Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday that his business will fight for data privacy regulations that are in the best interests of consumers, calling it "one of the most important conflicts of our time."
Cook also defended his company's strong controls over its app store, arguing that they are not anti-competitive. The store is the only approved way to download apps to iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs, and Apple Watches, according to Apple.
Cook, speaking at the Global Privacy Summit of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, said privacy is still in danger from the "data industrial complex," which attempts to gather data on everything from where people dine and buy to what websites they visit.
While many firms claim to be gathering data in order to provide customers with a more personalized experience, Cook points out that they frequently don't give customers a choice.
"Who would stand for such a thing if it were happening in the real world?" he wondered, noting that few people would accept to have a camera following them about while they drove their child to school or watched them work on their laptop.
He answered, "You wouldn't call that a service; you'd call it an emergency." "It's also one in the digital world."
Cook mentioned a number of new Apple innovations aimed at protecting data privacy, such as the ability for users to choose whether or not their applications should be able to follow their behavior across devices, as well as the ability to conceal their location and hide their email addresses if desired.
He also mentioned Apple's attempts to reduce the amount of data it gathers and increase the amount of processing done on the device rather than on the cloud, minimizing the danger of thieves stealing user data.
While Cook stated that Apple remains in favor of strong privacy regulations such as the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, and that the company will continue to advocate for such legislation in the United States, he also stated that new regulations currently being debated in this country could jeopardize security and privacy.
The public and the tech industry have been debating how much control digital behemoths should have over their various app stores and platforms.
Apple's limitations, which prevent developers from offering other app stores or using alternative payment processors for in-app sales of digital products such as new looks for a character in a game, have been criticized by lawmakers, regulators, and developers. Apple and Google both charge 15% to 30% commissions on those transactions, claiming that this helps support the technology and operation of their respective storefronts.
Some of the industry's biggest developers have spoken out against the present app store arrangement. Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, has sued both Apple and Google over the way their respective app stores restrict payments. Last year, the game developer, whose online battle royale game has become an international hit, tried unsuccessfully to convince a California District Court Judge that Apple's actions were illegal. That ruling is being appealed.
Allowing firms to download programs from outside sources, Cook warned Tuesday, may allow them to circumvent Apple's privacy controls and jeopardize customer data security. While he did not directly mention Google's Android operating system, he did mention a recent incidence of a bad program that spread ransomware on devices other than Apple's after consumers downloaded it from somewhere other than the official app store.