Tim Cook talks privacy and security at Utah's 2021 Silicon Slopes summit

Tim Cook Silicon Slopes Summit
Tim Cook Silicon Slopes Summit (Image credit: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

What you need to know

  • Tim Cook attended a fireside chat at Utah's Silicon Slopes summit.
  • The Apple CEO talked about the company's views on privacy and security.

Tim Cook is back to talking privacy and security, but this time it's actually in person.

As reported by the Deseret News, the Apple CEO sat down for a fireside chat with United States Senator Mike Lee at Utah's 2021 Silicon Slopes Summit. During the chat, Cook said that the people he saw at the event are the ones who "want to change the world."

"What I look for when I go places is people who want to change the world. Technology should serve humanity and not the other way around. And that's what I see here."

When Lee asked Cook about Apple's stance on privacy and security, the CEO echoed other executives and said that they view privacy "as a human right."

"We view privacy as a fundamental human right. What we see is that your phone has more information on you than if someone went through your house and opened every door and closet and everything in your home. Your phone has your history, your financial information, your health information, your close contacts, who you call.The only person that has the key to your (Apple) phone is you and we think that's the way it should be."

Cook went on to push back against ideas of a back door designed for law enforcement, saying that it was impossible to prevent others from accessing it as well:

"People say do it (program a device backdoor) just for this government agency, but it's not possible from an engineering standpoint," Cook said. "You can't create a backdoor that's just for the good guys."

Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.