October 14, 2014

An open letter to Apple Inc.

Mr. Tim Cook
CEO, Apple Inc.
1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 996-1010
TCook@apple.com

October 15, 2014

Dear Tim,

On behalf of concerned parents, I’m writing to ask for your help. First, though, I’d like to acknowledge your company’s tremendous success.

You run the most culturally powerful company of all time.

Ok, some might say you’re #2. But it’s clear that you make fantastic, well-known products that have changed the way we work, play, and live.

You run a tight ship. You generate more sales than Google, Amazon, and Facebook combined and your iPhone revenue surpasses Microsoft’s entire business. You’re “wildly profitable” (fiscal 3Q14 results). As the most valuable company in the world, you have unparalleled resources and reach. You’ve amassed 800 million iTunes accounts (with accompanying e-mail and credit card information) and hold over $150 billion in cash.

It’s been an impressive run. Congratulations.

With success and leadership comes responsibility.

Kids are using your devices. A lot.

Three-quarters of all children in the U.S. have access to a mobile device. Most of them are Apple-branded. Forty percent of kids use iPads before they can speak. This data from Common Sense Media Research is over a year old. Babies try to swipe TV screens. iPads dominate in schools (95% of the educational market).

Children use these devices on the go and they are also spending massive amounts of time on them at home. They spend 7.5 hours/day on electronics (2009 data). Kids are increasingly living in mobile-only households that are ditching wired connections and landlines for convenience and economy.

People require WiFi or 3G/4G network access to operate your devices. WiFi penetration is growing rapidly, in our homes, offices, schools, airplanes, airports, and that perfect hot spot your kids love to grab while in the car waiting for the light to turn green.

Cupertino, we have a problem.

RADIATION IS HARMFUL.

Especially to children.

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