Apple organizes a 'Global Police Summit' to train law enforcement on the use of its products.
The conferences, which were held in secret, supposedly instructed officials on the use of products intended for surveillance.
In the last five years, Apple has organized conferences aimed at police agencies to instruct officials on the use of its products in security operations. According to a new report, two Global Police Summits were held, in 2019 and 2023, in closed sessions that involved officials from up to 50 departments in seven different countries. This event highlights an apparent contradiction with reports suggesting that Apple has experienced tension with law enforcement agencies regarding user privacy protection.
The growing inclusion of technology in everyday life raises the likelihood that this very technology may infringe on user privacy. In 2022, Meta received over 400,000 data requests from law enforcement, agreeing to disclose information at least 75% of the time. Various topics were addressed at the summit, including surveillance and basic communications. This gathering facilitated collaboration and the exchange of experiences among agencies from different parts of the world, analyzing successful strategies in technological mobilization.
Among the products that generated interest during the summit were the Vision Pro headsets, used for surveillance purposes, and Apple CarPlay, designed for police vehicles. The CIO of the Orange County Police Department, Dave Fontneau, commented, “The Apple ecosystem works very well together.”
As technology advances, new concerns around privacy have emerged. Services such as AI-driven facial recognition have led Microsoft to ban its use by the police. The summit suggests that Apple aims to maintain a balance between assisting law enforcement and protecting the privacy of its consumers.
Matthew Guariglia, a policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, explained that these companies want to uphold an image of user data protection, even if this might affect their relationship with authorities. At the same time, they recognize that developing technology for the police represents a multibillion-dollar industry.