Apple CEO Tim Cook: 'Privacy is a Fundamental Human Right'

[Drfter]

Oh god please no, we dom’t want Another Windows. macOS is fat and stable thanks to the software and hardware is made by the same company

The hardware is not made by apple, sorry to break that to you. Also this only works if that is true, I can't even run fortnite on a mac pro one of the most powerful macs they sell. But in the keynote they are all about that metal integration in iOS, notice how they ignore OSx convienently at that point. They have billions and could care less about open cl or open gl, go to any 3D forum and you will see how broken apple is right now. I can only assume you use apple to browse the web some of us want to use it for more then that.

 

[robjulo]

Since when is supreme hypocrisy a “good principle”?

I like Tim Cook both as a CEO and person and I don’t care what anyone at MacRumors has to say about it. He’s not perfect but has good principles and is smarter than most anyone here.

 

[pika2000]

Does Tim Cook believe access to technology and the internet, is a Fundamental Human Right?
He often takes swipes at Google et. al. for their privacy while running a company that make tech for only the wealthy of the world.

Huh? WTF are you even talking about. Apple is not in the ISP business. Go complain to your ISP/wireless carriers.

 

[Macneck]

He doesn't consider his sexuality to be political, in the same way that you don't consider yours to be.

Hehehe!! In that case he would do well in keeping his sexuality for his private life, like most of us do. Mr. Cook is the CEO of one of the most famous companies worldwide, not just another John Doe giving a speech in a park. Anything he says has a huge impact in the media worldwide. He knows it and sure you know it too. Besides, what he considers, only he knows.

 

[pika2000]

I don't see Tim Cook as a political person. Maybe relative to Jobs but I'd rather have Cook's advocacy than Jobs'. Things that he's spoken out about are largely about values important to Apple and things that I think most people agree about. Climate change, DACA, privacy, gay rights, etc. I'd rather have someone of his importance defending these important issues than ignoring them. I agree that he would not do well in the political arena though, I think that's more of what he's saying.

This. People forgot that Apple is a huge company now, and being the CEO of one, you have to be diplomatic in the world of media looking for only headline quotes, and Cook has done a pretty good job compared to Jobs.

 

[Breaking Good]

Does Tim Cook believe access to technology and the internet, is a Fundamental Human Right?

No, he doesn’t, because they are not fundamental human rights. It is, however, good government policy for an industrialized nation to provide its citizenry with access to education. But this can, and is, being accomplished in less expensive ways than providing every student with a MacBook or iPad.

 

[pika2000]

Hehehe!! In that case he would do well in keeping his sexuality for his private life, like most of us do. Mr. Cook is the CEO of one of the most famous companies worldwide, not just another John Doe giving a speech in a park. Anything he says has a huge impact in the media worldwide. He knows it and sure you know it too. Besides, what he considers, only he knows.

Since when Tim Cook says anything about his sexuality in company events? Plenty of other companies also support gay pride through products. Just because he happened to be gay doesn’t mean the company he’s running should be forbidden from supporting gay pride.
[doublepost=1528193568][/doublepost]

No, he doesn’t, because they are not fundamental human rights. It is, however, good government policy for an industrialized nation to provide its citizenry with access to education. But this can, and is, being accomplished in less expensive ways than providing every student with a MacBook or iPad.

How is selling cheap products like the Chinese companies equal to providing education to citizens?

 

[mixel]

I am not political.
Launched homosexual pride watch bands/faces.

In a sensible country that wouldn’t be considered political at all.

 

[Macneck]

Since when Tim Cook says anything about his sexuality in company events? Plenty of other companies also support gay pride through products. Just because he happened to be gay doesn’t mean the company he’s running should be forbidden from supporting gay pride.

1. I don't think we are talking here specifically about Apple events like the WWDC, but in general: interviews and any other public statement.

2. Not few will consider, among other stuff, the Apple watch gay band as an Apple political statement supporting the gay comunity, which obviously is in itself neither good not bad, but just a political statement directly related to the sexual preference of Apple's CEO. They are as free to do it as we are to discuss it. Even to disagree.

3. Sure other companies support different causes, mostly as a commercial strategy. Of course they are free to do it, as well as Apple is free to support whatever cause they want. However this forum is about Apple and we normally don't discuss about other companies. We talk about Apple here.

4. The fellow can be gay or watever he wants. I 100% support his freedom to live his life as he wants. I honestly don't care. I just wish people could keep their sexual preferences to their private lives and away from technology.

5. The same applies to pink unicorns.

 

[Kabeyun]

I'm sorry. But I do not believe a CEO on his blue eyes. In these kind of situations they respond in a way that it won't hurt their company. Do you believe statements given by Mark Zuckerberg?

I sure as hell believe his quotes in this BI article. You can’t find any like that from Cook, not because he’s more careful but because he’s more consistent. Cook’s company makes its money selling gadgets; Zuckerberg’s company makes its money selling you. I’ll trust Apple over Facebook every day and twice on Sunday. While you’re right that you should maintain a critical ear toward public statements in general, it’s distortionist to suggest that every public figure has the same level of integrity. False equivalencies are hallmarks of weak arguments.

Let independent researchers figure out what they did with the data.

Agreed.

 

[I7guy]

Don't accept money from them and make DuckDuckGo the default search engine if they care so much for customer privacy. Switch back to Bing for Siri. Of course don't remove the option to set these to Google.
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He is a classic hypocrite.

Nope. No reason for Apple not to accept money. My default search engine is not google. Apple should be able to capitalize on a popular platform without sacrificing their core values. You’re giving your data away, not apple.

 

[-BigMac-]

I like Tim Cook both as a CEO and person and I don’t care what anyone at MacRumors has to say about it. He’s not perfect but has good principles and is smarter than most anyone here.

"smarter than most anyone here" yesn't

 

[TroyBoy30]

I'm not political.

you sure had us fooled

 

[gwaizai]

That's wonderful, Tim, thanks. How about another fundamental human right?

The right for humane working conditions, not brutal dehumanizing treatment making iPhones 18 hours a day, salary withheld for months during prelaunch production. The only way to quit is to jump. Foxconn suicide nets ring any SJW bells?

Apple, Inc, world's most favorable company saved by nylon mesh.

 

[I7guy]

That's wonderful, Tim, thanks. How about another fundamental human right?

The right for humane working conditions, not brutal dehumanizing treatment making iPhones 18 hours a day, salary withheld for months during prelaunch production. The only way to quit is to jump. Foxconn suicide nets ring any SJW bells?

Apple, Inc, world's most favorable company saved by nylon mesh.

You do understand Apple outsources it’s iPhone manufacturing starting from Jobs. And Apple does demand responsibility from its’ manufacturing partners.

 

[nwcs]

Being a CEO means you’re in a political job. In fact, most of what you end up doing is political. It’s one reason why so many CEOs and similar end up deciding to try to run for office. Of course, it depends on if their motivation is derived from power rather than money.

 

[Bestevaer]

I sure as hell believe his quotes in this BI article. You can’t find any like that from Cook, not because he’s more careful but because he’s more consistent. Cook’s company makes its money selling gadgets; Zuckerberg’s company makes its money selling you. I’ll trust Apple over Facebook every day and twice on Sunday. While you’re right that you should maintain a critical ear toward public statements in general, it’s distortionist to suggest that every public figure has the same level of integrity. False equivalencies are hallmarks of weak arguments.


Agreed.

He is not integer... Since he chose business in China (by handing over the keys of the Apple servers to the Chinese government) over privacy or the right of Chinese citizens...

He is integer when it it suits Apple. Until it doesn't.

 

[I7guy]

He is not integer... Since he chose business in China (by handing over the keys of the Apple servers to the Chinese government) over privacy or the right of Chinese citizens...

He is integer when it it suits Apple. Until it doesn't.

So to make you feel whole about this, Apple should just close up shop in China? (Or be expelled) Or is under an obligation to follow the country's laws it is doing business in?

 

[simonmet]

Don't accept money from them and make DuckDuckGo the default search engine if they care so much for customer privacy. Switch back to Bing for Siri. Of course don't remove the option to set these to Google.
[doublepost=1528178539][/doublepost]
He is a classic hypocrite.

I agree. Apple is happy to take money from Google to be the default search provider while claiming they care about privacy. If that’s not hypocritical I don’t know what is. DuckDuckGo has improved greatly and if Apple stood behind their rhetoric and switched to it as the default search provider it could almost match Google very quickly. Whatever happened to Jobs’ thermonuclear war?

Apple has taken a few positive steps, but the fact is they ship their devices with most of the privacy settings disabled by default.

 

[Marekul]

This guy is truly pathetic. Just sold out millions of Chinese to their fascist governmen. It’s a human right, except in China or when it hurts the bottom line eh...

 

[Inkling]

Does Tim Cook really believe that privacy is a fundamental human right? No, not at all. If he did he'd be bringing at end to to Apple policy of pouring billions of dollars into the economy of China's repressive, one-party dictatorship—one that has no respect for the privacy of its citizens.

Here is what Freedom House has to say:

"China’s authoritarian regime has become increasingly repressive in recent years. The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is tightening its control over the media, online speech, religious groups, and civil society associations while undermining already modest rule-of-law reforms. The CCP leader and state president, Xi Jinping, is consolidating personal power to a degree not seen in China for decades. The country’s budding civil society and human rights movements have struggled amid a multiyear crackdown, but continue to seek avenues for protecting basic rights and sharing uncensored information, at times scoring minor victories....

• Internet censorship and surveillance reached new heights as a Cybersecurity Law came into effect in June, alongside other new regulations restricting online communications.

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/china​

At the very least, Tim Cook should remove that "Designed in California. Assembled in China" logo from iPhones. If you want a parallel, imagine it's 1938 and Apple is a radio company based in New York. That Apple Radio would be proudly claiming on their products, "Designed in New York. Assembled in Germany." Yes, Nazi Germany. For Germany's Gestapo, merely substitute China's Guabao. The only difference is that the latter spies on far more people and uses more sophisticated technology to do so.

Deeds speak louder than words and the deeds of Tim Cook and Apple make clear that, when there's money to be made, they care not about privacy or, indeed, any other basic human right. The company is quite willing to pour billions into the economy of one of the most repressive regimes on the planet. It even brags about that on every iPhone it sells. Pitiful!

 

[mossy]

This guy is truly pathetic. Just sold out millions of Chinese to their fascist governmen. It’s a human right, except in China or when it hurts the bottom line eh...

OPEN A HISTORY BOOK!!!!

 

[RickInHouston]

Oh, no - the Privacy Card. What did Timmy do now?

 

[Radon87000]

Nope. No reason for Apple not to accept money. My default search engine is not google. Apple should be able to capitalize on a popular platform without sacrificing their core values. You’re giving your data away, not apple.

So hypothetically if Uber paid Apple to allow fingerprinting of iOS devices and there was an option in settings to turn it off, you would be okay with it?

The average user never changes the default search which is the main reason Google pays Apple.

 

[BootsWalking]

Something tells me you don’t know what hypocrisy means.

"a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not : behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel"

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypocrisy

Cook claims privacy is a fundamental human right, yet his company gets paid $1B/year to use the default search engine from a company who by his own statements has a business policy built on violating privacy.

"Cook lost no time in directing comments at companies (obviously, though not explicitly) like Facebook and Google, which rely on advertising to users based on the data they collect from them for a portion, if not a majority, of their income:

"I’m speaking to you from Silicon Valley, where some of the most prominent and successful companies have built their businesses by lulling their customers into complacency about their personal information," said Cook. "They’re gobbling up everything they can learn about you and trying to monetize it. We think that’s wrong. And it’s not the kind of company that Apple wants to be."

https://techcrunch.com/2015/06/02/apples-tim-cook-delivers-blistering-speech-on-encryption-privacy/

So which part of hypocrisy am I misunderstanding exactly?