Apple CEO Tim Cook says users should be in control

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple's Chief Executive Officer, said that privacy is a fundamental right and Apple builds it into its products and services. He said that users should be in control of their data and not its highest bidder.

Cook said that Privacy is a fundamental right and we build it into all products and services at Apple. You should be in control of your data, not the highest bidder. Cook shared the link to a one-minute 34 second video. This video begins with a young woman looking through stuff in her room with More Giraffes and Sweater Beats Playground playing in the background.

She then heads to a room with a sign reading Ellie's Data Auction written on its board. Here, she witnesses a one-of-its-kind auction wherein the auctioneer says, The next sale is a digital treasure trove. The emails that she sells are the first to be sold at $280. The second lot includes Ellie's drugstore purchases and is sold at $500. The location data is sold at $660, which is the third lot of her location data. During this bid, the auctioneer says it is not creepy, it is commerce. Some other items on sale include her Nana, her recent transactions, her browsing history and her late-night texts, all of which are sold. After this, the auctioneer says, And now the one you've been waiting for, and I can promise you won't be disappointed. Ellie then takes her iPhone out and selects the Ask App Not to Track option in the dialog window reading, Allow Carry out to track your activity across other companies apps and websites? After this, all the items on the stage and crowd members disappear and Ellie selects Protect Mail Activity in the Mail Privacy Protection option on her iPhone.

The video ends with a message: It is your data. The iPhone keeps it in a safe place and says Privacy.