Technology companies have eroded users ’trust in the industry, believes Apple CEO Tim Cook, and privacy becomes collateral damage from the functions of products that aren’t thought about carefully enough.
Tim Cook is known to be outspoken when it comes to privacy and refers to it repeatedly as a human right that everyone should have. In an interview Friday, Cook offers that the way tech companies introduce new features has more impact on what it serves and whether it can harm someone’s privacy.
“Technology doesn’t want to be good. It doesn’t want to be bad, it’s neutral,” Cook said in an interview with Australian Financial Review. “And so it’s in the hands of the inventor and the user about whether it’s definitely used or not.”
Using a feature depends on the creativity, empathy, and “passion of the people behind the technology,” according to the CEO. “At Apple, when we do something, we make sure we spend a huge amount of time thinking carefully about how it will be used.”
The comments come at a time when Apple is being attacked by critics of the upcoming CSAM tools, which involves hash scanning. Critics have warned that it is a step towards creating a broader surveillance tool, which Apple has tried to counter with an additional explanation of the system.
“The risk of not doing so means that the technology loses contact with the user. And in such cases, privacy can become collateral damage,” Cook added. “Conspiracy theories or hate speech are starting to drown out everything else. Technology will only work if it is trusted by the people.”
When asked if technology companies have taken advantage of people’s trust, Cook replies, “In some cases, the answer is undeniable that yes. And I think it’s up to us all to rebuild that trust.”
Cook’s continued pressure on Facebook implies a relatively combative language for a CEO to speak, which he says is needed now because more people “see privacy as a major issue.”
“Ten years ago, privacy was a niche,” Cook said. “Today it is one of the main problems in people’s minds because people know that the web has become this surveillance tool in too many cases and that creating detailed profiles about people has gone far beyond any kind. of reasonable thing “.
The competition is good
In addition to privacy, the interview covers the App Store and Apple’s relationships with the Australian legal system. Apple’s public dispute with Epic Games will continue in Australia after the country’s federal court on Friday decided to allow a lawsuit to continue in November 2022.
Meanwhile, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission plans to introduce regulations to change the influence that Apple and other technology companies have on the territory.
As for Apple’s regulatory scrutiny, Cook reaffirms the belief that this examination of large companies is fair. “We start from the premise that regulation is needed in some areas. So it’s about determining where it’s needed and where it needs to focus.”
“In our model, the user is where the power exists because it is the user who decides when they buy a phone, they will buy an iPhone,” he continues. “Will they buy a lot of Android phones? And so it’s a very competitive market. And then the App Store market is also very competitive … And there’s a lot of competition in all areas.”
When asked if the competition is always good, Cook admits that “I don’t think in any case that the competition is bad. I think the competition is inherently good.”
Cook confirms that he is aware of the ACCC’s intentions. “Anywhere in the world where we are inspected is on my radar, at least we are aware of it, and it is up to us to tell our story and tell why we do what we do.”
This also applies to Apple’s struggle with the country’s banks, which want to gain direct access to the NFC technology used on the iPhone to provide their own payment apps, rather than going through Apple Pay. .
Cook’s response is interpreted in the interview that the banks themselves could not be trusted to maintain Apple’s level of security.
“It’s the reality. If you put the rear doors in a system, everyone can use a back door. So you have to make sure that the system is robust and durable; otherwise you can see what’s going on in the system. world of security, “Cook said. . “Every day you read about an infringement or you read about a ransomware.”
The interview covered a number of other topics, including Cook being a “huge believer in augmented reality,” taking over from Steve Jobs and starting work at 4 p.m.