Apple asks employees to speak up, while Twitter issues an ultimatum to its staff

Let's take a look at how tech giants feel about employees speaking publicly about their work conditions. So, in 2021, Apple was accused of stopping a departed employee from discussing why she left the company using strict non-disclosure agreements (NDA). Soon after, US officials also called for an investigation on Apple to see if it used NDAs to silence mistreated employees.

In October, Twitter CEO Elon Musk took over the company with US$44 billion, and it's already facing a few lawsuits from Twitter's ex-employees. They're accusing the company of unfair practices, including gender and disability discrimination.

But, on Sunday, Apple came out to say staff have the right to speak freely about workplace conditions, including discrimination and abuse. Also, Apple emphasized that it has reviewed its NDA language surrounding employees' discussions on the workplace environment and removed those concealment clauses.

Meanwhile, there have been reports that Musk has threatened to sue whoever is leaking information to the press and said employees had until 5 p.m. on Saturday to sign a pledge to show understanding. Ironically, someone leaked the email of Musk telling his staff not to leak information to the press – to the press. Zoë Schiffer of Platformer tweeted out parts of the email, bringing into question the company's stance on workplace transparency.

Key comments:

"NEW: Elon Musk is threatening to sue Twitter employees who leak confidential information to the press. He's asking staffers to sign a pledge indicating they've understood. Here's the email," tweeted Zoë Schiffer, a journalist at Platformer.  

"As evidenced by the many detailed leaks of confidential Twitter information, a few people at our company continue to act in a manner contrary to the company's interests and in violation of their NDA," reads the leaked Twitter email.

"Twitter is both a social media company and a crime scene," said Twitter CEO Elon Musk.

"We are thrilled to share that Apple has released their report & is ending use of concealment clauses in employee contracts, both domestically & for international workers. Contract employees too! This is ground breaking shift for the tech industry," said Nia Impact Capital on Twitter.