Publications
Publications
- January 2023
- HBS Case Collection
Apple: Privacy vs. Safety (B)
By: Henry McGee, Nien-hê Hsieh and Christian Godwin
Abstract
In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe, Apple and Google partnered to develop a contact tracing application that would collect information about users infected with the disease and notify those who they had been in contact with. While Apple/Google’s app would keep information about infection and contact private, some governments wanted more access. Apple and Google refused to provide this information, sparking a debate over what responsibilities the companies had in the realms of personal privacy and public health. This incident marked a seeming increase in privacy protections among technology companies, with Apple increasing user privacy options with its iOS 14 update and Zoom offering free end-to-end encryption. Did this indicate a permanent shift in the tension between privacy and safety?
Keywords
Iphone; Encryption; Data Privacy; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Making; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Globalized Firms and Management; Government and Politics; Health; Health Pandemics; Leadership; Markets; Safety; Social Issues; Information Technology; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry; Health Industry; United States; Europe
Citation
McGee, Henry, Nien-hê Hsieh, and Christian Godwin. "Apple: Privacy vs. Safety (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 323-066, January 2023.