Tim Cook is concerned that slow erosion of privacy is a big danger
Apple CEO Tim Cook worries that a slow loss of privacy in today's world will gradually train people and coerce them into acting differently as they adjust to a new normal.
Apple's CEO spoke about the fears he holds in a landscape where devices are progressively better at tracking its users. His remarks were made at the Time100 summit, on Tuesday.
"If we begin to feel that we're being surveilled all the time, our behavior changes. We begin to do less. We begin to think about things less. We begin to modify how we think," said Cook in the panel. "In a world like that where we're restraining ourselves, it changes society in a major way."
Cook said that while he is concerned about the future of privacy, he remains optimistic. He described how Apple is in effect providing tools to help users secure their own data and private lifestyle.
Apple, under Cook's leadership, has continued what Steve Jobs started. In the last few years, the company has put a marketing focus on the privacy the Apple ecosystem offers.
A recent example is series of ads highlighting how the iPhone protects user data.
Apple is one of the few big tech companies that had not pursued a business model where personal data is used to drive profit. While Apple does collect user data to train its machine-learning models, it uses the data fully anonymized, stripping it of all personal information.
Cook believes, and has said repeatedly, that giving up some privacy in highly-specific ways in certain settings might be beneficial. However, he ultimately argues that people should have ownership of their data and to be able to keep it private.
"It's tough to say that a company or anyone for that matter, should be able to step in and on an uninformed basis vacuum up your data," Cook added, "That's a large concern of mine."
Read on AppleInsider
Apple's CEO spoke about the fears he holds in a landscape where devices are progressively better at tracking its users. His remarks were made at the Time100 summit, on Tuesday.
"If we begin to feel that we're being surveilled all the time, our behavior changes. We begin to do less. We begin to think about things less. We begin to modify how we think," said Cook in the panel. "In a world like that where we're restraining ourselves, it changes society in a major way."
Cook said that while he is concerned about the future of privacy, he remains optimistic. He described how Apple is in effect providing tools to help users secure their own data and private lifestyle.
Apple, under Cook's leadership, has continued what Steve Jobs started. In the last few years, the company has put a marketing focus on the privacy the Apple ecosystem offers.
A recent example is series of ads highlighting how the iPhone protects user data.
Apple is one of the few big tech companies that had not pursued a business model where personal data is used to drive profit. While Apple does collect user data to train its machine-learning models, it uses the data fully anonymized, stripping it of all personal information.
Cook believes, and has said repeatedly, that giving up some privacy in highly-specific ways in certain settings might be beneficial. However, he ultimately argues that people should have ownership of their data and to be able to keep it private.
"It's tough to say that a company or anyone for that matter, should be able to step in and on an uninformed basis vacuum up your data," Cook added, "That's a large concern of mine."
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
I find it very depressing.
But it's in the US too... don't think the NSA isn't horking up every bit of data they can about your communications and movements thanks to your smartphone/cellphone. Just look at what Snowden revealed... they can tiptoe right up to the line and still collect a lot of information about you without violating your 4th Amendment rights. When you drive on an urban freeway in the US, cameras are present to monitor traffic. A lot of your neighbors have Ring doorbells, those are effectively surveilling a significant part of your neighborhood for better or for worse.
"Apple, under Cook's leadership, has continued what Steve Jobs started." ...or perhaps monetizing what Steve Jobs started...?
"Cook believes, and has said repeatedly, that giving up some privacy in highly-specific ways in certain settings might be beneficial."
So certain types of data mining is OK...?
Opt in for quid pro quo for certain functionality, like trading location data to allow remote iOS data wiping via Find My iPhone ? Could wiping be designed without always on location data being sent to Apple ?
And while personal choices may offer some gatekeeping, others may still enter one's contact data/picture, birthday, notes, tagged photos and other information to being sync in iCloud (or social media) without one's knowledge or permission...
Is the question of a single hack attack vector by design also relevant ?
Should AI and a derivative data markets be just as big a concern as more direct identifiable data sales...? Is it also worth remembering that Apple has a key to every iCloud account...?
... for further consideration on 'who decides who decides': shoshanazuboff.com/book/recent-work/
There are reasonable and unreasonable security measures and sometimes it's hard to draw the line. Banning box cutters, reasonable. Nail clippers, unreasonable and eventually that restriction was dropped. Most people would say your stance about the TSA crossed the line of reason about 2 miles back.