14 DAY TRIAL // The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is urging Apple to tweak its policy regarding sales to foreigners, following an incident at one of the company’s Georgia stores where a staffer refused to sell an iPad to an Iranian woman on grounds of speaking Farsi / Persian.
America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, CAIR strives to enhance the understanding of Islam promoting justice and mutual understanding between two substantially different ideologies.
CAIR this week called on Apple after an Apple Store manager cited a policy prohibiting sales to Iran.
Following the aforementioned incident, where the customer eventually walked out the store’s glass doors in tears, an Apple customer service representative told the woman she could buy the iPad online, but not before he apologized for the incident.
There are several “prohibited destinations” against which the U.S. holds complete embargoes, Apple's policy says. Blacklisted territories include Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria.
“The exportation, reexportation, sale or supply, directly or indirectly, from the United States, or by a U.S. person wherever located, of any Apple goods, software, technology (including technical data), or services to any of these countries is strictly prohibited without prior authorization by the U.S. Government,” reads Apple’s Export Compliance.
It adds that “This prohibition also applies to any Apple owned subsidiary or any subsidiary employee worldwide.”
"Apple must revise its policies to ensure that customers do not face discriminatory treatment based on their religion, ethnicity or national origin," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "If the actions of these Apple employees reflected company policy, that policy must be changed and all employees retrained."
The Cupertino, California-based electronics vendor also prohibits certain countries to use its products “in the design, development, production or use of nuclear, missiles, and chemical and biological weapons and technology without proper authorization from the U.S. Government.”
Exceptions include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy (includes San Marino and Holy See), Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.