Apple Shares Tim Cook's Recent Speech on Apple's Commitment to Privacy

Apple CEO Tim Cook last week spoke at the virtual Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection conference, where he highlighted Apple's commitment to user privacy and condemned the data-hungry business models of companies like Facebook.

Apple today shared Cook's full 12-minute speech on its YouTube channel for those who missed the initial release.

On January 28, 2021, Apple CEO ‌Tim Cook‌ delivered remarks at Computers, Privacy & Data Protection Conference: Enforcing Rights in a Changing World. The virtual conference -- hosted annually in Brussels, Belgium -- is one of the foremost international privacy and technology conferences bringing together leaders from academia, government, civil society and the private sector. Learn more about the features and controls Apple provides users to safeguard their privacy at http://www.apple.com/privacy​.

Cook's speech didn't mention Facebook by name, but his comments on disinformation and conspiracy theories being "juiced by algorithms" were clearly directed at the company.

"At a moment of rampant disinformation and conspiracy theories juiced by algorithms, we can no longer turn a blind eye to a theory of technology that says all engagement is good engagement -- the longer the better -- and all with the goal of collecting as much data as possible. It is long past time to stop pretending that this approach doesn't come with a cost -- of polarization, of lost trust and, yes, of violence."

Cook also used his speech to highlight new Apple privacy initiatives including App Store privacy labels and the App Tracking Transparency rules that will be enforced following the launch of iOS 14.5. Our original article also has a full transcript of Cook's comments for those who would prefer to read what he said rather than watch the video.