Device owners at center of Apple policy, says Gary Davis Firm supports Saudi Arabia’s personal data protection law RIYADH: Apple remains committed to protecting the data and privacy of its users, according to a senior executive speaking at the third Global AI Summit in Riyadh on Wednesday. Gary Davis, global senior director of privacy and regulatory matters, said: “Apple’s privacy commitments are built into our products and features by design because at Apple, we believe that privacy is a human right.” “That’s why Apple has, for many years, supported the introduction of data privacy laws globally. And that is why we support the introduction of your personal data protection law here in Saudi Arabia.” Davis said the company’s approach will remain the same even as it integrates artificial intelligence into its products. “Apple"s approach to emerging technologies, like AI, is no different,” he said. “As we deeply integrate Apple Intelligence into iOS, iPadOS and macOS, we will not veer from our whole commitment to user privacy.” Davis said the use of AI must encompass respect for human values. “It’s not only a possibility, it’s a responsibility,” he said. “We’ve been guided by our belief that great artificial intelligence and great privacy standards are not mutually exclusive, but rather mutually reinforcing.” He added that Apple operates from four basic principles: collecting as little data as possible; device owners have the rights to their data; users will have the final say in data collection; and there is no privacy without security. “Time and again, we’ve introduced many exciting cutting-edge features that are built from the bottom up to protect user privacy,” he said, citing the firm’s browser, Safari, its cloud storage and Apple Intelligence as examples. “Safari blocks third-party cookies by default and has undertaken many new innovations to continue to ensure that, as you use it, you remain completely in control of your data,” he said. “Apple Intelligence is built from your experiences across your device. That includes your photos, your messages, your files, and calendar events. So that it can provide you, and only you, with information and assistance based on what matters to you.” He said that even if some companies say they will not misuse people’s data, the users have no way of checking or verifying if this is true. “Our basic principle is that no one, not even Apple, perhaps even especially Apple, should have visibility into your requests, even if your data is leaving your device and going to a cloud. “To mitigate entire classes of privacy risk, we omitted persistent data storage, we replaced the tools normally used to manage servers, and we took steps to prevent privileged access. “The result is an unprecedented cloud security foundation based on Apple Silicon. With Private Cloud Compute, user data is never available to Apple. It’s never stored,” he said. • This article originally appeared on Arab News Japan