Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook publicly called U.S. and EU legislation efforts against Big Tech companies a threat to Apple and its consumers.
In particular, Cook addressed sideloading, where users are given the option to install apps from third-party app stores. Cook said the practice could pose risks to user security.
The leader of the consumer electronics giant was speaking at the International Association for Privacy Professionals 2022 Global Privacy Summit on April 12.
"We are deeply concerned about regulations that would undermine privacy and security in service of some other aim," Cook said, adding that the "unintended consequences will be profound."
Two bills, the Open App Markets Act and the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, are designed to clamp down on the market power that Apple, Google LLC and other Big Tech companies have in their app stores and related sites. Both passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year with bipartisan support. Sideloading would be permitted for Apple app store users if the Open App Markets Act were to pass into law.
Across the pond, European regulators rolled out a finalized framework for the Digital Markets Act in March, which contains measures to reduce the power of digital companies considered to hold too much market concentration.
Cook is the latest high-profile authority to openly speak out against Congressional efforts to rein in Big Tech companies. Antitrust proponents said the company has excessive control over its app store, overcharging and exploiting developers while limiting consumer choice as to where apps can be accessed.
The CEO also called for omnibus U.S. privacy legislation.
While there has been some coalescence around concepts for a federal privacy bill — including a package of individual rights that would allow consumers to know what data is being collected about them and correct that data if it is wrong — there has been little movement on such a bill. Meanwhile, states such as California, Virginia and Colorado have moved forward on their own privacy bills, raising concerns about a patchwork approach.
"As much as we all stand to lose in a world without privacy, I also know how much we stand to gain if we get this right," Cook said.
