Privacy executives at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) have reiterated the tech giant's commitment to user privacy, terming it as a "fundamental human right."
What Happened: In an interview with YouTuber Andru Edwards that was posted on his channel on Wednesday, two Apple executives Katie Skinner and Sandy Parakilas discussed the company's strategies for preserving user privacy.
The conversation spanned a variety of topics, including Apple's balancing act between privacy and the development of advanced features, and the role of Apple Intelligence in this regard.
While the interview did not reveal any new information, it provided a comprehensive overview of Apple's privacy protection measures and beliefs. The Apple privacy team members offered detailed responses to all queries, upholding the company's long-standing stance on privacy.
At the beginning of the interview, Parakilas said, "The way we think about privacy at Apple is we think it is a fundamental human right." He added that they think companies should always ask users for permission before using their data and be transparent about their intentions.
Apple is gearing up to launch its new operating systems, including iOS 18, this fall. These systems will introduce new privacy features such as the ability to hide apps, a new Passwords app, and per-app Contacts permissions similar to Photos.
Why It Matters: This reaffirmation of Apple's commitment to privacy comes in the wake of recent controversies. In June, at the WWDC 2024 keynote, Apple announced a partnership with Microsoft Corp.(NASDAQ: MSFT)-backed OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15 Sequoia.
Soon after the announcement, Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk criticized the partnership saying that he would prohibit Apple devices in his companies if the tech giant integrated OpenAI at the operating system level.
Later during the same month, it was reported that Apple rejected a proposal from Meta to integrate its AI chatbot, Llama, into the iPhone, citing concerns over the company's privacy practices.
This decision led to a public spat with Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has now criticized Apple's "soul-crushing" tactics in an interview posted earlier this week.
Zuckerberg said, "It is somewhat soul-crushing to go build something that you think is going to be good and then just get told by Apple you can't ship it because they wanted to put us in a box because they view us as competitive."