Tim Cook calls Apple’s privacy features a ‘fundamental human right’

By

Privacy
Privacy is baked into everything Apple does.
Photo: Privacy

In a new video aimed at the European market, Apple CEO Tim Cook talks about how “privacy is a fundamental human right” that his company works hard to embed into every new product it makes. The six-minute video comprises various clips from Apple’s recent Worldwide Developers Conference related to the topic of privacy. Cook also recorded new bookends in which he shares some of his own thoughts.

Check it out below.

The video discusses a number of Apple privacy initiatives. These include App Tracking Transparency, privacy nutrition labels, Mail Privacy Protection, iCloud Private Relay and more.

“At Apple, we believe privacy is a fundamental human right,” Cook says. “We work relentlessly to build it into everything we make. It’s fundamental to how we design and engineer every product and service we put into the world. While others are focused on making customers the product, collecting ever-growing amounts of personal information, we’ve kept the lens focused on how technology can work for people. And that’s meant introducing countless features that give users transparency and choice over how their data is collected used and shared.”

Cook name-checked features like App Tracking Transparency, “which gives users more information, more choice and greater transparency about how their data is used.

And he also pointed out that privacy is an international concern.

“We know privacy is a priority for our users in Europe and around the world,” Cook said. “It’s why we’re always striving to set a higher bar, with new tools that put people in the driver’s seat when it comes to managing their own data.”

Europe is big on privacy

Apple regularly makes localized ads and product spots for different markets. However, it’s rare that Cook is in one of these videos addressing one portion of the Apple customer base. It’s not clear exactly why Apple decided to launch what seems like a fairly universal message targeted at only the European market.

One explanation is that privacy concerns are particularly widespread in Europe. Europe’s GDPR data-protection guidelines are some of the strongest in the world. Europe is also currently investigating Apple regarding a couple of antitrust concerns. This could be a way of drumming up goodwill by showcasing how Apple safeguards European users.

What do you think of Apple’s focus on privacy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.