Apple CEO Tim Cook: There are things I will say until I die

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Recently, Apple announced a series of product developments at WWDC, but at the same time, it is also facing concerns from many aspects, such as whether the Sino-US trade war will have an impact on Apple, how to deal with people's growing concern about privacy, and the potential risk of its App Store being dismantled... Facing these issues, Tim Cook accepted an interview with CBS Evening News anchor and executive editor Norah O'Donnell during the WWDC conference and gave his own wonderful interpretation. Leifeng.com has translated this interview without changing the original meaning, with slight adjustments.

The following is a transcript of CBS's interview with Tim Cook:

Q: Why do you spend so much time talking about privacy and security?

A: Because I think it's one of the most important issues of this century. We view privacy as a fundamental human right, and we're very concerned that the situation we're in right now will have terrible consequences. You can see some of the things that have happened over the last few years, and awareness is building. We want to give users the tools to protect their privacy. There are a lot of places where detailed information about users exists that I don't think should be there, but it is.

Q: When I heard about the Sign in with Apple innovation, I thought this was Apple's way of trying to do what Facebook and Google do with all our data.

A: We are not targeting anyone, we are focusing on users, who want to be able to use a wide variety of products and services without surveillance. We are advancing privacy protection, and I think this is a very reasonable request.

Q: Do you think Facebook cares about our privacy and security?

A: I think everybody is starting to pay more attention, people are starting to realize what's going on, and some people are getting offended. I think that's a good thing, because we need to shine a light on it. You can imagine an environment where everybody starts to think there's no privacy. If there's no privacy, then free speech is affected. Everybody knows everything you do, and that's not good for our country, it's not good for democracy.

Q: I know you've urged Congress to pass some legislation to address this issue, and Congress hasn't acted yet, is that correct?

A: Yes, they haven't done that yet, but I hope they will. We are actively promoting, advising, and so on, and we will continue to do so. I think the country needs to make progress in this regard, and privacy protection should be a bright prospect.

Q: But as an American and a data user, don’t I have the right to know how my data is used or sold?

A: You have that right. Not only that, in my opinion, you also have the right to stop it, change it, or delete it.

Q: But am I capable of doing that?

A: You can't do that right now. I mean, there are so many companies that have your data, some of which you haven't even heard of.

Q: If the government doesn’t take action, how will Apple address this issue?

A: We are not waiting for the government to take action, we are moving forward, and I hope everyone will be aware that they don't want to be monitored on the internet and use Sign in with Apple.

Q: I want to ask you something about iTunes. It's been 18 years since its launch. Is it a bittersweet thing to shut it down?

A: Yes, it's been around for a while. We haven't completely shut it down. Most people associate iTunes with the ability to buy music at the song level, and we still do that. What we've done is we've realized that there's so much stuff in iTunes, audio, music, video, podcasts, etc., and we need to separate those things out. That's our purpose.

Q: I would like to ask you some questions about Screen Time. Do you know how much time you spend looking at screens every day?

A: I know because I get a report every week, and you probably get one too. It tells me how much time I spend looking at my phone each day, and what I look at. I find it very informative. I spend more time on my phone than I thought, and not only that, but I pay attention to it and pick it up a lot more. So I respond to a lot of notifications and I stop fidgeting with myself about picking up the phone.

Q: Ahaha! So Apple’s CEO said don’t always hold your phone?

A: I mean we don’t make this phone to keep you using it, we make your life better. It’s up to each person to figure out what the phone means to them. For me, my basic rule is if I look at my phone longer than I look into someone’s eyes, I’m doing it wrong.

Q: You've seen it happen, when you walk into a restaurant and see couples who may have been on one or two dates, staring at their phones. How does that affect us?

A: How does this affect us? I think everyone can decide how to date, but I don't recommend staring at your phone while dating.

Q: But you know what I'm talking about.

A: For me, I'm not an expert on this. But I think what we want to do is give people a tool to go in. It's amazing to me (and I think a lot of people) how often we use our phones, pick them up, and pay attention to them. I want everyone to be able to process information once if they want to.

Q: The iPhone is arguably the most successful consumer product ever created. Yet parents and others struggle with how to use it. Has it distracted us? Or has it changed the way we interact?

A: I haven't seen evidence of that, but we've heard from users that their kids are on their phones too much. But we've also heard other things that parents are spending a lot of time on their phones. Screen Time is not only focused on kids, but also on parents, because no matter who we are, if we know what we're doing, then we can make the changes we want to make.

Q: I want to ask about some other news. The government is investigating big tech companies. Are companies like Facebook, Google, and Apple inherently too big? Is Apple a super-large company?

A: No, I don't think so. I think in terms of size, the scrutiny is fair, and I think we should get it. But if you look at any measure of whether Apple is a monopoly, I don't think any rational person would conclude that Apple is a monopoly. Our share is much smaller, and we are not dominant in any market.

Q: You are saying that you are not a monopoly.

A: We are not a monopolist.

Q: But Elizabeth Warren, who is running for president, has said that Apple should split up the App Store and some of its other businesses.

A: I strongly disagree with that statement. I think some people would say that if you are selling a product, you can't have a product that competes with that product . I think that's part of the controversy, but the argument is to lead you to think that Walmart (as a retailer) shouldn't stock alternative products or its own brands. The law has been that way for decades. But I think censorship is a good thing, and we will tell our story to anyone we need to tell or want to hear it. I'm confident in where we are. We are on the side of the user. We are on the side of the consumer on privacy. We are on the side of the consumer on stopping fake news. We have always done that. We are not a megaphone for fake news, we are not a megaphone for pitting groups against each other, we are not a megaphone for pornography or anything like that. That's not what we do, and we have never done it.

Q: So is Facebook an amplifier for fake news?

A: I think any company can push news in a non-curated way, if you will. Personally, I don't really believe in the ability of AI to tell what's true and what's false, so I'm concerned about all the organizations that are pushing news in a feed. What we do with our news product is not to create news, but to select the hottest news, and we have people doing that. Also, I'm very worried about people thinking like machines, not machines thinking like people.

Q: So are you worried about what's going to happen in the next presidential election?

A: What I worry about is fake news getting out of control. I do worry that outside forces will use it to manipulate people's minds. I think we all should be worried.

Q: How big of a blow has the US-China trade war had on Apple?

A: China is not targeting Apple at all at this point. To be honest, I don’t think that will happen.

Q: But there are reports that a 25% tariff on just the iPhone XS would add $160 to an already very expensive device. Would that hurt sales?

A: Absolutely. I hope that doesn't happen, and I don't think that's going to happen. I know people think that the iPhone is made in China, it's assembled in China. The fact is, the iPhone is made in a lot of places. So a tariff on the iPhone would hurt all of those countries that make the iPhone, but the one that would be hurt the most is the United States.

Q: President Trump calls you a friend. How would you describe your relationship?

A: I think we had very direct discussions. I appreciated that he listened to opinions. Sometimes he disagreed with them. But my philosophy is to always engage even if you know you're going to end up on the opposite side. Because the only way to change someone's mind is to talk. I actually have very different opinions on DACA and other immigration issues, and on climate change and a bunch of other issues, but that doesn't stop me from speaking out on other things that might be common ground.

Q: A lot of other CEOs and tech leaders say they haven't met with President Trump, but you go to the White House regularly.

A: It is, and I am proud of it. Because I don’t believe in “I don’t agree with you, so I don’t want to have anything to do with you.”

Q: President Trump and the administration have already banned Huawei. Are you worried that China will eventually retaliate against Apple?

A: I think about it again. I think we have been running a company in China for a long time. I believe that respect is mutual. I don't think this will happen, but I don't guarantee that it will not happen in the future. I just don't expect it to happen.

Q: I know you care deeply about immigration. It affects hundreds of thousands of employees at your company, and you've spoken directly about it in the White House, and you've been among 100 CEOs urging Congress to pass immigration reform, but nothing has come of it.

A: Yes, I'm disappointed about it. I worry that we've lost our humanity and gotten lost in the numbers and the politics and all of this stuff. I look at it very simply. We have these people at Apple, and I believe they represent a lot of the Dreamers. We have over 300 of them, and they're all American citizens like us. I just can't imagine why anybody would spend 30 seconds thinking that they're not. They came here as children, six months old, one year old, two years old. They didn't decide to go over the fence. This isn't about numbers, this isn't about politics, this is about humanity.

Q But this is the president’s rallying cry. Build the wall. He’s running for reelection, he’s raising money, it’s what he does every day.

A: Yes, in general, I think immigration is a complex issue. But in terms of DACA, my position is very direct. If it takes a long time, I will talk about it until I die. To be honest, I want to invite anyone who wants to come to Apple to see me, because these people are amazing Americans, they deserve it, and they should stay in this country. It would be a tragedy if something else happened. For me, it's clear and simple.