Tim Cook slams leakers of internal information in leaked memo

Tim Cook has said that leakers who share internal information from within Apple do not belong at the company, according to a new leaked memo.

From The Verge:

Tim Cook sent an email to Apple employees Tuesday evening about an all-hands meeting that leaked to The Verge last week. He said the company is doing "everything in our power to identify those who leaked" and noted that "people who leak confidential information do not belong" at Apple.

The news follows an internal meeting at Apple on September 17 where the company discussed testing for unvaccinated employees, Apple vs Epic, employee pay equity, privacy, and more. We know this because nearly all of the details of the internal meeting were leaked. Now, in a newly leaked email (yes, this is exactly as ironic as you think it is), Cook has slammed the move. From the email:

I'm writing today because I've heard from so many of you were incredibly frustrated to see the contents of the meeting leak to reporters. This comes after a product launch in which most of the details of our announcements were also leaked to the press.

Cook expressed disappointment not only about the internal meeting but also the leaks prior to the iPhone 13 event. Apple released its new smartphone last week alongside a new Apple Watch Series 7, iPad mini 6, and iPad, however, most of the details of all its plans were shared by leakers prior to the event. Cook continued:

I want you to know that I share your frustration. These opportunities to connect as a team are really important. But they only work if we can trust that the content will stay within Apple. I want to reassure you that we are doing everything in our power to identify those who leaked. As you know, we do not tolerate disclosures of confidential information, whether it's product IP or the details of a confidential meeting. We know that the leakers constitute a small number of people. We also know that people who leak confidential information do not belong here.

Cook went on to thank employees for their hard work in creating its products, and said: "We'll continue to measure our contributions in the lives we change, the connections we foster, and the work we do to leave the world a better place."

The incident is reminiscent of a 2018 saga, where an internal memo was leaked by Bloomberg detailing how Apple had caught and fired an employee who leaked details about Apple's software roadmap.