Apple CEO Tim Cook to keynote Global Privacy summit

Cook speaks privacyApple, 

Apple CEO, Tim Cook, will deliver the keynote speech at the International Association of Privacy Professionals summit on April 12. His 9am EST speech will mark the beginning of the Global Privacy summit and will be livestreamed via the IAPP’s YouTube channel.

On privacy, on trust in the digital economy

“Tim Cook is a leading and influential voice for the privacy community, especially as Apple remains a critical player in the broader environment in which the digital economy operates,” said J. Trevor Hughes, IAPP’s President and CEO. “We look forward to his contributions to the event’s powerful dialogue on privacy and trust in the digital economy.”

There will other speakers at the event, including

• Lina Khan, Chair of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission;
• Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice;
• Brad Smith, President and Vice Chair, Microsoft;
• Malcom Gladwell, six-time New York Times bestselling author;
• Zahra Mosawi, former Commissioner of the Access to Information Commission of Afghanistan;
• David Olusoga, award-winning documentary filmmaker, historian, author and broadcaster.

JUST ANNOUNCED: Tim Cook will join as our headlining keynote speaker at the Global Privacy Summit, April 11-13 in Washington, D.C. https://t.co/cuxlI18uZ8 pic.twitter.com/dCffGNAJz4

— IAPP (@PrivacyPros) April 5, 2022

What is the IAPP?

Founded in 2000, the IAPP is a not-for-profit organization that helps define, promote, and improve the privacy profession globally. The in-person event focuses on international privacy and data protection in practice, policy, and strategy. The show runs April 11-13 in Washington, DC, and focuses on international privacy and data protection in practice, policy, and strategy.

Cook has become a staunch advocate for privacy in the digital age since before he appeared to speak to privacy commissioners in Europe in 2018. During that appearance, he famously said:

“Platforms and algorithms that promised to improve our lives can actually magnify our worst human tendencies,” he said.

“Rogue actors and even governments have taken advantage of user trust to deepen divisions, incite violence, and even undermine our shared sense of what is true and what is false. This crisis is real. It is not imagined, or exaggerated or crazy.”

Since that time the company has fought hard to stand up for privacy rights, and while this seems to be a very challenging battle, given some who want to erode privacy are in government, the company continues to try to press this message forward.

‘Privacy is under attack’ – Apple

Speaking last year, Cook, again in Europe, again warned against declining privacy, even as Apple continues to introduce new tools to try to protect its users.  “At Apple, our commitment is to give users choice over how their data is used and to build privacy and security into everything we make,” he said.

Cook isn’t alone. Apple SVP Software Engineering, Craig Federighi has said in the past, “Never before has the right to privacy—the right to keep personal data under your own control— been under assault like it is today. As external threats to privacy continue to evolve, our work to counter them must, too.”

Apple knows this is a difficult battle to fight as regulators seem deeply committed to eroding personal privacy in the interests of the kind of free competition they don’t expect or intend to extend to other markets.

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