13 APRIL 2022 - It does not sound like Apple CEO Tim Cook broke new ground during his IAPP Summit speech on Tuesday, though the points he made are worth considering at the very least. I will confess I’ve yet to see it myself, though Cult of Mac has done a pretty extensive write-up on the presentation.

Saying that “A world without privacy is less imaginative, less empathetic, less innovative. Less human,” Apple’s CEO highlighted three fronts in the privacy fight:

Unfettered data mining
Unchecked data theft
“Regulations that could put our privacy and security at risk.”

That’s not a reference to legislation with privacy as its aim. Cook says Apple supports the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and continues “to call for a strong, comprehensive privacy law in the United States…” The regulations that concern the CEO are the ones that would require iPhone and iPad to be opened to competing app stores and sideloading. Quoting Cook:

These regulations argue that no harm would be done by simply giving people a choice, but taking away a more secure option will leave users with less choice, not more. And when companies decide they want to leave the App Store because they want to exploit user data, it could put significant pressure on people to engage with alternate app stores, where their privacy and security may not be protected.

Quoting Cult of Mac:

Apple “believes in competition,” Cook went on to say. But if Apple were forced to enable third-party app stores on its platform, he added, “the unintended consequences will be profound.”

Cook asked policymakers to “work with us to advance goals I truly believe we share, without undermining privacy in the process.”

As I said, I have not watched his speech yet. Plan to in the next day or two, though. You can see it for yourself below.