Banning Alex Jones not coordinated by tech firms: Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that the decision to remove the "Infowars" podcasts by US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones from App Store was not part of a coordinated attempt by multiple Silicon Valley companies to de-platform Jones and deny him a voice, the media reported.

"I've never even had a conversation about Alex Jones with any other tech companies," The Verge quoted Cook as saying in an interview with Vice News Tonight on Tuesday.

Several tech giants including Google-owned YouTube, Apple, Facebook, Spotify and Twitter have either removed or restricted Jones' activities on their platforms for promoting hate speech.

"We make our decisions independently and I think that's important. Honestly. I've had no conversation. And to my knowledge, no one at Apple has," Cook added.

Jones is a controversial American radio show host who runs the website Infowars.com that is devoted to conspiracy theories and content containing abusive language to describe people who are transgenders, Muslims and immigrants.

--IANS

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