Apple's Tim Cook On Taking Down Parler: 'We're always trying to do the right thing'

Apple Inc AAPL CEO Tim Cook has commented about the company’s decision to suspend Parler from its App Store.

What Happened: "We're always trying to do the right thing," Cook said, talking to Fox News host Chris Wallace.  

Answering Wallace’s question about whether or not big tech is restricting speech, Cook said: "We have an App Store that has about 2 million apps in it. And we have terms of service for these apps. We obviously don’t control what’s on the internet, but we’ve never viewed that our platform should be a simple replication of the internet. We have certain rules and regulations, and we just ask that people abide by those.”

When asked whether there could be a balance between free speech and objectionable content, the chief executive said he doesn’t believe there’s a place for violence when it comes to free speech. "We looked at the incitement to violence that was on there, and we don’t consider that free speech and incitement of violence has an intersection," he said.

Apple took down Parler on Jan. 9, a day after sending a warning note to the platform’s executives demanding they provide a moderation plan within 24 hours.

Cook said the company is not banned but rather suspended, and could be allowed back. "If they get their moderation together, they would be back on there,” Cook said during the interview.

Cook and Wallace also discussed Apple's $100 million Racial Equity Initiative, which last week launched an Apple Developer Academy in Detroit.

Why It Matters: Parler, viewed as a far-right social media platform, has come under fire since the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. It has been accused of failing to moderate discussions and plans of the attack. 

Google Inc GOOGL GOOG removed Parler from its Android app store market on Jan. 8.

Image: Screenshot of Fox News interview