
  • TTP's report was covered extensively in a story by NBC News and during segments on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and The TODAY Show.

What We're Reading:

• Texas Bar Association Probing Attorney General's Effort to Overturn 2020 Election: "The Texas bar association is investigating state Attorney General Ken Paxton to determine whether he committed professional misconduct in his failed effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The State Bar of Texas will reconsider whether Paxton made false or misleading statements to a court or filed a frivolous lawsuit when he contested the election results of four other states, claiming that President Donald Trump lost because of fraud." (Washington Post, June 10)

• Democrats Circulate Draft Antitrust Bills That Could Reshape Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google:  "A group of House Democrats is circulating discussion drafts of antitrust bills that would force the biggest tech companies to change parts of their business models and curtail large acquisitions." (CNBC, June 9)

• Adam Schiff calls for investigation after report of his phone records being seized by Trump DOJ: "Rep. Adam Schiff, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, called for an inspector general investigation of the Trump Justice Department on Thursday after a report said that his phone records, along with those of aides and another member of the committee, had been seized — what he condemned as a 'terrible abuse of power.' The New York Times, citing knowledgeable sources, reported on Thursday night that as the Department of Justice hunted for leakers behind the distribution of classified information early in the Trump administration, prosecutors — in an extraordinary move — subpoenaed Apple for communications data of at least two Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, as well as that of aides and a family member. One was a child." (Politico, June 10)

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