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His keynote began by calling privacy one of the most fundamental battles of the modern era. Referring to privacy as a mirror of policy and usage, Cook argues that there are two distinct realities, one of “unlocking the full creative potential of humanity” and one of “technology being exploited to deprive humanity of Fundamentals: Our Privacy Itself”.
Cook said a world without privacy is unimaginative, compassionate, and innovative. Privacy is a fundamental human right that Apple is constantly fighting for. The fight includes protecting people from a “surveillance-based data industrial complex,” referring to data mining companies using data provided by websites and apps. Cook said the companies insisted their work was “pure with intent” but they “don’t believe we should have a choice on this issue.”
Cook likens data mining to a person tracking users in their daily lives, filming their interactions. Apple has given users the tools to deal with the problem, including the option to decide who should be allowed access to this tracking data, Cook said, who launched Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Initiative.
Cook told the audience that Apple does a lot to protect its users. This includes minimizing the data it collects from users, as well as minimizing the amount of data processing that occurs on the device. That’s why personal data on the iPhone is encrypted by default, and data stored on iCloud is end-to-end encrypted so not even Apple can see it. Cook then reiterated that Apple is still fighting against law enforcement backdoors, because once built, anyone can use them.
Cook warned that Apple could soon lose the ability to provide some of these protections. Apple is deeply concerned about regulations that undermine privacy and security for other purposes. That includes trying to pass legislation to force Apple to allow apps that “circumvent the App Store” through sideloading. Cook insists it would allow data-hungry companies to circumvent Apple’s privacy rules and, again, track users against their will. It also allows bad actors to bypass the security protections Apple has implemented in its ecosystem.