Only one out of 9 major tech firms refuses to build Trump's Muslim registry

Only Twitter refused to be a part of Trump's plan to build a Muslim registry

Twitter alone says it will refuse to help Trump administration build a Muslim registry out of nine major tech firms.

Results from an interview conducted by The Intercept showed that the remaining eight either didn’t reply or took no position in their response.

Nine American tech companies were contacted to find out if they would support or facilitate the Trump administration to build a national Muslim registry. The companies approached by the news outlet are some of the biggest names in the tech industry that include Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Google and IBM among others.

US President-elect Donald Trump made several nonsensical promises during his presidential campaign which include the setting up of a registry for immigrants from Muslim countries and possibly for Muslims in America.



Though the Republican has waffled off most of his campaign promises, a Muslim registry however may still be under consideration as per Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. A member of Trump's transition team, Kobach recently said policy advisers are discussing drafting a proposal for president-elect’s consideration in this regard.



After two weeks of calls and emails, only three out of the nine companies provided an answer. What’s more surprising is only Twitter declined from being a part of Trump's ambitious plans. The social media network mentioned in a blog post that Twitter’s company policy prohibits use of its data for surveillance purposes.

Microsoft on the other hand gave a more diplomatic answer refusing to comment on ‘hypotheticals’ and urged those in the government and the tech sector to strike a balance between privacy and public safety.

All other tech firms in the survey have responded to the questions asked by The Intercept.

The lack of response from some tech firms however isn’t the same as endorsing Trumps proposal though hesitation on part of major pro-piracy advocates does hint to the shifting political landscape.

This article originally appeared on The Intercept