Apple CEO Tim Cook Writes Letter to U.S. Senate Supporting Strong Privacy Legislation

Apple CEO Tim Cook today wrote a letter to the U.S. Senate advocating for strong privacy legislation at the federal level. The letter appears to be in response to a proposed bipartisan bill titled the "American Data Privacy and Protection Act" that would outline the types of data companies can collect from individuals and how they can use it.

tim cook privacy conference
The letter, obtained by MacRumors, is addressed to Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Frank Pallone (D-NJ), the Chair of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

In the letter, Cook said Apple continues to support efforts at the federal level to establish strong privacy protections for consumers. Cook added that Apple is encouraged by the draft proposals that Senate leaders have produced and reiterated Apple's belief that privacy is a fundamental human right. Cook said that while Apple fights to protect user privacy, "only Congress can provide strong privacy protections for all Americans."

The full text of the letter reads as follows:

Dear Chairs Cantwell and Pallone and Ranking Members Wicker and McMorris Rodgers:

Thank you for your ongoing work on privacy legislation. Apple continues to support efforts at the federal level to establish strong privacy protections for consumers, and we are encouraged by the draft proposals your offices have produced.

We recognize that there are outstanding issues to be resolved, but the areas of agreement appear to far outweigh the differences. Your drafts would provide substantial protections for consumers, and we write to offer our strong support towards achieving this shared goal. With your work, coupled with President Biden's call to better protect children’s privacy, it appears Americans are closer than ever to obtaining meaningful privacy protections.

At Apple, we believe privacy is a fundamental human right. It is why we have consistently advocated for comprehensive privacy legislation and contributed to the process whenever possible. It is also why we've always built products and features that protect users and their information by default. We do this by minimizing the data we collect, processing as much data as possible on a user's device, giving users transparency as to what data is collected and control as to how it is used, and building robust systems to protect user data across all our products and services.

While Apple will continue to innovate and develop new ways to protect user data, only Congress can provide strong privacy protections for all Americans. The continued absence of this important legislation will unfortunately perpetuate a patchwork approach to privacy rights that leaves too many without the rigorous standards we hope to see as a result of your hard work.

We strongly urge you to advance comprehensive privacy legislation as soon as possible, and we stand ready to assist in this process in the days ahead.

Sincerely,
Tim Cook
CEO, Apple

Last month, Apple shared a new ad highlighting iPhone privacy features like App Tracking Transparency and Mail Privacy Protection that are designed to give users more transparency and control when it comes to their personal data being collected.

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Top Rated Comments

nvmls Avatar
13 months ago
Double face Timmey at work, force C-SAM into consumers then write a pretty PR letter.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
antiprotest Avatar
13 months ago
Except for listening to your dictation and Siri requests, wanting to C-SCAM all your photos, not really encrypting your data so that it can be social engineered into releasing your data to fake cops with fake warrants, and a whole bunch of other stuff, Apple is the best on privacy. It certainly talks the loudest about it.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Naraxus Avatar
13 months ago
Except where iOS is concerned.

Then it's "Here's a key to the backdoor."
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
13 months ago
I like the fact that Apple prioritizes privacy and points this out to the federal level. Too many companies out there that just think of your online activity as a way to line their pocketbooks.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
antiprotest Avatar
13 months ago

Except where iOS is concerned.

Then it's "Here's a key to the backdoor."
C-SCAM is a big front door plastered with righteous intentions and virtuous slogans.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
13 months ago
I stand behind this.

[MEDIA=twitter]1527067617671847937[/MEDIA]
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)