Tim Cook, Zuckerberg and 12 other tech bosses oppose the “Bathroom bill” in a letter to Texas’ Governor

The piece of legislation that is currently in the legal pipeline in Texas, more famous as the “Bathroom bill”, has received strong opposition from the heads of the top 14 tech companies in the country. The CEOs of Google, Amazon, Apple and others expressed their concern over the potential enactment of a ‘discriminatory legislation’ in a letter, addressed to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, dated May 27th.

The bill seeks to regulate the access of transgender people to restrooms in the state, obliging them to use the baths designated for the gender they have on their birth certificates. The legislative machine entered a deadlock last Friday, when Republicans and Conservatives could not reach an agreement over the bill’s future. Statements of condemnation for the legislation from the NBA and NFL, and pressure from LGBT groups, have made the bill’s passage a particularly difficult one for the Conservative party.

In their letter, the country’s top tech leaders suggest that the enactment of the bill would “tarnish Texas’ reputation as open and friendly to businesses and families”. The CEOs make an argument that the law would ultimately drive talent and economy away from Texas, for such legislation is “wrong” and “has no place in Texas or anywhere in the country”. We kind of see their point, judging by what happened in North Carolina, after the successful passage of a similar piece of law – state-wide outcries and billion-dollar-worth boycotts from businesses.

The instant letter urges Texas’ legislature not to pursue legislation of this kind, but a similar letter to North Carolina’s Governor last year, again issued by tech giants, did little to stop the bill there. We are still to see whether Tim Cook and the others who signed the bill will be able to exert their influence on this occasion.