Tim Cook

Trump Administration Monetizes Political Access Through Exclusive Business Networks

| Importance: 9/10

In 2025, the Trump Administration has established sophisticated mechanisms for business-government coordination, including the American Growth Partnership and the Executive Branch private club. The latter, co-founded by Donald Trump Jr. and charging a $500,000 membership fee, provides wealthy CEOs …

Donald Trump Trump Administration Business Leaders Donald Trump Jr. Tim Cook +3 more kleptocracy trump-administration regulatory-capture business-government-coordination pay-to-play
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DOJ Sues Google for Search Monopoly Through Exclusionary Contracts

| Importance: 10/10

On October 20, 2020, the United States Department of Justice, joined by eleven state Attorneys General, filed a landmark antitrust lawsuit against Google LLC for illegally monopolizing search and search advertising markets. The case represented the federal government’s most significant …

Department of Justice Google Sundar Pichai Apple Tim Cook +3 more google doj antitrust search-monopoly apple-deal +3 more
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Apple Receives Special Tariff Exemptions After CEO Cultivates Trump Relationship

| Importance: 6/10

Cook’s ‘charm offensive’ through multiple dinners and meetings with Trump 2018-2019 secured Apple exemptions from China tariffs on iPhones and core products. Cook dined at Trump Tower, Bedminster golf course, attended White House state dinner, gave Trump Mac Pro plant tour. Apple …

Donald Trump Tim Cook Apple Inc. tariffs favoritism apple corporate-influence crony-capitalism
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FBI Orders Apple to Break iPhone Encryption in San Bernardino Case

| Importance: 9/10

A federal magistrate judge ordered Apple to create special software to bypass security features on an iPhone 5C used by San Bernardino terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook, triggering the most public battle over encryption in U.S. history. The FBI sought to unlock the device after the December 2015 attack …

Apple Tim Cook FBI James Comey Department of Justice encryption privacy-rights tech-resistance apple fbi +2 more
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Apple Announces iOS 8 Encryption Makes iPhones Unlockable Even by Apple

| Importance: 9/10

Apple announced that iOS 8 implements encryption so strong that the company itself cannot unlock iPhones or iPads, even when presented with a valid search warrant. This represented a dramatic escalation in the encryption debate and a direct response to NSA surveillance revelations, fundamentally …

Apple Tim Cook NSA FBI encryption privacy-rights tech-resistance apple nsa-surveillance +1 more
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