At the recent IAPP Global Privacy Summit in Washington DC Tim Cook the CEO of Apple acknowledged that protecting privacy is not easy. He added ‘it is one of the most essential battles of our time’.
Cook’s comments echo the words of Justice Michael Kirby, the chairperson of the OECD Committee that investigated issues of privacy and provided a set of principles for the processing of personal information in 2002. “There are two visions for the future here. One defends individual privacy, the other gives up … Resolving these debates presents one of the greatest questions before humanity in this century … What is at stake is nothing less than the future of the human condition.”
Nothing less important than the human condition
In his address Cook quoted Alan Westin, who more than 50 years ago wrote that the erosion of privacy was a legitimate fear of technology. But, Westin pointed out, what information is collected, the purpose, and with whom information is shared, are matters of policy and not determined by technology. He went on to say: “Man cannot escape his social or moral responsibilities by murmuring feebly that ‘the machine made me do it.’”
Profit before Principle
We know what happens when profit comes before principle. It is unfortunate, but nonetheless true, that greed is a human trait. Data hunger is a new form of greed that has evolved all to quickly as information and personal information have become exponentially valuable in our information society.
As Michalsons data protection professionals have noted in posts written, and in presentations, data protection law is intended to promote the fundamental human right of privacy. We must prevent harm and there can be little doubt that the unfettered exploitation of personal information has caused a lot of harm and loss. But even where there is no loss or harm, the right of privacy is founded on our choice to permit or restrict the use of our personal information and is no different from our right to eat what we choose or sleep when we wish.
Failure of USA to legislate does not stop global regulation
Cook has long been a fierce advocate for a strong comprehensive privacy law in the United States and he renewed this call at the conference. His call was supported by Brad Smith, Microsoft President and Vice-chair, who pointed out that the failure in the US to legislate does not stop global regulation or even slow it down. It merely makes USA less influential in the world. Smith also pointed out that privacy is much less siloed than it used to be and called for a broader multidisciplinary approach to addressing privacy and information security.
Perception of principled or unprincipled conduct
What is compelling in Cook and Smith’s remarks is that they represent two of the largest tech companies in the world. Companies that could profit from unfettered use of information but have chosen to recognise the importance of our fundamental right of privacy and the threat of overzealous government and unscrupulous business violating the right.
Organisations should take note of their wisdom and follow their example. Most of us are governed by data protection laws, which may sometimes be inconvenient, but afford each one of us a vital human right and protection from abuse of the right. We can all be privacy warriors if we choose. Whatever business we are in, privacy and data protection are already a business norm. Increasingly, how we address the protection of personal information will be a telling factor in whether we are perceived as principled or unprincipled.
Tim Cook at the IAPP Global Privacy Summit
On 12 April 2022, Tim Cook spoke at the event and explained why privacy is such an important right.
Brad Smith at the summit
Microsoft President and Vice-Chair Brad Smith explains why we are currently in the era of both technology innovation but also technology regulation. He continues to explain why we need a large community, thoughtful conversation and a new mindset to manage this well.
