An exclusive meeting between top tech industry CEOs and leading US Republican politicians has taken place on a private island.
If that intro sounds a little James Bond, it’s not quite so exotic. The American Enterprise Institute World Forum is an annual meeting between prominent tech figures and senior members of the US Republican party.
But it’s always a pretty secretive affair. As the Huffington Post notes, the meeting took place on a private island resort off the coast of Georgia (the state, not the country).
Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google co-founder Larry Page, and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk were all said to be in attendance.
Despite the hush-hush nature of the meeting, details of what was discussed have emerged. One of the big talking points was apparently Apple’s battle with the FBI over encryption, with Arkansas senator Tom Cotton said to have fiercely attacked Tim Cook on the matter.
“Cotton was pretty harsh on Cook,” according to an anonymous source in attendance, and “everyone was a little uncomfortable about how hostile Cotton was.”
Related: Apple vs FBI: your questions answered
But it seems the main talking point was Donald Trump. According to political commentator Bill Kristol, also in attendance, “there was much unhappiness about his emergence, a good deal of talk, some of it insightful and thoughtful, about why he’s done so well, and many expressions of hope that he would be defeated.”
What, if anything, the tech chiefs contributed to this political discussion hasn’t been revealed. But we can probably guess what Tim Cook’s stance was.
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What do you think the billionaires where up to? Let us know in the comments below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.