Microsoft CEO supports Apple on privacy
Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2019 06:00:00 -0800
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella seems to agree with Apple CEO Tim Cook when it comes to privacy, calling this a “fundamental human right”.
Despite the lack of a successful smartphone franchise, Microsoft is still very much part of today’s industry with a range of services across the mobile ecosystem. That’s probably why Nadella is such an active attendee at Mobile World Congress 2019.
What’s really interesting about what he said during a speech at the show is the extent to which his thinking aligns with what Apple is doing around privacy, for example:
Microsoft and Apple retain very distinct identities, of course, but that the manufacturers of the world’s two most distributed operating systems agree on the value and necessity of privacy is refreshing.
“That’s why we believe privacy is a fundamental human right,” the Microsoft boss said. “That’s why we prioritise cyber security, not just for the largest of companies, but for small businesses and consumers, who are often the most vulnerable to cyber attacks.”
This isn’t the first time Nadella has said something like this. He made similar statements in 2018, when discussing the EU’s GDPR legislation.
Apple’s Cook warned European data regulators of the cost and consequence of the erosion of privacy in 2018. When he did, he noted the evolution of an unregulated surveillance economy, warning “this is surveillance”.
Since that speech, Apple has ramped up its offensive against data surveillance companies by progressively eradicating the tools they use to spy on what people and organizations do online, which is why it is deprecating the Do Not Track tech inside of the Safari browser.
Cook has also described what he sees as the four tenets of a new bill of digital rights he believes should become law in the digital age:
Cook has called for legislation to protect four key rights;
Nadella’s Microsoft seems to be moving in a similar direction as the old guard of more responsible technologists join forces to combat the unintended consequences of tech firms who have moved fast and loose in their treatment and support for user privacy.
Ultimately, it’s all about trust.
Cook has said, “Technology’s potential must be rooted in the faith people have in it.”
Nadella has a similar slant, telling the audience in Barcelona, Spain that his company is committed to “instilling trust in technology across everything that we do.”
I imagine that any company that develops solutions that do not prioritise trust on either Apple or Microsoft’s platforms must now consider themselves warned.
Change is coming.
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